"Given the existential idea of Existence precedes Essence, at what point in the book does Mersault finally make a choice that would give his existence essence? In other words, at what point does he finally become a person, an identity, a 'self'??
In my eyes, Mersault finally finds essence in his existence when he shoots the Arab. However, it is important to note their first encounter with the Arabs, when he does not shoot. During this encounter Mersault says, "It was then that I realized that you could either shoot or not shoot".(56) Here, he finally recognizes the existence of choice, and therefore, he takes his first step towards finally giving his existence essence. He becomes a self after he shoots the Arab because that is when he finally makes an active choice to commit to an action instead of being passive. By shooting the Arab, his action can be used to define a purpose of his life, which is what giving essence to one's existence means.
I really like the way you look at the choice to make and the decision made as two different ideas, or steps of becoming ones' own self. I had just really looked at the part where he shoots, not him seeing he had a choice. There are many choices in life that we don't acknowledge, and many decisions we make without even realizing we've made them.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this Kevin and think your evidence is spot on. I do have one disagreement though, I do not think he realized the existence of choice after the choice of shooting the Arab or not. I think he knew he had choices his whole life but he decided to just be passive and not make any choices. I think when he shoots the Arab he starts to change because he isn't being his normal self. If he was his normal self he would have never shot the Arab and just walked home and live his normal life. But he goes out of the way to go home, get a gun, and shot the Arab. This action proves how he is changing and his life can never be the same.
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