Why Is Circumcision Is Pointless

The story Circumcision by Pramoedya Ananta Toer shows that you can be hyped for something but in the end it all be meaningless. This story, written in 1969 shows how religious faith might be a way some people think they can find meaning in life, it is ultimately pointless. This story follows the path of a young boy who wants to be a good Muslim and goes through a major trial just to discover that it was pointless. The boy lets readers reflect on the meaning of religion and how meaningless it feels even after they do something religious. Also in the time leading up to a major religious event the narrator thinks more about the materialistic goods he will receive rather the spiritualistic side.

The boy in Circumcision symbolizes how people in

general are focused on material goods and one-upping others. The boy believes that he should “spend his life divulging in pleasure” because he is going to be more important than others after he is circumcised (Alonso 1). The reader learns that the boy, like so many people felt “taller, more important” than his friends (Toer 29). In Circumcision the boy only wants items that are given to him and only decides to be circumcised when his father brings up the topic.
The boy is circumcised just to find out that nothing in his faith has changed and the pain that he had just endured had no meaning. The boy learned in a painful way that “people’s biggest worries are meaningless” (Alonso 1). The narrator undergoes the mind-numbing pain of circumcision and finds “human life is in no way complete and fully satisfying because of suffering” (existentialism).
This part of the story can be compared to the book Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Catch-22 is an existentialist comedy following the airmen of the 256th squadron. In the novel Lt. Scheisskopf’s wife sobs “the God I don’t believe in is a good God, a just God, a merciful God” (180). This part of the book draws a parallel to the story Circumcision because at the beginning of the story the boy believed in a good and just God, but after his circumcision he realizes that it’s not a good and just God that he believes in, but a good and just God he does not believe in.
If this boy’s point of view was not shown and this story was shown from the point of view of one of the adults it would be just another boy coming to God through a religious ceremony, but because the person is actually going through this experience he is able to convey his feeling of pointlessness over the whole experience. This character’s experience allows people to question themselves and reflect on the things that they have done in life that are pointless so they can try to find a deeper meaning in life or just accept life as being pointless.