Claire Deininger PHIL 4305.501 Dr. Amato Confronting the Absurd in Notes from Underground Camus The Myth of Sisyphus discusses the possibility of living in a world full of absurdities and the ways in which a person may confront absurdity in his life. If one is to coexist consciously with absurdity in the world, he will confront concepts such as free will, fate, and absurd walls that all affect the way he conducts himself during his life. Camus uses the story of Sisyphus to outline the ways a person may be able to live despite the presence of absurdity in the world, and in a manner that grants him freedom to act and think as he chooses so that he may escape the burden of fate. Camus coins this person the absurd hero (Camus 120). In Fyodor Dostoevsky s Notes from Underground, the story of the Underground Man illustrates how a person may confront absurdity, but ultimately escape it and conform to being an absurd tragic hero. In literature, the tragic hero is an archetype who in some way fails to be a hero. The Underground Man qualifies as an absurd tragic hero because he fails to overcome his fate and live a free life that challenges absurdity. The absurd is also apparent in Notes from Underground with Dostoevsky s concept of the stone wall as it relates to free will and the idea of meaning in the world. In Notes from Underground, Dostoevsky compares natural laws to an unconquerable stone wall that opposes the free will of the Underground Man. The Underground Man compares truths and the rules (or reason) and logic to the obstacles preventing him from exercising free will. In this way, the wall, representative of values
the Underground Man holds to be true, is an absurd wall. Camus describes absurd walls as any truths or meaning a person may perceive in the world that influences how that person acts. Camus likens values or beliefs to a wall in order to illustrate their restrictiveness on the way a person who acknowledges them acts. If one holds these greater truths or beliefs to be certain, he must defend these certainties, even if only to himself. Camus states, [man] must sacrifice everything to these certainties and [he] must see them squarely to be able to maintain them. Above all, [man] must adapt [his] behavior to them and pursue them in all their consequences (Camus 22). These absurd walls are only an issue to the individual that denies the absurdity of the world and adheres to certainties that he cannot prove. In this way, the Underground Man subjects himself to the absurd wall of the laws of nature as well as the wall of free will above all else. The Underground Man s commitment through his thoughts and actions to support the absurd wall that claims that free will is the most important thing to man, is what keeps him from living freely. The Underground Man believes that the pursuit of free will is why he acts the way he does. Holding this belief allows him to escape absurdity by imposing a meaning on his actions and escape uncertainty. The Underground Man recognizes that accepting the absurd is not easy, or without suffering; He even states, the more uncertain you are, the more it hurts! but he fails to see that his contradictory belief system is causing him the very pain he is hoping to avoid. Additionally, the Underground Man thinks he has overcome utilitarian rationale by deciding that his actions are free and because he often acts against his best interest, however in doing so, he has only replaced the concept of reason with free will, and is arguably no more freer in his actions.
Camus asserts that people are inclined to seek out a meaning behind our existence and want certainty. A world that can be explained even with a bad reason is a familiar one (Camus 6). This certainty in meaning provides comfort and allows him feel connected to the world. For this reason, when faced with absurdity and the lack of certainty in the world, people feel like strangers, isolated from humanity. Camus compares absurdity to exile or isolation in this way because people are most comfortable existing when they assume there is a meaning to life in the world that connects all people. Struggling with the absurd does not provide a comfortable existence. The Underground Man is most comfortable when he is alone, therefore one can interpret his self-imposed isolation as evading absurdity, not confronting it. In his isolation from society, the Underground Man is free to live in accordance to his beliefs and exist in inactivity. When he was younger, the Underground Man attempted to connect with people though he was repeatedly disappointed in the outcomes of his relationships. This attempting to connect with people and actively participate in the world is an example of the Underground Man facing the absurd and acting. Years later, the Underground Man resigned refrain from seeking human connections. This illustrates how the Underground man has failed to struggle with absurdity and has instead accepted his lonely fate. Ultimately, The Underground Man is able to justify his alienation from society with his belief that this alienation stems only from his own free will and desires. The Underground Man s isolation is the opposite of what Camus describes. His isolation is the result of his refusal to face absurdity.
If Sisyphus is the absurd hero, then one can interpret the Underground Man as the absurd tragic hero. Camus characterizes the absurd hero as one who is conscious, passionate, and capable of accepting and facing absurdity. Camus states that the absurd is the result of humans trying to find a greater meaning or reason in a world that s meaning is either non-existent or unknowable. To accept and face the absurd, an absurd hero must accept that there is no meaning to search for in the world, and then continue to act in spite of this conclusion. Camus states that Sisyphus is conscious, which is what makes the myth a tragedy. If Sisyphus hoped that when he reached the top of the hill his boulder would remain there, then one might conclude that Sisyphus is in denial of the absurd. However, Sisyphus does not hope for this as he is aware that his punishment is not a pathway to redemption and holds no greater purpose or significance that he must decipher. The absurd hero is a hero of action; He is, as much through his passions as through his torture (Camus 121). Sisyphus s punishment: to push a boulder uphill for eternity without the possibility of absolution is a metaphor for the human condition in an absurd world. The conditions of his punishment are not what make Sisyphus an absurd hero, but instead, he is an absurd hero because he recognizes the meaninglessness of his position, and still acts anyways. Sisyphus s actions through both passion and torture are void of inherent value. What counts is not the best living but the most living (Camus 61). If living is acting, then it is more important that one act, than that one s actions bring about a comfortable and happy existence. Camus s absurd hero is not a person who overcomes absurdity, since Camus does not seem to think this is possible,
but instead the absurd hero is someone who continually confronts and lives with the absurd. The combination of Sisyphus's consciousness and actions is what allows him to confront absurdity and overcome his fate. Sisyphus is empowered by knowing his absurd struggle is ultimately meaningless, and this gives him the passion for action. Camus believes that crushing truths perish from being acknowledged (Camus 122). Acknowledging one s pain or struggle is enough to render it surmountable. This applies to the notion of fate acknowledging that one is not destined for any particular outcome is how one can overcome his perceived destiny. Camus states that the concept of fate is a human matter, which must be settled among men (Camus 122). Fate is a concept man invented as a method to avoid recognizing absurdity and therefore only man can overcome it. With the example of the Underground Man, consciousness determines action (or inaction) and action (as the sum of all action in one s life) shapes perception of one s relationship to the world. The Underground Man fails to be an absurd hero because he is conscious, but instead of allowing his consciousness to propel him towards action, it often stifles him. The Underground Man is conscious of his position in the world and of his free will to act as he chooses, however he denies the absurd when he refuses to accept that the meaning of everything in the world is either unknowable or non-existent. He accepts that the actions of others in the world often do not seem based on rationality; however, he denies absurdity by assuming that people value free will over reason. He also believes that he could prove that man, above all else, values free will. This incorrect assumption is what leads the Underground Man to assign meaning to his
actions and the actions of others, which ultimately leads to his inability to face absurdity and overcome his fate. The Underground Man does not act freely and passionately. He only takes action when he feels certain of both his motivation behind his actions and the outcome his actions will have. The absurd hero is able to act without assigning a meaning to his actions or predicting their consequences. Because the Underground Man has been inactive for much of his life, he is disillusioned with the world. He acts with preconceived notions of the consequences his actions ought to have and is repeatedly disappointed when reality does not align with his expectations. The Underground Man partially accepts the absurd when he states, suffering is just as profitable for [man] as wellbeing (Dostoevsky 34). If the Underground Man reached this conclusion because he accepts no action has any greater significance, than this would align with Camus s definition of an absurd hero. However, because the Underground Man is a tragic hero, this is not the case. The Underground Man acknowledges that actions that bring about suffering are as valuable as actions that lead to well-being, only so long as the action verifies one s free will. The Underground Man often subjects himself to situations where he expects to feel embarrassed or experience conflict as a result in attempt to exercise his free will. The Underground Man avoids forming relationships with others or acting in pursuit of happiness because he cannot be certain the end result these actions will have. However, he can be certain of his unhappiness (bitterness, disappointment, etc); therefore, it is safer for him to act in situations where he anticipates disappointment. When the Underground Man acts under the impression that he is doing so only to utilize his free will, absolves him from having to assign his own meaning to his actions. The
Underground Man s inability to act without certainty is what leads to his inaction and failure to overcome his fate. Through selective consciousness and action, The Underground Man struggles with absurdity at times, but is unable to live freely and overcome his fate. The Underground Man has denied the absurd repeatedly in life by holding free will in the utmost importance and acting only in ways that support this. The absurd hero acts in the name of no higher truth and has nothing to prove which makes him free to pursue any course of action. The Underground Man is fated to analyze every action he takes through the lens of what he defines as free will. At the end of his life, The Underground Man has conceded his struggle with absurdity by confining himself to a life of isolation where he thinks himself to be the most free to do as he wills. However, because he has chosen to deny consciously the presence of absurdity in the world, he has actually limited his free will. The Underground Man represents someone who is not capable of living with the absurd, and demonstrates the ways in which a person may try but fail to achieve freedom in an absurd world.
Works Cited Camus, Albert, and Justin O'Brien. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. New York, Vintage Books, 1991. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, et al. Notes from Underground. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.