World Literature: Existentialism and The Wall by Jean Paul Sartre

English Literature:  World Literature

Existentialism: The Wall by Jean Paul Sartre 

Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes existence of the individual as a free and responsible agent determining his own development through actions or will.

It is not a set of fixed beliefs, but rather an attitude towards life. For the existentialist, the world is one in which human beings are constantly confronted with their own freedom; they are forced to do so to decide how they will live their lives, what projects they will pursue and how they will act towards others. We see five main existentialist elements or ideas of Jean Paul Sartre in his short story "The Wall", which are listed below:

1) Problem: Existence is absurd. Man is born by chance and dies by chance.

2) Solution: Man must use freedom, only freedom of choice can allow him to escape nausea.

3) System: Existence precedes essence.

4) The others: Other people are tortured.

5) Commitment: One must commit to one's beliefs and create meaning through their actions.

Analysis of Sartre's "The Wall" from his 5 Existentialist Principles: 

Jean-Paul Sartre's "The Wall" explores the problem of responsibility for the decisions we make when presented with unexpected results. The main character is Pablo Ibbieta, a prisoner of the Spanish, facing execution along with two other fellow prisoners. Civil War is faced with the choice of whether or not to disclose the location of one of his free countrymen, Ramon Gris. Although in the end Ibbieta decides to lie about his friend's whereabouts, it is obvious that Pablo does so for personal motivations rather than motives aimed at benefiting or hindering Ramon. It isn't until the results come to fruition, when Pablo realizes the serious mistakes he is making in the accidental release where Ramon is located. In Sartre's "The Wall" Pablo Ibbieta is responsible for the death of Ramon Gris due to the inherent uncertainty of outcomes and lack of conviction and consistency in the ideas he presents.

The outcomes that result from the ability to make decisions are fundamentally uncertain. Pablo had no intent to kill Ramon. Pablo himself clarifies the idea of ​​uncertainty in all outcomes and how one should take these considerations into account when making decisions when saying:

• At that moment I felt like I had my whole life ahead of me and I thought, “He's damned lie." It was worth nothing because it was done. I wondered how I could walk and laugh with girls; I wouldn't have moved so much as my little finger if I had only imagined I would die like this.

Here we see the first existentialist element, i.e. the problem, existence is absurd.

Pablo's life became absurd for him when he found out that he was imprisoned and he would die soon. Similarly, he is born by chance and dies by chance. Ramon was born by accident and died by accident.

Pablo himself presents a fundamental problem with making decisions based on a certain future results. If he had prior knowledge of the situation of the prisoners he got into, Pablo argues, maybe his life would have been very different in terms of the choices he would have made. As outcomes and environments cannot be perfectly predicted, Pablo in his ignorance must be considered responsible for the choices that led him to the cause. While Pablo may have even thought what he did was rescuing Ramon Igris by giving the guards a supposedly false address. Pablo should had the foresight to realize that no outcome could be perfect and exact predicted, certain space must be left for a considerable gap in the various resulting outcomes and sequences of events. So, one can only conclude that Pablo must be held responsible for the resulting death of Ramon as the originator of the decisions made.

Pablo's inconsistencies in thought and belief also contributed to the decisions that led to the death of Ramon Igris. Despite Pablo's best efforts to lead a "clean" death, certain realization that he caused Ramon's death, creates utter despair in him at the thought of the dirty life he has to live after release from prison. This exact lack of conviction shines through in “The Wall" when Pablo says:

"Tom watched him with mournful eyes, without the slightest desire to console him. Because it wasn’t worth the trouble; the kid made more noise than we did, but he was less touched: he was like a sick man who defends himself against illness by fever. It’s much more serious when there isn’t any fever.”

Pablo clearly shows extreme arrogance and condescension when talking about the younger prisoner, Juan. In light of all that arrogance, Pablo still couldn't help but go crazy at the result of his decision and exhibit the same behavior as Juan. Such a lack of conviction spoils effective future decision making. This fundamental fact in Pablo's inconsistency indicts him in the accountability of  accusing him of being responsible for Igris's death and of being able to make any decisions. Although the choices Pablo made led to a different outcome than expected, everyone is responsible for the decisions they make.

• He had a terrible fear of suffering, it was all he thought about: it was his age. I never thought much about it and it wasn't fear of suffering that made me sweat.

These lines spoken by Pablo in "The Wall" represent the second existentialist element of Sartre, i.e. the solution, one must use freedom to escape the nausea. Pablo uses the freedom of choice that prevents him from feeling sick while Tom suffered extreme fear and nausea. The recognition of mortality serves as a catalyst for the transformation of each of the three prisoners, (Pablo, Tom (Irish) and Juan (innocent brother)). 

"In the state, I was in, if someone came and told me that I could go home quietly, that they would leave me my whole life, it would leave me cold: a few hours or a few years of waiting is the same when you have lost the illusion that you are eternal." Here the narrator seems quite committed to the claim that an open and honest acknowledgment of one's mortality will necessarily involve an element of despair— loss of meaning. This is consistent with Sartre's broader views. But remember that Sartre thinks that this is the only way a truly meaningful life can arise. The "illusion of your being eternal" stands in the way of the honest recognition of your freedom, of the honest recognition of your own responsibility for your life.

"I wanted to scream and tear my hair out. But I gritted my teeth and put my hands in my pockets because I wanted to stay clean." This motif is repeated several times. I think it can mean a turning point where Pablo becomes an absurd hero. He decides to accept his situation and to react in a way of his own choosing. He has no illusions that he can change his destiny, but he does. He seems determined to stay true to his answer to this fate. We see that freedom comes with Pablo's acknowledgment of his mortality. Here we find the fourth existentialist element i. e The Others. Other people are tortured. But Pablo uses the method of ignorance, lying and a false image to avoid torturing others. He can't take it seriously anymore the 'authority' of his oppressors. Their instruments of oppression (whips, boots, etc.) seem silly and calculated. Pablo sees them as sharing his won destiny – they are in no position when it comes to death of any power. This leads him to taunting them moments later.

We must recognize that our "existence precedes essence." It is the third Existentialist element of Sartre, i.e. 'System'. Pablo in Sartre's "The Wall" is a depiction of a person who struggles to cope with the agony and anguish of the reality of existence.

Death is perhaps the most significant event in a person's life; although it is true that one may neverunderstand physical death in its full force, but the thought of death has always attracted human eings. "Death" presents itself as an idea that underlines the end of every possible presence or existence. Pablo experiences sensations such as cold, heat, hunger, bright light, gloomy faces, fear and agony, even as he stands very close to death. So the thought of death does not limit his feelings, rather it strengthens them. Existence and nature are best realized by Pablo when he is on the verge of his physical death. Such feelings open the way for new knowledge contributing to the evolution of a being; so his personality is not crippled death, rather the self feeds on it.

The fifth existentialist element is Commitment. One must commit to one's convictions, to act choices and creates meaning through his actions, as Pablo did in this story. Sartre insisted that although physical death is the most inevitable reality of one's existence, it is hardly a barrier to one's freedom. A person  never encounters his physical death, rather he encounters the death of thoughts, ideas, understanding and concepts. But such a death instead of limiting its own being, it opens up new paths to growth.

The wall in the story's title might be seen as a barrier or space that lets a being encounter events that can enlighten it. A wall surely separates life from death, living from the condemned, and the self from the other. But this separation allows the being to confront itself. The real meaning of death is contained in its metaphorical nature, where death refers to the constant process of degeneration of fixed ideas about life and self, so that the being can travel towards the path of "nothingness" and reinvent itself  from "nothingness".