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It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. |
| | Before the desire to join the Peace Corps or work in NGOs in Africa became a means to an end for many young people in the developed world. Those activities were an end in themselves. Many people with ‘consciences’ performed these charitable acts because they despised what they often described as the consumptive nature of American culture. |
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< | In stepping into the roles of well builder in East Africa, or volunteer teacher in Nepal, they became better than the culture they despised. Undoubtedly, many performed these acts without thinking about the benefits conferred on them. However, for many others the feeling of elevation was intensified with the humidity and mosquitoes bites. |
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> | In stepping into the roles of well builder in East Africa, or volunteer teacher in Nepal, they become better than the culture they despise. Undoubtedly, many performed these acts without thinking about the benefits conferred on them. However, for many others the feeling of elevation was intensified with the humidity and mosquitoes bites. |
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< | The exhaustion felt after a day of hard work building houses in Uganda with imported lumber was a well-deserved one. Their day’s work has a dual purpose. To show the poor Africans how benevolent they are, but also to show prove to people in the developed world that they are one of the few that can rise above the drudgery of material pursuits and lend themselves to others. |
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> | The exhaustion felt after a day of hard work building houses in Uganda with imported lumber was a well-deserved one. Their day’s work has a dual purpose. To show the poor Africans how benevolent they are, but also to prove to people in the developed world that they are one of the few that can rise above the drudgery of material pursuits and lend themselves to others. |
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An Exercise in Introspection |
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Most people do not consciously think of the motivation behind certain actions until they engage in some level of introspection. In Albert Camus’ The Fall, the protagonist, a lawyer named Jean-Baptiste Clamence in explaining his life-long propensity for ‘heights’, describes the joy he feels when he is above. In the physical sense, in his daily life, he enjoys the upper level of buses, and would prefer the life of a mountain climber. |
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< | This feeling translates to his practice of law. He describes how ‘the feeling of the law, the satisfaction of being right and the joy of self-esteem” work in tandem with his desire to be above everyone else. Through his good deeds, Clamence achieved more than people he describe as “the vulgar ambitious man”. This he believes helped him “rise to that supreme summit where virtue is its own reward.” |
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> | This feeling translates to his practice of law. He describes how ‘the feeling of the law, the satisfaction of being right and the joy of self-esteem” work in tandem with his desire to be above everyone else. Through his good deeds, Clamence achieves more than those he describes as “the vulgar ambitious man”. This he believes helped him “rise to that supreme summit where virtue is its own reward.” |
| | It is not clear at what point Clamence became the kind of lawyer that takes clients who cannot pay because he relishes in their gratitude. Did it occur before he became a lawyer? Or did it happen when he was already a lawyer and an incident in which he experienced such gratitude led him to realize it satisfies his propensity for heights? Camus does not tell us. |
| | Introspection that Leads to Clarity |
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< | The absurdity in this description by Camus lies in everyone else’s view of Clamence as the quintessential do gooder, but also in Clamence’s own understanding of the selfishness that lead to his ‘public service’. However, Clamence has developed a clear understanding of the reason why he is satisfied with his role as a lawyer. His satisfaction is drawn from the reaction of people to his good deeds not merely from the good deeds he performs. He describes as incident where he tipped his hat to a blind man after helping him cross the road. An audience is necessary for Clamence’s good deeds to bring him satisfaction. The wider the audience he can get for his beneficence the better. |
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> | The absurdity in this description by Camus lies in everyone else’s view of Clamence as the quintessential do gooder, but also in Clamence’s own understanding of the selfishness that lead to his ‘public service’. However, Clamence has developed a clear understanding of the reason why he is satisfied with his role as a lawyer. His satisfaction is drawn from the reaction of people to his good deeds not merely from the good deeds he performs. He describes an incident where he tipped his hat to a blind man after helping him cross the road. An audience is necessary for Clamence’s good deeds to bring him satisfaction. The wider the audience he gets for his beneficence the better. |
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Clamence gives us a different approach to understanding our decision to pursue a given area or kind of law. Clamence’s introspection begins with something simple, an understanding of who he is. He sees clearly the kind of person he is and how that speaks to the kind of lawyer he becomes. The starting point is not “what kind of lawyer do you want to be”, as that is already formed. It is formed from the kind of person that you are. The question “why are you in law school” is not one that often leads to profound answers and some kind of self-discovery. The answers given are answers that are clear in any other setting. Law school is a means to an end, what makes it particularly attractive is that it is a means to a variety of ends. It is tailored to suit the person who decides that doing good is the end, the person for whom doing good is a means to an end, and also the person for whom doing good is peripheral. |
| | COMMENT (Henry Ross): Tonbara- Interesting piece. I realize you have limited space, but I'd like to know more about the implications of the attitude you describe and criticize. It's not just that Clamence's motives are unsavory, right? Isn't it, for example, that someone dies because Clamence won't put himself at risk to save someone jumping off the Pont Royal? That peace corps types won't do something good unless doing it happens to give them a feeling of superiority? That's not just a problem of conscience or motives--that's a problem of real-world effects. Finally, what are the implications for you? What do you take away from your idea about the kind of lawyer you want to be? I'm sure we could draw a few obvious conclusions, but I think there's a lot about you going lurking in here but going unsaid. |
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> | Comment (Tonbara Ekiyor): Thanks for the comments Henry. In my opinion, Clamence did not save the girl jumping into the Seine because there was no audience to appreciate his heroic acts. Although the fact that he did not try to save her haunts him for the rest of the book, it highlights the absurdity in the fact that he thinks of himself as a 'good' person but did not try to save the girl. What i'm trying to draw out is the need to examine one's motivation for pursuing particular life paths. But before I go on, i'd be interested to hear what you mean by chasing the feeling of superiority is a "problem of real world effects" . |
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