Outside the Realm of Morality
Man does not know freedom. From the moment man is born through the moment he dies, man abides by the laws laid down by society. Freedom is a notion, a term used by idealistic teens, a term used to describe a political state often equated with democracy, a term used by men and women to break off a relationship. While man may seek freedom, he will not find it.The Immoralist, by Andre Gide, is the chronicle of one man's desperate search for freedom. It is the story of his wild attempt to disregard the laws of society, the laws of morality, the story of an amoralist. His quest for freedom incessantly invokes the search for the authentic in man, for sincerity, and the conflict between unconscious life and conscious life. The hero, or, rather, anti-hero of this novel is Michel, a man whose brush with death gave him a ravenous hunger for life. This greedy lust for living made Michel seek out strength in man, it gave him a devouring desire for health (which he often saw in little boys). However, simply seeing health around him, being healthy himself, did not satisfy Michel. He was driven by a need to find the authentic in man, the sincere self, t
------------------------------------------------------------------------ In Michel's thirst for authenticity, he tends to seek out men much different than himself. He finds sincerity in the farmers working his land, takes a physical delight in their stories, their work, their play. When he discovered the secret life, the dirty affairs in the Huertevent family, he was beside himself in curious ecstasy. Was this the hidden self of every man, the truth behind the facade? Michel also sought answers from his friend Menalque, who perhaps taught Michel more about himself than he could ever have guessed. In dredging through memory, an aspect which certainly influences one's unconscious life, Michel is led to believe that memory is poison. When one looks at the past, one often gives it an airbrushed texture, a glossy sheen. When one returns to a place in memory, the only possible reaction is disappointment. To avoid this cycle, memory must be relinquished and rejected, one must live in the present. Michel also sought out sincerity in the streets he roamed at night, in the bars and brothels he visited, he fled from place to place, constantly se
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Approximate Word count = 772
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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