Assignment :- The African Literature

'Existentialism in the novel - 'Waiting for the Barbarians '

Name:- Charmi Vyas

Roll No:- 3

Sem:- 4

Paper Name:- African Literature

Topic:- 'Existentialism in the novel - 'Waiting for the Barbarians '

Submitted To:- Department Of English, Bhavnagar University

Introduction:-

                      AAfrican Literature is  history of Slavery, oppression or suppression, violence  and humiliations of their life. This literature is not for Entertainment, not for Aesthetic delight but such literature  Ddisturb the mind  leads to think about Humanity and so many other things. We can’t enjoy the narration of any text because writers  have no good memories to write then how can we expect that they write something romantic or anything else when their lives itself in danger or mental states are in trauma.They are suffering from Dominant power and live in fear. They  cannot explore their ‘Feelings and Emotions’ as human beings because they are not treated like as Human Beings.

 What  is to be South African writer ?

                    A Great commanding subject haunts the South Africans imagination, Yet this subject can also turn into a kind of tyranny, close, oppressive, even destructive><It means an endless clamor or news about racial injustice, the feeling that one's life is mortgaged to a society gone rotten with hatred, an indignation that exhausts itself into depression, TThe fear of one's anger may overwhelm and destroy one's fiction. And except for silence or emigration , there can be no relief.

  About Writer:

                        John Maxwell Coetzee  South African writer who is a novelist, essayist, translator and recipient of the Nobel prize in Literature 2003. He focuses on power. The novel ‘Waiting for Barbarian'  was published 1980. His philosophical depth and  stylistic brilliance put him as rival of Kafka and Beckett. He was born in Cape Town ,South Africa, in 1940 educated in south Africa and United States.

                     About the Novel :

                 The title of the novel is borrowed from C.P. Cavafy’s poem with the same title : 'Waiting for the Barbarians'. This text gives the most prominent voice to The Post colonial literature.  In the novel  we can find out the absurdity without name of narrator and without unnamed empire which  is existed without historical and geographical setting. The novel is the empire that.........

“Must expand, either by transforming the other, wiping it from the face of the earth”.

                  W'Waiting For the Barbarians' is all about 'We' and 'Others' or 'We' and 'They'. Means it depends on existential crisis. OOne's identity and existence depends on Other. Novel raises the question of conflict between civilization and Barbadians. But who decides who is civilised and who are Barbarians? The Barbarians represents a kind of outside threat which seek to trample on the security and safety of the people of the empire><><There is also  the reflection of power relation between Civilised and Barbarians means White and Blacks. Anxiety and fear remains from the beginning of the novel until the end of it.

Ø    Power Relation :-

                    This novel can be read as power  EEexist between the  oppressor and the oppressed. Dominant power, sexual authority over women, and political power are there.  Idea of losing such power over other creates the existential crisis. Indirectly suggested that then there is no master slave relationship. How can we define one as 'Master'?  It is only possible when there is the existence of 'Slave'. So , idea of identity is depended on 'Others' rather than 'Us'. 

Civilized Society v/s Barbarian Society: 

                    AAA civilization is any complex society characterized by urban development, symbolic communication forms, and a perceived separation from and domination over the natural environment by a cultural elite. It has own different rules and regulations to follow and also have the power.

                        BBBarbarians are defined by civilized with the comparison of them. So Civilized society  Ddepict them as uncultured, savages and animals kind of things. So, civilized society gives the identity?&to Barbarian as "Other" in the society and make themselves as superior.

                        CCCivilized society do harm the barbarian with softness as Magistrate does in the novel. They uses everything with the name of sympathy , with the name of teaching culture or giving education and etc.MMagistrate seduces woman under the power and under the label of  civilization. Does he is civilized ? Borders, torture, sexual power and humiliations and pain of black people become the most important aspect to study the civilized society.

Existentialism :

                EExistentialism is not gloomy  term. It is philosophical term which is used in literature. Jean Paul Stare, Martin Esslin, and Albert Camus use this term in their work. Existentialism is attitude to see the life with new perspective and it's all about 'Lived experience' and Consciousness of Mind. Existentialists deals with the subject matters like.... Death, Meaninglessness of life, What is importance of God in human life , Interpersonal relationship which is existed and what is the meaning of all those things and so many others things which we all are doingWwithout any purpose in life. That all things are connected with existential crisis. 

            It is movement in which three things are more important like.....

1. Freedom

2. Passion

3. Individualism 

                        In this we find that existentialists reject the 'divine perspective' because with divinity immortality automatically comes. Existentialism deals with such questions like............... Who we are?  From where we come ? What is the purpose of our existence ? What  we are doing and why ?SSSuch question remain unanswered because it reflects with mystery and lived experience.  As human being what we are doing?><'Nothing' means we just kill our time  to wait our final destination - death only. Though  death is the ultimate truth of the life people can't accept it very easily because..

                  "Our instinct of living life is more powerful than Death"

 TttThus, Existentialism is all about crisis of existence and purposeless of living life without doing significant work in life.<><>But those who don't understand this they goes on living life happily and have idea of that "They are happy" as the myth of Sisyphus suggest that concept of happiness. Without thinking goes on to do action and make mind that "We are Happy."”””” 

“”"Thinking is not worst........&&What is terrible is to have thought."

  Discuss existentialism in the novel 'Waiting For Barbarian'. 

         WW When we  talk about  existentialism  how can we forget Samuel Bucket's great work 'Waiting for Godot'.   The play 'Waiting For Godot' stands for absurdityOOof life a& meaninglessness of life which we all are doing in our life until the  final destination of life - Death.  Title of the both play 'Waiting for Godot' and  novel 'Waiting For Barbarian' also suggest the "ceaseless waiting ". Waiting is always irritating  for Everybody.

    Existential Crisis in the novel 'Waiting for Barbarians' 

                   YYYes, I feel the effect of existential crisis or meaninglessness of human existence in the rational and indifference universe in the novel also- Waiting for Barbarians."  people of empire ,They all are waiting for Barbarians and in between they just killing time doing insignificant actions. They have fear to lose the power over peopleTTThey have fear of their own identity what happen with them  if Barbarians will come ? we read this text with  existential  theory as it has the aspect of absurdity of  life or meaninglessness or purposeless life which they are living. 

                  They all are in search of Barbarians though they don't know who they are ? Why they are waiting for them? Why they have to come ? %%When they come? or the most important question is Do they exist or not ? What makes difference to them if they (barbarians) will come? as Vladimir and Estragon don't know why they are waiting for Godot? Why he has to come? Does he come same pace ? such all><questioned remain unanswered throughout the life.  

Existence of Empire :

                The empire exist only in relation to Barbarians. If Barbarians exist or 'Other' are there then Empire gain power to rule over them.  Existence of the empire is depended on the existence of ?><barbarians. If barbarians are not existed then who know that empire is powerful or who say that empire has the whole power control. Means...If barbarians are existed then and then empire will be existed in the world. Many characters are powerless and then there is the idea of powerful characters,   In within the empire oppressed are existed and then there is the oppressor like Magistrate><.  

                        Magistrate lose his power and authority after coming of colonel?><Joll. Losing power and authority within the empire leads to think about his  presence in empire and meaninglessness of his existence. He also  loses power over womennn.

"The Empire fades; the barbarians remain."

                   VC Coetzee traces  psychological perspective of these oppressors as they become aware of the existential existence. The magistrate or people  claim on Women's body in order to gain power over the 'Other'. In the text  The existential questioning that all individuals are confronted with does not result in oppression necessarily.><(The existential Crisis of Coetzee's protagonists in Waiting for the  Barbarians and Disgrace p -14,15) Power relation in relationship also  describes the purposelessness of magistrate's existence  with extra relationship with barbarians womenNN.    

Thus , WWWriter expresses role of existentialism  in cycle of oppression, in relationship of having existence of barbarians, and also read through political  losing the power and authority to rule over "Other". They don't remain significant as such though significant is only illusion of them.SSSo, existence of something or any one  depends on so many things not only one.

Work sited :-

https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/18/books/a-stark-political-fable-of-south-africa.html