Existential Nihilism in Modern Literature

Transcription

1 Southern New Hampshire University Existential Nihilism in Modern Literature Fitzgerald and Hemingway s Search for Truth Ashley Henyan Literary Studies, LIT-555 Dr. Tahseen Basheer February 4, 2018

2 Henyan 2 One could argue that shiny automobiles, jazz, loose women and bootleg liquor drove America through the first half of the 20 th century. On the other hand, so too did stark changes in gender roles, breakthroughs in metaphysical thought, and of course, an unlimited economic potential coinciding with the rise of the American Dream (Library of Congress). Out with the old and in with the new. It was the essences of life, and under this umbrella, art and literature were certainly not exempt from the lures of temptation or visions of success. Authors like Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos and F. Scott Fitzgerald, just to name a few, led the American public away from traditional Victorian era values by incorporating the philosophies of Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche into their written work. But, what could a social revolution of this magnitude mean for the future of America in the years and centuries to come? Perhaps, all the drama and excess were just a surface-show to hide the emptiness, the nothingness that lies beneath. In the late 1800 s, Friedrich Nietzsche set forth ideas to explain the lack of truth and lack meaning in life proposing that no single truth exists (Pratt). With no truth, he claimed, there is no meaning, there is only nothing (Nietzsche). Today this philosophy is known as existential nihilism, and it is certainly one of the strongest forces driving F. Scott Fitzgerald s, The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway s, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, two works that un-arguably define the era. And, while their intent may have been to inspire change rather than to prescribe a doomed destiny, both Fitzgerald and Hemingway incorporate the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche, with respect to socioeconomic class, gender and regional perspectives, to strengthen themes of nothingness and death and dying in The Great Gatsby and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Fitzgerald strengthens themes of nothingness and death and dying in The Great Gatsby, in terms of socioeconomic class, through the development of the character relationship between

3 Henyan 3 Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. From the moment Gatsby realizes he is not good enough, financially, for Daisy, his ability to recognize his own reality becomes compromised. This results in trading his truth for illegally obtained wealth in hopes of becoming socially accepted among Daisy s East Egg acquaintances. In On Truth and Lying in an Extra-moral Sense, Friedrich Nietzsche writes, we do not yet know whence the impulse to truth comes, for up to now we have only heard about the obligation which society imposes in order to exist (Nietzsche 263). Gatsby endures these societally imposed obligations, especially as Daisy grew up in a wealthy family in Louisville, Kentucky. On Daisy, Fitzgerald writes, Her voice was full of money that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals (Fitzgerald 114). Gatsby, on the other hand, was a Mr. Nobody from Nowhere (Fitzgerald 124). He had survived a war, earned an illegitimate fortune, and bought a strategically placed mansion to host lavish parties all with the hope of, one day, running into Daisy. On the surface, Gatsby has it all but, this all is not his truth. This is because he never not even during the height of their love affair truly has Daisy. And, to Gatsby, having Daisy is the only thing that matters. Essentially, Daisy is Gatsby s perceived truth. Thus, just beyond the surface of the pages, Fitzgerald s readers understand that Gatsby has nothing, as when his dream crumbles, all that is left for Gatsby to do is die (Shen 2). Even Gatsby understands his own lack of truth, as Sometimes, too, he starred around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual presence none of it was any longer real (Fitzgerald 86). In, The Will to Power, Friedrich Nietzsche poses the questions: Whence does man here derive the concept of reality? Why is it that derives suffering from change, deception, contradiction? And why not rather his happiness? (Nietzsche 270). Imagine for a moment we could pose these questions to Gatsby himself. How would he answer? Perhaps in-line with literary scholars, Fahimeh Keshmiri and Shahla Sorkhabi Darzikol who

4 Henyan 4 claim, Gatsby has an absurdist trust in the impossible; but it is worthless (Keshmiri, Darzikol 3). For Gatsby, life only makes sense if it can be lived with Daisy. But, in the end, creating a fabricated reality based on material possessions does not make him happy, and it does not win him Daisy. In the end, living outside of his truth brings him only death. And with his death, Gatsby s reality becomes eternally nothing. Hemingway strengthens themes of nothingness and death and dying in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, in terms of socioeconomic class, through the development of the character relationship between Helen and Harry. Like Gatsby, Harry also lives a lie but for different reasons. While Gatsby s front of excess wealth is an attempt to run in the same social circles as Daisy, Harry s marrying for money shields him from having to face his own truth or accomplish his own dreams. Early in the story we see tension established over Helen and Harry s difference in socioeconomic class. Hemingway writes: If you have to go away, she said, "is it absolutely necessary to kill off everything you leave behind? I mean do you have to take away everything? Do you have to kill your horse, and your wife and burn your saddle and your armour? Yes, he said. Your damned money was my armour. My Sword and my Armour. (Hemingway) By identifying Helen s money as both Harry s sword and armour, Hemingway metaphorically depicts an innate duality attached to wealth. With the juxtaposition of the aggressive sword and the protective armour there is no accurate representation, nothing definitive, no truth for Harry or Hemingway s readers when it comes to Helen s money. Essentially, Harry sells-out his identity

5 Henyan 5 and dreams to live safely in the shadow of Helen s assets. He lives a lie. He knows this and deep within his soul, he is morally bothered by the lack of truth in his life. He even wishes he, could work the fat off his soul the way a fighter went into the mountains to work and train in order to burn it out of his body (Hemingway). Perhaps Harry chooses to live outside of his own truth because he fears, If he were to get out of the prison walls his self-consciousness would be destroyed at once (Nietzsche 264). Aside from pages of anxiety over life choices in the form of unconscious thought, Harry s moral dilemma over marrying for money yields minimal results as, From the standpoint of Morality, the world is false. But to the extent that morality itself is a part of this world, morality is false (Nietzsche 269). In his work, Ernest Hemingway and the Meaninglessness of Life, Anukriti Gupta writes, The Snows of Kilimanjaro describes the state of a man who having lost contact with divinity, peace and love returns to the original source of salvation and spiritual perfection, death (Gupta). Gupta is saying that Harry s death is a wakeup call for any man who has lost himself, for any man who has no truth. But until death, Harry continues living with Helen and her money in, the familiar lie he made his bread and butter by I love you, really (Hemingway). Perhaps more pertinent than this daily lie is the fact that Harry has no truth to tell. He had had his life and it was over and then he went on living it again with different people and more money, with the best of the same places, and some new ones (Hemingway). For Harry, even when he makes a point to change his life his truth remains tainted by money. Because of this his life, much like death, is meaningless. It is nothing. Fitzgerald strengthens themes of nothingness and death and dying in The Great Gatsby, in terms of gender, through his female character Daisy Buchanan. She drinks, smokes, lies to her husband (and to Gatsby) has an extra-marital affair, commits manslaughter and actively

6 Henyan 6 participates in its cover-up. But, even these atrocities are not what sets her apart from the crowd. Through everything, she remains completely detached from reality, living in an unbreakable bubble surrounded by her own invented truth. She is a, girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and binding signs (Fitzgerald 74), making outrageous statements like, I d like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around (Fitzgerald 89). If Daisy has a truth, her truth is money but even that seems unrealistically up for grabs by the highest bidder as, the inventive force that invented categories labored in the service of our needs, namely for our need for security have nothing to do with metaphysical truths (Nietzsche 267). In fact, as soon as she sets eyes on Gatsby s enormous home, Daisy s whole attitude on the possibility of re-kindling a relationship with him changes. That huge place there? she cried pointing I love it, but I don t see how you live there all alone (Fitzgerald 85). Perhaps Daisy s greatest testament to representing a modern woman is in her power over Gatsby. He lived for her, was defined by having her, and ultimately dies because of her. Still, her affair with Gatsby is arranged. Fitzgerald writes, He wants to know, continued Jordan, if you ll invite Daisy to your house some afternoon, and then let him come over (Fitzgerald 73). This was a sign of the times, in terms of equality between the genders, but it was also a sign of the changing of the times although not in a manner rooted by integrity or truth. That said, certainly its roots coincide with the origins of nihilism, which in its infancy, became identified with a loosely organized revolutionary movement (C ) that rejected the authority of the state, church, and family (Pratt). Essentially, any woman having an affair in the early 20 th century would have to trade her truth for multiple realities. Regardless, Daisy s identity, as defined by gender, is masked by her inability to live with truth. And, when Gatsby dies, her identity as defined by their affair dies as well. All that is left, is nothing.

7 Henyan 7 Hemingway strengthens themes of nothingness and death and dying in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, in terms of gender, through his male character, Harry. In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Helen, the main female character, is financially independent and a rich bitch, this kindly caretaker and destroyer of his talent (Hemingway). When it comes to gender roles for Helen and Harry, much like Daisy determines Gatsby s next move, Helen appears to be the party in control all while Harry doesn t even have a last name. This is a departure, to say the least, from Victorian era values surrounding gender, but it is also a testament to the existential undertones of the piece. Harry is a successful and admired man. He also has many traditionally feminine traits like being anxiety prone, indecisive, self-loathing and constantly second guessing his life choices. Above all however, he is destined to die without realizing his full potential or accepting his own truth. Hemingway writes, How could a woman know that you meant nothing that you said; that you spoke only from habit and to be comfortable (Hemingway). By depicting Harry s existence as scripted, Hemingway provides more than the inverse of traditional gender roles. He defines Harry s lack of truth. Anukriti Gupta writes, The themes like nothingness and the meaninglessness of life have played an important role in the works of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway reflects upon the idea that life is meaningless whether people realise it or not. Hemingway adopts this idea from the philosophy of existential nihilism (Gupta). With this, we realize Harry lives by no individual system of beliefs. He continually trades an authentic existence for wealthy women and a life full of money. In, The Will to Power, Nietzsche writes, In order to think and infer would not be proof of reality there is in us a power to order, simplify, falsify, artificially distinguish. Truth is the will to be master over the multiplicity of sensations (Nietzsche 268). Harry cannot master his sensations. He cannot separate his desires

8 Henyan 8 from his morals. He repeatedly sells his soul for money, living lie after lie. Because of this, even as he nears death, his truth does not exist. Fitzgerald strengthens themes of nothingness and death and dying in The Great Gatsby, in terms of regional perspectives, with the contrast of neighboring communities: New York City, the Valley of Ashes, and East Egg and West Egg. Only the wealthy live outside of the city, and even between the two eggs East Egg, defined by old money, and West Egg, defined by new money differences loom. Whether from East or West Egg however, to further strengthen the insignificance of these social stereotypes, Fitzgerald places the Valley of Ashes, the home of the lower-class, right in between the two Eggs and New York City. Because of this, it is impossible to travel from either of the Eggs into the city without first taking a glimpse at how the lowerclass lives. Looking at both Eggs together, the distance between Long Island and New York City is enough for many to assume multiple identities regardless if they are escaping from East Egg or West Egg, or the Valley of Ashes. East Egg resident, Tom Buchannan and Valley of Ashes resident, Myrtle Wilson, for example, kept an apartment, a second set of friends, and even a secret pet dog in New York City to accompany their affair. As readers meet Tom s mistress for the first time, Fitzgerald writes, She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye (Fitzgerald 23). Here, Myrtle fabricates her own reality, talking straight though her husband to her lover, as if Mr. Wilson does not exist. Nietzsche writes, Man projects his drive to truth, his goal, in a certain sense, outside himself in a world that has being a world already in existence (Nietzsche 270). Depending on their location, Tom and Myrtle project appropriately fabricated identities, eliminating any possibility of living with truth. With no truth, each individual existence has no meaning. When it

9 Henyan 9 comes to East and West Egg, false realities are construed and lies are lived based upon predetermined social norms. Although close in proximity, Across the courtesy bay (Fitzgerald 5), and having similar topographic features, East and West Egg, at least on the surface of society s fabricated reality, are far from the same. Fitzgerald writes, this party had preserved a dignified homogeneity, and assumed to itself the function of representing the staid nobility of the country-side East Egg condescending to West Egg, and carefully on guard against its spectroscopic gayety (Fitzgerald 41). Still, the Nietzschean philosophy has influenced Fitzgerald s art and thought (Berman), especially when after the last drink has been drunk and the band has packed up and gone home, not a single party-goer bats an eye-lash at Gatsby s death or attends his funeral. All the hoop-la, mystery and intrigue surrounding Gatsby s parties is merely the attendees attempt to search for meaning in a meaningless existence all while maintaining the status quo handed down through generations, the balance of power between the classes that dictates how people ought to behave. In The Will to Power, Nietzsche writes: Truth is therefore not something there, that might be found or discovered- but something that must be created and that gives a name to a process, or rather to a will to overcome that has in itself no end - introducing truth, as a processus in infinitum, an active determining - not a becoming conscious of something that is in itself firm and determined. It, Truth, is a word for the will to power. (Nietzsche 269) Because of East Egg s thespian-like anxiety over maintaining the balance of power with their lower-class West Egg neighbors, truth and moral values cease to exist. Essentially, the differences in regional perspectives, especially as related to pre-determined matters of class, mean absolutely nothing. The characters in The Great Gatsby are working out a dilemma of American philosophy. The existentialist whim is noticeable where his center of attention is

10 Henyan 10 self and cultural reminiscence as socially created (Keshmiri, Darzikol 5). Even as characters move between fabricated realities, the meaninglessness of existence persists, seeming to follow the un-accountable wherever they go, especially as they pass through the Valley of Ashes where the gigantic eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose (Fitzgerald 21). Although these all-seeing eyes watch over everyone who passes through the Valley in a (not so subtle) God-like manner, there is rarely an attempt to think twice about the morality of one s actions including manslaughter and murder. Even T.J. Eckleburg gives up or, sank down himself into eternal blindness, or forgot and moved away (Fitzgerald 21). In The Will to Power, Nietzsche writes, In a world that is essentially false, truthfulness would be an antinatural tendency: such a tendency could have meaning only as a means to a higher power of falsehood (Nietzsche 269). With the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, Fitzgerald assigns a lack of truth to God and a lack of meaning to the death he oversees, symbolically stating there is no truth, there is only nothing. Hemingway strengthens themes of nothingness and death and dying in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, in terms of regional perspectives, with the symbolic contrast between the mountains and the plains. While Fitzgerald employs regional perspectives to exemplify a lack of morals, and the lack of meaning associated with different social classes in society, Hemingway metaphorically represents good and evil through different typographical locations. In the case of The Snows of Kilimanjaro, the mountains stand for goodness, freedom and truth, and the plains represent an endless cycle of evil and confusion. Beyond the symbolic differences between the mountains and the plains lies and abundance of existential thought. Hemingway writes:

11 Henyan 11 That was one of the things he had saved to write, with, in the morning at breakfast, looking out the window and seeing snow on the mountains in Bulgaffa and Nansen's Secretary asking the old man if it were snow and the old man looking at it and saying, No, that's not snow. It's too early for snow. And the Secretary repeating to the other girls, No, you see. It's not snow and them all saying, It's not snow we were mistaken. But it was the snow all right and he sent them on into it when he evolved exchange of populations. And it was snow they tramped along in until they died that winter. (Hemingway) In, On Truth and Lying in an Extra-moral Sense, Nietzsche writes, this feeling of being obliged to designate one thing as red, another as cold, a third one as, dumb, awakes a moral emotion relating to truth (Nietzsche 263). Applied to the excerpt from The Snows of Kilimanjaro above, not only is the existence of snow questioned, but also the existence of the people, the breakfast and the mountain. Essentially, with so many self-determined truths nothing is absolute. Thus, as Hemingway introduces the idea that mountains symbolize purity, he also strengthens the compromised integrity of all who are attempting to define the state of the mountains from deep within the plains. This prepares readers for Harry s inevitable death, and perhaps more importantly, the lack of meaning to his life without it. Author Wayne Kvam agrees stating, existentialist critics naturally felt immediate kinship with a writer who recognized death as the only absolute a major theme of Hemingway s works (Kvam 154). As Harry contemplates his life choices, he sees a vision of peace outside the chaotic web of lies that drive his actions. This peace, because of the lies it surrounds, does not exist until his death. This makes Harry s pain, peace and life all meaningless. And, this meaninglessness, attached to Harry s existence, stays with him even after death as foreshadowed in the italicized passage that precedes the story. Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be

12 Henyan 12 the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai "Ngaje Ngai," the House of God. Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude (Hemingway). The leopard left his physical remains behind, leaving readers searching to explain the meaningless act of climbing the mountain. From this moment, Hemingway s existentialism and his rational view of life take shape (Keshmiri, Darzikol 4). And, in the wee-hours of his after-life, when Harry finally does reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, the insignificance of all he has done, not done, and pondered over during his final hours in the plains, is actualized as nothing. Friedrich Nietzsche s thoughts aim to define the absence of truth in society, and his ideas are quite possibly the backbone holding both Fitzgerald s novel, The Great Gatsby, and Hemingway s short story, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, upright all while both authors highlight modern literary ideals related to socioeconomic class, gender and regional perspectives. And although the darker elements of life in the early 20 th century certainly shine through both works, a flicker of hope somehow remains. This broadly aligns with Nietzsche s view that the lack of truth in man, society, reality and the universe will continually yield more nothingness without cutting off a possibility, despite negative undertones, for positive change. Likewise, the themes of nothingness and death and dying in Fitzgerald and Hemingway s work are not an effort to define man-kind s existence as futile. More so, the underlying message that existence is senseless and useless without a fundamental change in perspective oozes through the pages of The Great Gatsby and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. When it comes to existential nihilism in modern American literature, Fitzgerald and Hemingway are not alone. In commenting on common traits between famous writers and poets of the early 20 th century, Marjorie Anne Hollomon Faust writes, The greatest common elements among the poets and fiction writers are

13 Henyan 13 their uninhibited interest in sex, an absorbing cynicism about life, and the frequent portrayal of disintegration of the family, a trope for what had happened to the countries and to the family of nations that experienced the Great War (Hollomon Faust 10). Perhaps she is right. Perhaps the effects of the Great War did lead to a cynicism that led many to question the reality of existence and the meaning of life. Then again, it could ve been the unrestrained materialism of society [that led] to the collapse of all characters and society (Keshmiri 1). If anything, all the jazz that made up the early 20 th century certainly sparked American s interest in searching for a common truth. Yet, For truthfulness to be possible, the whole sphere of man must be very clean, small, and respectable Lies, deception, dissimulation must arouse astonishment (Nietzsche 269). Perhaps the existence of an infinite number of truths, or at least man s immoral tendency to devise such infinite truths, is what ultimately leads to the downfall of Fitzgerald s characters in The Great Gatsby all the characters except one: Nick Carraway. Nick has a unique perspective on the world. It is his ability to see astonishment in the affects deception has on the big picture that sheds light on a possibility of hope. This was Fitzgerald s attempt at a reaffirmation, despite all their glorious flaws, in humanity. Essentially, what readers see through Nick Carraway is the same message Nietzsche strives to imply. If we understand the world and everything that makes up the world through an infinite number of viewpoints, we will come to terms with our own truths as individuals and eventually, our collective truth as a society (Broccoli). Until that day though, we will remain stagnant, drowning in a sea of nothingness much like Harry who lived by a lie he should try to die by (Hemingway). However, Harry s incessant obsession over his life choices may have been an outright cry on Hemingway s part to remind humanity of the importance of living in the moment. In other words, Hemingway may be saying that the misery associated with death may not exist if one lives in accordance with their inherent identity, at

14 Henyan 14 peace with their own consciousness and, in-line with their intrinsic morals and values. According to Keshmiri and Darzikol, In Hemingway s vision, in order to be everlasting, we should find the meaning of life, live with it, and renovate this promise continuously (Keshmiri, Darzikol 4). Essentially, Harry s ultimate victory would be the acceptance of his truth in the moment just before his final breath. Much like in The Great Gatsby, death is a central force in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and death, or an impending infinity of nothingness, supersedes all of Harry s hopes, desires, and dreams even his fears. For Hemingway, this situation requires that we break all illusions and face the stark realities of life, that every individual be brave in his/her own way that every individual face his/her own death in order to live life with clarity, integrity, purpose, and meaning (Sanders 168). If death is the only truth, then perhaps not living fully should be one s only fear. Ultimately, this is what Nietzsche infers in writing, When one has grasped that the subject is not something that creates effects, but only a fiction, much follows (Nietzsche 269). Hemingway writes, Now he would never write the things that he had saved to write until he knew enough to write them well he would not have to fail at trying to write them either (Hemingway). Ironically, Nietzsche himself died before finishing "The Will to Power," a work intended to be his most important contribution (Rivkin and Ryan 266). This subtle allusion to Nietzsche s life in The Snows of Kilimanjaro resonates throughout the piece. And, as Harry nears death, he falls out of his fabricated reality and closer to coming to terms with his unconscious thoughts. There, with his soul exposed, we learn what both Fitzgerald and Hemingway may have intended in each of their respective works. Class, gender, region: everything is really nothing and that is the only truth that ever does, ever has, or ever will exist.

15 Henyan 15 Works Cited Berman, R. Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and the Twenties. University of Alabama Press Print. Bruccoli, M. J. Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The life of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press Print. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner, Kindle Edition. nd. Digital. Gupta, Anukriti. Ernest Hemingway and the Meaninglessness of Life May Accessed 6 January Hemingway, Ernest. The Snows of Kilimanjaro Accessed 23 November Hollomon Faust, Marjorie Anne. The Great Gatsby and its 1925 Contemporaries. Georgia State University Accessed 17 December Keshmiri, Fahimeh. The Disillusionment of F. Scott Fitzgerald s Dreams and Ideals in The Great Gatsby. Farhangian University Accessed 17 December Keshmiri, Fahimeh and Darzikola, Shahla Sorkhabi. Modernity in Two Great American

16 Henyan 16 Writers Vision: Ernest Miller Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald. February Accessed 6 January Kvam, Wayne. Hemingway in Germany. Ohio University Press Print. Library of Congress Contributors. America at the Turn of the Century: A Look at the Historical Context /articles-and-essays/america-at-the-turn-of-the-century-a-look-at-the-historicalcontext/. nd. Accessed 8 January Nietzsche, Friedrich. On Truth and Lying in an Extra-moral Sense. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Blackwell Publishing Print. Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Will to Power. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Blackwell Publishing Print. Pratt, Alan. Nihilism. Embry-Riddle University. nd. Accessed 17 December Rivkin, Julie and Ryan, Michael. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Blackwell Publishing Print. Sanders. JaimA. The art of existentialism: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Norman

17 Henyan 17 Mailer and the American existential tradition Accessed 17 December Shen, Jingnan. Different Themes Rendered with Similar Approaches A Comparison between The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby. Changchun University of Science and Technology Accessed 17 December 2017.