The Conqueror Analysis

Improved Essays
Yes, I was bursting with a longing to be immortal. I was too much in love with myself not to want the precious object of my love to never disappear" (Camus 83). Clamence lives life trying to build up a self-image for him and greed drives him towards superiority amongst others. In wanting what he did not possess at the time, Clamence modifies his role as a judge in order to find more meaning. To achieve this, Clamence only acts in ways to objectify a person in order to come out superior without allowing negative judgement to come from others.
Employment as a lawyer, Clamence allows people to compare the job he once had to the idea of the Conqueror. The Conqueror is an absurdist depiction of a person who tries to find meaning in life through
…show more content…
Walking one night Clamence comes across a bridge where he sees a woman drowning. Clamence knows that the right thing to do at this moment is to save the woman who thought life was not worth living. But before Clamence acts he looks around to see if anyone is around to see his heroics. He selfishly does not act as he sees no one around and lets the woman commit suicide. The uncertainty that no one would be there to applaud or at least acknowledge poor Clamence is the deciding factor of this outcome. Clamence tells people his life story and towards the end he reveals his intentions that remain the same from the beginning of the novel. Holman writes, “As he delights in revealing at the end, the story of his selfishness has been all along shadowed by the desire to persuade his companion of his own guilt” (Holman 128). Clamence’s next action is strategized just like any game requires a person. Mainly on the idea that does not show any change from the time he lived in Paris. As the encyclopedia states, “The good for man is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, or if there are more kinds of virtue than one, in accordance with the best and most perfect kind” (Kraut). It’s clearly impossible for Clamence to exert enough energy in order to save the women, as his activities are artificial. Not one activity involving …show more content…
At this point being located in hell articulates what exactly transpired. In comparison of his past life to Amsterdam, there seem to be no altercations made since. The only uncertainty displayed with the entire move to Amsterdam is the new location itself, as the person Clamence remains and what transpires doesn’t differ from Paris. Clamence simply continues his way of living just with the addition of new substitutions. With the addition of these new substitutions, the real intent of Clamence’s actions even from Paris become evident. The encyclopedia states, “It is well said, then, that it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the temperate man; without doing these no one would have even a prospect of becoming good” (Kraut). Although looking at Clamence’s actions with face value, they seem to be moral actions. However this prospect of a man was unintentionally produced through Clamence’s real intentions and meaning in life. It’s just another feat for Clamence if he is able to objectify or deceive someone from the truth. Also, independently relocating himself to Amsterdam illustrates his own feeling towards his past actions. The oxford guide states, “Bad people...are in conflict with themselves; they desire one thing and will another, like the incontinent who choose harmful pleasures instead of what they themselves believe to be good” (Honderich).

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatan, 1517-1570 is centered around three Spaniards and their approach to Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula. Clendinnen weaves a tale of forced conversion, colonial power struggles, and mass torture, but she contextualized these horrors in a way that the rationales of the Spaniards do not get lost. However, the Maya side of the story gets lost with only one Maya figure, the resistance leader Nachi Cocom, emerges as an individual.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Imagine a world where there weren’t consequences to the decisions that have been made regarding the “discovery” of the Americas and the unethical treatment made towards the Native Americans. Would the indigenous people have more rights? Would they be more successful as a nation now without the involvement of the white man? Surely the answer would be yes, however it is too late to ask ourselves questions like that. This essay will look at two court cases described in Walter Echo-Hawk’s book, In the Courts of the Conqueror, a book that details ten of the most negatively impactful court cases in Unites States history regarding the treatment of Native Americans and how they are still being impacted to this very day by the rulings of those cases.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Reign Of Terror Dbq Essay

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Reign of Terror began in 1793, in France. A man named Robespierre had seized power after King Louis XVI was beheaded via the guillotine. King Louis was an absolutist ruler, who was to blame for the Reign of Terror. Also another big factor was internal rebellion along with outside invasion. All of this had taken it’s toll, and started the tragic event that was the Reign of Terror.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Studying Religion: An Introduction Through Cases by Gary Kessler and The Power and Glory by Graham Greene both portray religious aspects. Greene’s novel tells a story about a priest who encounters many religious issue while Kessler’s book gives information and facts about religion. The Power and Glory shows sacred scenes that include multiple types and functions as well as sin and mysticism. Throughout the novel these religious factors are seen through actions of characters.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Everyone can overcome an obstacle, yet so many fail in doing so. The ability to overcome obstacles make people stronger and more mature. When people see such occurrences, they get inspired to make a difference. Two stories that portray this are “Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou, and “Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie. Although these two stories are very different, they are also very similar.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In both passages “Biographies of Hegemony” by Karen Ho and “The Naked Citadel” by Susan Faludi, there are two higher institutions, which would be Wall Street and the Citadel whose goal is to “remold” an individual to fit their criteria. Each individual has a certain identity and presents themselves in a specific way. People are known to change due to influences on their everyday lives, which eventually changes their identities into someone completely different. In these two passages, it becomes evident that because of the pressures put upon people by these hierarchies, people unconsciously change and are shaped into new individuals while hiding their true identities. Any person can be completely stripped of their old identities by falling under…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Dubbed the Age of Imperialism, the 17th-20th century was a time of immense growth and expansion, during which the majority of European states sought to extend their influence and wealth through the expansion of their territories overseas. The promise of economic growth and prestige encouraged European nations to expand their territories. However, eventually the European powers turned on each other to enlarge their own empires. Imperialism began with the division of the African continent between European countries, and later moved onto Asia, where the main reason for colonisation was the extensive opportunities for trading. Briefly after this, European nations began challenging each other over territory which was highlighted by the dispute over…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neldon Ryan Hamblin Professor Robb Kunz History 2600 September 21, 2015 Compare/contrast Assignment A common theme is ever present in both The Legacy of Conquest by Patricia Limerick and The American West by Anne Butler and Michael Lansing: a profound feeling of responsibility by the authors to set the record of the west straight and to enlighten our minds with facts and depictions of the true west. They do this by using accounts from primary sources, not the fabrications of Hollywood or “John Wayne” that we are used to seeing. However, the books differ in explaining the origin of the romanticization of the west.…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Violent Disagreement Religions have a tendency to dictate a person’s life. There are millions of people around the world who not only belong to a religion, but their lifestyle is influenced by their religion. When a person has such a deep attachment with something, it is very difficult to for them to change their belief or love for that certain thing. One of the “easiest” ways to get somebody to change their belief on something that they’ve dedicated a huge portion of their life to is by violently stripping it away from them. In Chronicles of the First Crusade by Christopher Tyerman, he helps us further explain how Christians managed to reconvert Jerusalem into a Christian country.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While speaking to Montag, about the negatives of not trusting in conformity, Beatty states that Clarisse “‘didn 't want to know how a thing was done, but why. That can be embarrassing. You ask Why to a lot of things, and you wind up very unhappy indeed if you keep at it. The poor girl 's better off dead.’” (55-56).…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    His Promised Land Analysis

    • 1601 Words
    • 6 Pages

    “The right to hold human beings in perpetual and hopeless slavery is only found in the codes of barbarians and despots” (Levine 137). If this was the view of one Massachusetts’ congressman how did others feel about slavery and what did they do to stop the spread of slavery? Of course slaves fought against their bondage in subtle ways from within the perimeter of their plantation owners and their plantations that the slaves were forced to work on. Within Levine’s textbook he states that slaves resisted their masters or overseers by being clumsy, breaking tools, making the authority figure on the plantation explain the task multiple times, and slowing their working pace therefore the expectations of the slave owner were decreased from that specific…

    • 1601 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Rise of a Savage Leader In a group of people, there is always someone who has better leadership qualities than the others. The person with the best qualities will become leader but is not always the best choice or the leader that group of people needs. In Michael Korda’s essay What Makes a Leader? the top criteria a leader should have is outlined.…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Character Foils In Hamlet

    • 1374 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Character foils are individuals who parallel each other, but have some dissimilar traits. As these individuals are comparable, their differing characteristics have heightened contrast, allowing for certain qualities to manifest themselves more fully. Within Hamet by William Shakespeare, foil characters serve the purpose of characterizing the protagonist. This characterization is witnessed three times when foils are employed to highlight Hamlets’ indecisiveness, sanity and remorsefulness. While many aspects of Hamlet’s character develop through foils, one feature that is revealed most prominently through foils is Hamlet’s indecisiveness.…

    • 1374 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On November 22nd , 2015 , I had attended a play “A servant of Two masters” that played downtown Pittsburgh at the O’Reilly theater, the play was directed by Ted Pappas. He had put together a creative and intriguing play, having actors stay spontaneous and interact with the audience, therefore no parts would be found boring nor dry. All the actors had held up their end of their roles quite well, by fully disguising themselves as that character they were suppose to be during the entire play. In the play “A Servant of Two masters” is about a girl Clarice who originally had an arranged marriage but was called off due to her fiancé death, who was Federigo Rasponi of Turin.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley contains many well-written characters. The most interesting character has to be Henry Clerval. Clerval is well rounded because of his love for literature, relationships, and Victor Frankenstein. Clerval was written to be a foil for Frankenstein, but he truly is so much more. He is the perfect person and all of the other characters strive to be like him.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays