Attn: Brie
Existential Literature
[Exams due by 4:00 PM, Tues, June 13. Hand-deliver to secretarty in Fr. Dept., 5th floor, Phelps Hall. Late papers get automatic drop in grade. Plagiarism, from internet or otherwise = automatic “F.”]
Answer BOTH questions I. And II.
In resposding to the questions below, “knowing the answer” is not enough. Write thoughtfully, use concrete examples to illustrate ideas, set forth your thoughts clearly and in orderly fashion. Plagiarized work will receive and automatic “F.”
I.
In Nausea (originally to have been titled Melancholia), Antoine Roquentin narrates the progression of his crisis from an “Existential” or “phenomenological” point of view.
Discuss three out of four:
a) Sartre’s use of the diary form.
b) How Roquentin’s perception of objects and people is affected by nausea. Give examples, but sparingly.
c) History: Roquentin’s shifting attitudes to his work on the Marquis de Rollebon.
d) Major moments: (i) Roquentin’s visit to the Bouville museum; (ii) The meaning for him of the jazz tune: Some of these days I’ll miss you honey.
II.
In The Fall Clamence, a highly cultivated member of the French middle-class, loses his vitality and his “innocence” when he begins to discover, little by little, that each of his actions bears the indelible stain of his own selfish motivations. As Clamence depends his self-analysis, he beomes obliged to recognize that what he formerly took to be sympathy was mere egoism, and what he believed o be true generosity was merely the desire to dominate. As his own altruistic ethic crumbled, his view of the human condition became dark and hopeless.
Discuss ALL off the following topics:
(a) The form of the novel, especially: 1st person narrative; phantom interlocutor; Camus’ flashback technique of placing his protagonist in two time-frames (pre-lapsarian and post-lapsarian Clamence).
(b) After factually describing them, discuss the symbolic significance of the following aspects of the novel: (i) the bridge episode; (ii) the story of the avid passive woman; (iii) the story of the motorist feud.
(c) Also discuss: the meaning of the term “judge-penitent,” including the passage from “I” to “we;” the notion of “authenticity” as treated by Camus in contrast to Sarte.