The Fall (Penguin Modern Classics)

Product Information

A third and final incident initiates Clamence's downward spiral. One day while waiting at a stoplight, Clamence finds that he is trapped behind a motorcycle which has stalled ahead of him and is unable to proceed once the light changes to green as a result. Other cars behind him start honking their horns, and Clamence politely asks the man several times if he would please move his motorcycle off the road so that others can drive around him; however, with each repetition of the request, the motorcyclist becomes increasingly agitated and threatens Clamence with physical violence. Albert Camus was born in Algeria in 1913. His childhood was poor, although not unhappy. He studied philosophy at the University of Algiers, and became a journalist as well as organizing the Théâtre de l'équipe, a young avant-garde dramatic group. Besides his fiction and essays, Camus very actively produced plays in the theater (e.g., Caligula, 1944). One of the most inspiring lessons to take away from Camus' philosophy is to face the modern world bravely. Camus' third response to the Absurd is to accept and embrace it. This way, we do not have the pressure of being accountable to another meaning and can choose how to live our lives. This is a concept Camus found freeing, and we should, too.

This necessary and continuous fall is the theme of the novel. It is one unforgiving, vertiginous descent. It is not a story of gradual discovery and ascent as in Sartre’s Nausea. In Nausea you see the picture that you should be painting of yourself. In The Fall you see the anti-thesis that you should use as your anti-model, as the one point which gives meaning to your picture by not being painted. Life in Amsterdam [ edit ] Copy of the panel from the Ghent Altarpiece known as The Just Judges by Jef Van der Veken. The original was stolen in 1934 and never recovered. The Fall was the last novel Camus published before he died. The novel follows Jean-Baptiste Clemence as he retells his life story to strangers over five days. Camus' previous ideas of the Absurd inspired The Fall. Camus wrote the book after the atrocities of the Second World War. There was a distance from theorizing academics and the people who experienced the real horrors of the war. This alienation of the world in the aftermath of World War 2 is a prevalent theme throughout the book. Writer Over Philosopher Plaque on the sidewalk of an Albert Camus quote.The first level of religious allusion is to the Christian history of New England, a region settled by the Pilgrims fleeing religious persecution, followed by various ethnic and religious groups over the succeeding centuries. “The Fall” is set in New England towns with biblical and Christian names—Canaan, Salem, Bethel, Concord, Fairhaven, and Christmas Cove. Images of the religious heritage of New England are sprinkled throughout the poem: cities such as Boston and Plymouth that were founded by Pilgrims and Puritans, sermons preached by stern eighteenth century Anglican ministers, and the Irish chambermaids of nineteenth century Massachusetts and their devotion to weekly Mass. In 1957, at 44 years old, Camus became the second-youngest person ever to win the Nobel Prize in Literature for his “important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times.”

Camus is the accused, his own prosecutor and advocate. The Fall might have been called "The Last Judgement" ' The second choice, in Camus's view, is religion. The religious solution offers a source of meaning beyond the Absurd. However, Camus refers to this option as philosophical suicide since it does not involve reason. Camus claims this solution needs to be more convincing and even fraudulent. you know this author, mark, or at least you thought you did. Camus! the very name brings up so many thoughts and ideas and college memories, so many references. it's an intimidating name because Camus is an intimidating author. at least I thought he was. but not the Camus who wrote this excoriating and brilliant little novella. The Fall is pure enjoyment. Camus gets into the head of his douchebag protagonist and makes you really understand him. and even better, he makes the experience so much more than a chilly intellectual exercise. Camus is funny. he's more than clever, he has a genuine although dark sense of humor - wounding but never callow wit. but more important than either the depth of his characterization or his darkly sparkling wit is the fact that Camus is a man with reservoirs of empathy. The Fall isn't just a hit job on some hypocritical asshole. Camus understands his character, intimately; he understands him by recognizing that his character is a trait within human nature. the deepest wounds come from the people who are armed with empathy - they know exactly where and how to hurt you. Camus holds up a mirror for his readers to gaze upon themselves. personally, I wasn't too big a fan of what I saw; I don't like that side of me. I hate confronting my own hypocrisies. but I sure did love the mirror itself! it was beautifully built, a real work of art. Camus majored in philosophy at the University of Algiers and his interest in philosophy shines through in some of his writing (more on that later!). He also lived a very tumultuous personal life, as most writers do. He was a famous womanizer and was involved with several different women over the course of his life. He was only married twice but had multiple affairs. I sometimes wonder what historians of the future will say about us. One phrase will suffice for the modern man: he fornicated and read newspapers. After this sharp definition, I dare to say, the subject will be exhausted.”

Need Help?

The main motive of the “Fall” is associated with the disclosure of the absurdity of the world and human nature. Jean-Baptiste Clamence, who at first sinned by virtue of his natural, invisible egoism, realizing himself as a hypocrite, does not abandon his essence, but finds a new excuse for continuing his usual life.

When Camus passed away in January 1960, he had not yet finished writing his book, “The First Man.” His daughter released it in 1994 and intended it to be an autobiographical book. From his formative years and early adulthood, the main character Jacques Cormery is followed throughout the book. It differs from Camus’ other writings in terms of physicality and emotion. The Fall is a philosophical novel by Albert Camus. First published in 1956, it is his last complete work of fiction. Set in Amsterdam, The Fall is narrated by Jean-Baptiste Clamence, a former Parisian lawyer. Through a series of conversations and monologues, Clamence recounts his life story and unfolds his deeply introspective and disturbing perspective on human nature. In 1960, the year Camus passed away, a collection of articles titled “Resistance, Rebellion, and Death” were published. The writings focus on conflict, particularly as it relates to Algeria and the Algerian War of Independence. He discusses the death sentence in “Reflections on the Guillotine.”A single sentence will suffice for modern man: he fornicated and read the newspapers.” So pronounces Jean-Baptiste Clamence, narrator of Albert Camus’s short novel during the first evening of a monologue he delivers to a stranger over drinks at a shabby Amsterdam watering hole. Then, during the course of several evenings, the narrator continues his musings uninterrupted; yes, that’s right, completely uninterrupted, since his interlocutor says not a word. At one point Clamence states, “Alcohol and women provided me, I admit, the only solace of which I was worthy.” Clamence, judge-penitent as he calls himself, speaks thusly because he has passed judgment upon himself and his life. His verdict: guilty on all counts. Rereading the last novel Albert Camus published in his lifetime, I am left with two thoughts: first, that it’s still excellent, and second, that I’m glad I encountered it when I did, namely during adolescence. L’Étranger, or The Stranger (sometimes The Outsider, depending upon the publisher), is by far Camus’ most famous novel. Camus was clearly inspired by his own personal experiences when writing the book, as the story is centered around a French man named Meursault who is living in Algeria. It was published in 1942.

The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and October’s pall follows September’s fire. Here the tree roots entangle sin and death. November is the last pause before winter renders final judgment on human activity. However, in this image of desolation is the seed of hope. The trees are a “thousand leafless crosses” that suggest a new intervention of God. The “lovely, silent, finished, clean” embrace of snow will quench the fire of the Fall. Spring will bring God’s compassion and “what mercy after such forgiveness?” Sources for Further Study Hughes, Edward J., ed. The Cambridge Companion to Camus. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Linker, Damon. The Theocons: Secular America Under Siege. New York: Doubleday, 2006. Controversial description of the rising influence of religion in American culture and politics, which focuses on the journal First Things and features a lengthy quote from Bottum on public religiosity. I’m sure I’ve exhausted you, but I must reiterate that The Fall is a marvelous novel. Elusive and complex, it is an excellent look in the mirror at our own guilt and the ways we flail about trying to understand what to do with it. It is a novel that uses much religious symbolism (you see the dove fly about the novel, for instance) and language to construct this very existential discourse. Laughter may be the best medicine, they say, but here it is a strategic plan to obtain power and superiority, laughing and judging all the way. An absolutely outstanding novel, all intricately woven in under 150pgs. Thank you for you time, I’ll pay our tab, and no I won’t judge you. Or will I… Of course you might let someone else take The Fall for you, but from then on you would have to worship him. You would have to worship the guilty. You would have to worship the Judge-Penitent. But in this modern religion, to worship is to laugh at The Fallen. Albert Camus is a French writer whose work is known across the globe. Several of his pieces have been translated into English over the years, and you’ve probably already heard of his most famous novel, The Stranger, or, The Outsider.