Hypocrisy in The Fall

Hypocrisy in The Fall

Generally, life is regulated by specific values and morals, such as sincerity, which requires one to speak and act truthfully according to their feelings, thoughts, and desires. Hypocrisy is acting contrary to this virtue, where one pretends to have standards, opinions, beliefs, thoughts, ideals, qualities, and feelings which they do not possess as a means of concealing their motives and feelings. The Fall by Albert Camus is written in the second person, where Jean-Baptiste Clamence narrates his fall from Paris (Eden) and his hypocrisy story while in exile in Amsterdam (bourgeois hell). Clamence, who in his former life, was a lawyer, struggles to decipher the meaning of life though he considers himself to be an ‘intelligent man.’ According to Camus, “we all have some degree of hypocrisy and that we use it mostly for our survival” (Clamus 5). Mainly, this is no individual that is perfect on earth. All persons have at one time made a mistake with some earning more than others as every human has their imperfections. At one point, everyone has done a wrong deed to gain benefits from the action.

Clamence shows the hypocrisy of the author in real life when he says, “not to believe your friends when they ask you to be sincere with them” (Clamus 11). Clamence insists on the deceitfulness of human nature, with him being a culprit of this deceit. His hypocrisy is depicted when he helped the elderly crossroads when there were people to watch him perform the deed. However, when a woman needed his help when there were no people around, he declined to assist her. When faced with a similar situation to this, he understood his hypocritical nature as he realized that his actions were pitiable.

Clamence modifies his personality to appear as a sincere individual as a strategy to enjoy the advantages by condemning vices such as selfishness to gain favor from people. “Men are never convinced of your reasons, of your sincerity, of the seriousness of your sufferings, except for your death. So long as you are alive, your case is doubtful; you have a right to their skepticism” (Berg 24). With this, Clamence employed phony acts to resolve issues that he may face. He uses hypocrisy when interacting with people and adopts a personality that is deemed suitable in a particular situation.

The hypocrisy of Clamence is also brought out when he states, “The question is how to slip through and, above all, to elude judgment. It is a matter of dodging judgment, of avoiding being forever judged without having a sentence pronounced” (Clamus17). The statement denotes how Clamence takes no heed to change his unethical ways but alters his methods to continue judging others. One of the strategies is playing the role of ‘Satan,’ where he infers to Amsterdam as hell, and he is lying in wait. He also condemns the modernized European man and likens the streets of Amsterdam to hell. His inference to him being the devil and his hypocritical behavior comes from the guilt of letting a young woman drown without helping her when she pleaded him for assistance and his inherent self-serving behavior created by the fact that he is a lawyer from Paris. He notes that his hypocritical behavior helped him rise above the social norms for some years, “Whether ordinary or not, it served for some time to raise me and I sored for a period of years…. I was at ease in everything but at the same time satisfied with nothing” (Clamus 21). Mainly, this denotes that Clamence was aware of his hypocrisy and how it made him feel despite the glory.

All persons criticize hypocritical people as no one feels happy when cheated on or viewed as having two faces. However, no one can fully admit that they have never acted hypocritical or judged another person. This concept is supported by Clamence when he says, “that’s the way man is. He has two faces. He cannot love without self-love” (Clamus 13). According to Clamence, hypocrisy is a way of life, and everybody is a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is a form of survival for humans. Clamence points out how, when people are under pressure, they cheat, lie, or act in a way they would never have considered in normal circumstances. People only act based on their true self when faced with scary events that can change our lives drastically. It is a basic instinct for people to do horrible things that will ultimately benefit them though they regret their actions later. Basic instinct requires humans to survive and seek power at all costs even at the expense of others as the latter transforms people, making them appealing to the masses. Albert Camus was not wrong when he said that ‘we are all hypocrites.’

However, there are different types of hypocrites what an individual lies about groups them to what kind of hypocrite they are. The first group believes in white lies, where they try to avoid hurting another person’s feelings. Hypocrites are also separated by their abilities to own their mistakes and the realization that they are not perfect. Hypocrites such as Clamence before he experienced ‘the fall’ are at the lowest group as they fail to accept their mistakes while continuing to lie to themselves. This group continues to live in their own world, where they lie to people. Many hypocrites may experience ‘the fall’ just like Clamence did despite living a life full of lies. They later realize they are not perfect as they had earlier presumed and slowly figure out their true selves. They may then realize their mistakes and come to terms with their imperfections. Clamence discovers his true self when stating, “What does it matter, after all, if by humiliating one’s mind, one succeeds in dominating everyone? I discovered myself, sweet dreams of oppression” (Clamus 31). Mainly, this was the main turning point of the fall when he accepted his reality and embraced his truth while living his real life.

In retrospect, Clamence in his hypocrisy, does everything in his power to avoid inflicting judgment on himself while judging other people. Through these actions, he becomes a judge-penitent to humankind. After his fall from Paris to bourgeois hell, Amsterdam, he continues with his previous ways and does not seek redemption. Clamence is not in a position to impose a moral judgment on other people as he is flawed. When faced with a dilemma, he quickly discovers that he is neither ethical nor moral. His pride leads to his downfall, precipitating a change in him from being a judge-penitent, hypocritical, lying individual.