I don't know if it's simply because my research project was on Meursault and absurdism, but I can't stop myself from seeing Guitar as a bit of an absurdist. In the section where Guitar tells Milkman about the Seven Men and their doings, he says, "And how I die or when doesn't interest me. What I die for does. It's the same as what I live for" (Morrison 159). I'm not trying to say that Meursault and Guitar are exactly the same; but I think that they definitely have some similar beliefs. The language that Camus uses in Meursault's epiphany in jail is very similar to what Guitar says to Milkman:
“Well, so I’m going to die.” Sooner than other people will, obviously. But everybody knows life isn’t worth living. Deep down I knew perfectly well that it doesn’t much matter whether you die at thirty or at seventy, since in either case other men and women will naturally go on living—and for thousands of years. In fact, nothing could be clearer. Whether it was now or twenty years from now, I would still be the one dying. […] Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter. (Camus 114)
Both Guitar and Meusault are firm believers in living in the moment and not worrying about what happens, but there is a difference in their philosophies in that, Meursault believes that the world is just going to go on no matter what he does and Guitar believes that he has to change the world. In the passage above, Meursault says "in either case other men and women will naturally go on living--and for thousands of years" (114), Guitar remarks on this topic as well, but he has a different perspective, "It's not about you living longer. It's about how you live and why. It's about whether your children can make other children. It's about trying to make a world where one day white people will think before they lynch" (160).
There is another similarity that I think is important between the two characters. And that is the fact that Meursault shoots an Arab, and Guitar kills white people. Meursault is living in a colony where there are Arabs and French people, and there is definitely a lot of blatant racism; Guitar's self-proclaimed purpose in life revolves around racism. However, a difference that definitely should be noted is that, Meursault and the French abuse the Arab population, while Guitar and the black community is being abused. This difference could tie into the fact that Meursault doesn't shoot the Arab for any particular reason, and Guitar lays out definite reasons for his actions.
1 comment:
I agree--there is a kind of existentialism implied in the "stand" Guitar takes. He seems pretty aware that there's an apparent absurdity to the whole "ratio" idea, and yet he embraces it as a constructed "meaning" for his life, but one he's willing to live and die and sacrifice for. You nailed the most significant distinction at the end, though: while Meursault is not "a murderer" but more a guy who ends up committing murder more or less inadvertently, Guitar is killing for a "reason" (even if he's aware on some level that it's absurd).
(I've seen other posts that compare Milkman to Meursault, because of his general nonchalance and lack of ambition. Which is interesting, since Guitar takes him to task for just this lack of "seriousness.")
Post a Comment