The Fall was written by Albert Camus and is a story of guilt
and hypocrisy. This story is narrated by Jean-Baptiste. His life is changed
after he remembers letting a woman drown and not having turned around to help
her. Guilt and judgment play a large role in this story because Jean-Baptiste
uses confessions as a way to release his guilt and form judgments of others.
After becoming the “pope” at a Nazi prison camp he uses his power to avoid the
demons he faces from his past by shinning light on the judgment of others. This
truly shows how hypocritical Jean-Baptiste is. This reminds me of Troubling
Confessions by Brooks because Jean-Baptiste is forcing others into seeming
wrong for things even if it is not necessary. He even states that every man is a
murderer. The Fall is a story that shows how power is used to find truth, and
it is seen in almost all previous readings that power is essential to uncover
truth. Although he is using his obligations as the “pope” while imprisoned to
lose the guilt felt for his repressed memories of this woman who drown, he is
unsuccessful because he is incapable of change. This is proven when he drinks
the water of a dying man in order to secure his survival. The story of The Fall
shows guilt, power, hypocrisy, judgment, and truth.
-Sarah I completely agree on your view of how Jean Baptiste remains hypocritical till the very end. He knows that even if he did have the chance to repeat that night on the bridge, he would not have saved that woman.
ReplyDeleteThus we see how he used "confessing" as a means of gaining trust and power over others so he could judge them, and not as a way of absolving his own guilt. This is in accordance with Brook's view on how confessions are carried out because a person desires guilt, and we see how Jean Baptiste relieves his guilt in the book.