Des Esseintes' Infatuation with Artifice in Huysmans' Against Nature
In J.-K Huysmans Against Nature, Des Esseintes rebels against his family, religion, and Parisian society to establish an identity unique to himself. He perceives this rejection of the truistic self as the development of individuality when, in actuality, it is only a self deriving from his reaction to the overstimulated public. By decorating his abode with eccentric objects, he falsely believes that he can detach himself from the common populace. When he finds new objects to focus upon, he is able to depose his emotions and instill them within the object. Des Esseintes wants to be a rare individual; through his bizarre purchasing and decorum he thinks he is his own self. As Des Esseintes becomes more and more neurotic, the objects start to drain life out of him and begin to take on a life of their own. Through this exchange of energy, Esseintes hopes to obtain distinct persona that is independent from mass society’s. His perversion and manipulation of natural objects reflect his need to create a fantasy world, an unrealistic world where he can escape from the harsh realities of his childhood and will be “unspoilt by rampaging Parisians”1. This retreat can only last so long before Des Esseintes realizes that he cannot survive without being a part of society; he returns to Parisian life as a way of fleeing his past as well as avoiding his own apparent afflictions that will melt away when he conforms to society’s standards.
In response to living a desensitized Parisian lifestyle and a monotonous upbringing, Des Esseintes creates ideal settings that stimulate his “overfatigued senses”2. Des Esseintes is born into a family which had been inbred. This ...
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...ermarry, his interaction with Parisians, and because of his religious background. The city provides him with an atmosphere of comfort because he doesn’t have to make his own decisions, the mass public does that for him. In the city he has the comfort of direction. Therefore, he looks to the public and Parisian society to help define and construct one simple mass identity.
Notes
1. Huysmans, J.-K., Against Nature, trans. Robert Baldick (New York: Penguin Books, 1959). 24.
2. Huysmans, 23.
3. Huysmans, 17.
4. Huysmans, 24
5. Huysmans, 18.
6. Huysmans, 26.
7. Ibid.
8. Huysmans, 21.
9. Huysmans, 23; 27.
10. Huysmans, 31.
11. Huysmans, 39.
12. Huysmans, 38; 36.
13. Huysmans, 32.
14. Huysmans, 37.
15. Huysmans, 27.
16. Huysmans, 63.
17. Huysmans, 66.
18. Huysmans, 67.
19. Ibid.
20. Huysmans, 68.
21. Huysmans, 30.
Albert Camus is a skillful writer noted for showing aspects of culture and society through the depiction of his characters. In The Stranger, Camus illustrates the existentialism culture and how that comes into play in the life of the protagonist Meursault. The Stranger, as suggested by the title, is a novel revolving around the protagonist, Meursault, who is a stranger to the French-Algerian society as he challenges its values. Camus vividly portrays Meursault’s journey through the use of imagery, irony, and symbolism. In The Stranger, Albert Camus uses the minor character, Raymond Sintes, to illustrate the contrasting nature of Meursault and how his friendship with Raymond leads to his downfall.
The Outsider characters Edward and Raphael from the movie ‘Edward Scissorhands’ and the novel ‘Trash’ change their bland and featureless environments by providing creativity and ambition to the locals. Edward is an Outsider by his appearance while Raphael is an Outsider by poverty. Their communities express kindness to them both. Both individual characters do not act in the way the inhabitants of the society or slum. This is positive for the community and the creativity of the Outsiders change their
This extract emphasises the lonely, outworld feeling that would have been felt living in such settings. This puts into perspective the feeling that will be felt during the coarse of the plot development.
“Albert Camus is one of the most likeable and approachable of the mid-twentieth-century French authors” (Brosman 10).This is quite a compliment for Camus, but most would agree. In France, Albert is known for his many books, two which have made the French best-sellers list. His works are often read and studied in French secondary-school class rooms, introducing a countless number of students to his pieces each year. Camus also holds the high honor of receiving the Nobel Prize for literature in 1957 (Boak 346). His wide popularity has made his name known in North America as well. Just what is Albert Camus so popular for one might ask? The answer would be his approach to his work— the underlying beliefs of Existentialism or the theory of the absurd that characterizes his pieces (Wyatt 1).1 All of Camus’ works incorporate this strong sense of the individual having freedom of choice, and thus complete control over his own outcome. He acknowledges no help or control from higher powers, just simply focuses on the individual; consequently, creating a sense of alienation. Albert Camus’ attraction to and his use of Existential beliefs began from his own life circumstances.
Whether it is a full moon, a waxing crescent, or a new moon, many wonder what is out there. If there is more to the universe, than just Earth. The Moons of Jupiter are an unknown topic to many, and there are many interesting facts about it. Galileo Galilei, born in 1564 played a huge role in most of the science we know today, and it is because of him we are beginning to understand the moons of Jupiter. All these moons of Jupiter’s have their own reason as to which they stand out why. All in all, even though the moons of Jupiter’s are unknown to many, it is an important piece to connecting the puzzle in our universe.
Maupassant, Guy De. “An Adventure in Paris”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Cassill, RV. New York: Norton & Company, Inc. 2000. 511-516 Print.
society this odd place it is so full of problems crime, and is more harmful than it is good, eustace believes all of this. when he went to the city he found that is was so odd and loud and he found it so much harder to fit in. people were different here they were distrusting, dishonest, and so quick to judge and make fun of. when eustace went to new york city, he found and was made fun of by some drug dealers. they were judging him on his cloths, (the duck skin). they thought he stole i, this man they do not even know they thought that he stole. he could not believe that this was true, “what is with the world, were a man can not dress different and not get harassed”. eustace also went to say that it was bad referencing to society. the world has too much crime in it and vile people in the world. this is another trait he has a strong did like for soc
In the experimental novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, he explores the concept of existentialism and the idea that humans are born into nothing and descend into nothingness after death. The novel takes place in the French colony of Algiers where the French-Algerians working-class colonists live in an urban setting where simple life pleasures are of the upmost importance in the lives of working class people like the protagonist of the novel Meursault. What is fascinating about this novel is that it opens up with a scene of perpetual misfortune for him through the death of his mother although he seems to express otherwise. The reader perceives this nonchalance as a lack of care. Maman’s death and its impact on Meursault appear in both the very beginning and very end of the two-part novel, suggesting a cyclical pattern in the structure. This cyclical pattern suggests not a change in the moral beliefs of Meursault but rather his registering society’s systems and beliefs and craft meaning in his own life despite the fact that he meets his demise in the end. Camus uses Maman’s funeral to characterise both Meursault and the society and customs created by the society Meursault lives in in order to contrast the two while at the same time reveal how while society changes, Meursault does not. Rather, Maman’s funeral becomes of unprecedented importance in Meursault’s life and allows him to find that nothing means anything in his meaningless world at the time of his death. He finds peace in that.
"Our Solar System: Galileo's Observations of the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and the Sun." Solar System Exploration: Science & Technology: Science Features: Our Solar System: Galileo's Observations of the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and the Sun. NASA, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. .
In Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Meursault, the protagonist, could be seen as immoral if he were judged on the basis of his actions alone. However, through Camus’s use of a first person narrative, we begin to understand Meursault as not an immoral man, but simply an indifferent one. Meursault is a symbol of the universe, and so in understanding him we understand that the universe is also not evil, but instead a place of gentle indifference.
Camus’s The Stranger takes the reader on an emotionally stunted journey through a number of normally emotional moments in life including funerals, relationships, violence trials, and facing one’s one mortality. None of these things elicit strong emotion from Camus’s protagonist, Meursault, until he explodes in anger at the presumptuous chaplain in the moments before dawn on the day of his execution. In that moment, Meursault embraces the benign indifference of the universe and on the heels of his anger, feels the first real happiness of the story.
The way we see ourselves is often reflected in the way we act. Hamlet views himself as different to those young nobles around him such as Fortinbras and Laertes. This reality leads us to believe that over time he has become even more motivated to revenge his father's death, and find out who his true friends are. How can you be honest in a world full of deceit and hate? His seven soliloquies tell us that while the days go by he grows more cunning as he falls deeper into his madness. This fact might have lead Hamlet to believe that suicide is what he really wants for his life's course.
This project for Earth Science proved to be quite engaging. At first, I thought that the project was going to be long and arduous, however, being able to choose my topic for the project actually helped in galvanizing interest in it. Through this project, I learned a whole lot about the Jovian planets that fascinated me when I was a child. From gargantuan Jupiter, ringed Saturn, peculiar Uranus, and stormy Neptune, I learned many facts that I couldn’t discover outside of Earth Science. I learned many facts like how the Jovian planets got their colors, and whether or not Gas Giants are solely made of gas. I enjoy the fact that we are able to choose what we want to research about, choosing what interests us the most. Thanks to this project, I feel that I know just a bit more about the vast amount of knowledge of our Universe.
Hamlet also shows that he is clever in this play. One way that Hamlet's cleverness is shown in this play is the way that he reacts after he sees his father's ghost for the first time. He makes Horatio and Marcellus swear that they did not see the ghost and to also swear that they will not reveal that Hamlet is only pretending to be insane. You can also see how Hamlet is clever in his plan to reveal Claudius as his father's murderer. In his plan the players that are visiting the castle will reenact the murder of Hamlet's father in the lines that Hamlet has written for them. This plan works because when Claudius sees the reenactment he runs out of the room in fright, revealing to Hamlet and everyone else that Claudius did indeed murder Hamlet I.
In 1962, writer Mark Esslin took pleasure in composing the novel Theatre of the Absurd and quickly became a major influence on the works of many inspired writers. Esslin subsequently made ensuing plays and stories which focused on nonspecific existentialist concepts and which did not remain consistent with his ideas, rejecting the “narrative continuity and the rigidity of logic.” As a result, the protagonist of these stories is often not capable of containing himself within his or her disorderly society (“Theatre”). Writer Albert Camus made such an interpretation of the “Absurd” by altering the idea into his view of believing it is the rudimentary absence of “reasonableness” and consistency in the human personality. Not only does Camus attempt to display the absurd through studied deformities and established arrangements; he also “undermines the ordinary expectations of continuity and rationality” (“The Theatre”). Camus envisions life in his works, The Stranger and “The Myth of Sisyphus,” as having no time frame or significance, and the toiling endeavor to find such significance where it does not exist is what Camus believes to be the absurd (“Albert”).