This article explores the concept of «War» in J. P. Sartre's novel «Postponement». The author refers to the concept of the concept and considers it in the context of the concepts of other scientists. Special attention in this work is paid to the image of war in the work under consideration. The purpose of the article is to consider ways of representing the concept of «War» in an existential novel, taking into account the peculiarities of the individual author's picture of the world. The paper analyzes the linguistic personalities of the characters and the author, as well as their attitude to the socio-political phenomenon under consideration.
Keywords: concept, metaphor, linguistic personality, linguistic representation.
The face of World War II is forever imprinted in the minds of many peoples. This terrible event is presented in different ways in school history textbooks, documentaries, historical and fiction books. Consider the concept of «War» through the prism of French existentialism using the example of the novel «Delay», which is the second in the trilogy «Roads of Freedom» by the writer Jean Paul Sartre. In the work, the writer shows a person not in an ordinary, everyday environment, but in special border situations generated by war and other disasters, therefore the concept of «War» in the novel develops the plot and is expressed through language.
In linguistics, the concept is represented in different ways. The study of the concept is associated with the names of such scientists as N. F. Alefirenko, E. A. Golubenko, V. I. Karasik, Yu.E. Prokhorov, V. N. Stepanov and others [1;3;4;5;7]. We, like S. A. Askoldov, we understand the concept as a mental formation that replaces in the process of thought an indefinite set of objects of the same kind [2]. Consider the concept of «War» within the framework of the individual author's picture of the world. The concept of «War» in the novel by J. P. Sartre's «Delay» reflects the author's attitude to this socio-political phenomenon: war for him is a moving force, a «borderline» state, a road. Through the metaphor of the path on which it is necessary to make decisions and make a choice, the author depicts the difficulties of the moral quest of the characters: «War is a long, long road, you don’t need to think too much about it, otherwise you will eventually decide that nothing makes sense, even the end wars, even returning home with a rifle. Long, long road» [6]. The image of the road is created through the lexical repetition «long, long», which emphasizes the complexity of this path. But J. P. Sartre does not protest against the war, but reflects on its problem. She, in his opinion, is needed in order for the hero to feel completely free — to make his moral choice.
The author contrasts the «fragile» city, and with it the fate of people, with the destruction brought by the war. Mathieu realized that he was not the center of the world and that his personal problems and experiences meant nothing in the face of the impending storm. Being a hero typical of existentialism, Mathieu takes the blow of fate that was inflicted not only on him, but also on many people like him: «Is it hard to feel like a nobody?... We are all nobody» [6]. War splits everything around into small particles, atoms, bringing with it not only physical destruction, but also moral ones, but at the same time the author finds positive aspects in it: after the end comes the beginning, which means that Mathieu, passive and lost in the world, will wake up from oblivion, will become active. Could this have happened if the war had not erased everything that worried him? Now he has a real problem, not an existential one. He is free, and his choice is to live, not to exist.
So, through the concept of «War», which permeates the message of the novel, we see what the relationship of J. P. Sartre to the events in the work, at the same time, in the author's reality, since it is a reflection on the external events of the reality in which the writer lives.
The author is an observer who evaluates the behavior of the characters, expresses his thoughts regarding certain events, there is even a feeling of inclusiveness, as if the author’s gaze permeates the whole of France, and with it half the world: «As for the war, we are all fighting: I raise hand, puff on a cigar — and I fight; Sarah curses the madness of people, squeezes Pablo in her arms — she is at war. Odette goes to war when she wraps ham sandwiches in paper. War takes everything, collects everything, it leaves nothing out, not a single thought, not a single gesture, and no one can see it, not even Hitler. Nobody» [6]. The image of the war is represented in the work through the inner speech of the characters and the stream of consciousness of the author. The narration in the novel goes both from the perspective of the author and the characters. Sometimes there is a parallel — the author's speech, the speech of one character, abruptly replaced by the speech or thoughts of another. This author's idea allows the reader not only to feel the dynamism and tension of the narrative, but also to feel like one of the heroes of the novel, because between the transitions from character to character, the reader also reflects.
Thus, the concept of «War» is a problematic center in the novel, uniting storylines, characters and even the author, who is a critic, observing everything from the position of the Creator, through linguistic representation.
The war appears in the novel in different guises, depending on the hero, on whose behalf the author speaks at one time or another. Despite the fact that Mathieu is the protagonist of the cycle of novels, in «Delay» we see a paradigm of characters who, in their own way, reflect on the opening doors before the war. They are all Matthew. This can be explained by the fact that the teacher of philosophy has not found himself, he does not know who he is and what he is, and all the heroes of the novel are numerous versions of one person. Daniel, a selfish person who harbors the beginnings of nihilistic views and resembles Turgenev's Bazarov in the complexity of his character, is that deep and mysterious side of Mathieu, which is rarely found in the main character, in several episodes. Marcel, once the beloved of the hero, is the female form of Mathieu.
As already noted, the war is perceived by the heroes in different ways. For most, it is a nightmare. But there are those who see salvation in it. For Mathieu, war is the engine of progress in the search for oneself. He is afraid, but tries not to perceive what is happening as fate. He believes that he can change his fate, he just needs to understand himself. Daniel craves war at all: «Let this war break out, let it come to tame my eyes <…> let it finally tear me away from everything eternal…» [6]. There are those who courageously look into the eyes of their loved ones, saying «I am not afraid of war», and secretly die of horror and impotence. And someone does not believe at all that the war will come.
In the system of characters there is a patient named Charles, he is an invalid who has not felt alive for a long time, and the coming war is nothing for him: «Tomorrow there will be a war, and something will happen to everyone. But not with me. I am just a thing» [6]. As we said earlier, all heroes are thought of by us as projections of Mathieu. And Charles, like the main character, falls into an existential crisis, but their main difference is that Mathieu can still find himself, change his fate, because he has legs with which he can pave his way. Charles does not see his future at all.
All heroes are united by the disaster that crushed them. The author foresees the parallels of their existence, as if pointing out that they are similar, and also illustrating that in an instant a war breaks out in the world, and people continue to live, unaware of it: «... at the same instant, Mathieu ate, ate Marseille, ate Daniel, ate Boris, ate Brunet. They all have instantaneous souls, filled to the brim with a little viscous pleasure, a moment — and she will enter, chained in steel, frightening Pierre, accepted by Boris, hungry for Daniel, war.».. [6].
So, through the linguistic personalities of the characters presented by the author, we learn their attitude to the war and their views on life. V. I. Karasik notes that «…when studying a linguistic personality, we reveal a system of concepts inherent in this personality; considering linguocultural concepts, we come to the characteristics of a person in language» [4]. With the development of the plot, the characters acquire distinctive features: cowardice, courage, dislike and even hatred towards other people, the desire for development, etc. opposition of different points of view, among which the author's one is clearly traced.
Thus, the aspects we have considered indicate that the war for J. P. Sartre is a phenomenon that provides freedom of choice. Everyone chooses to live or surrender, reflect and get lost in their own fears or rise above their own feelings and act, betray or become a hero. War for the writer is the reprogramming of man. She, like nothing else, changes, pushes to action. If nothing else remains, the war must be accepted and acted within the framework of what conscience allows.
References:
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- Karasik, V. I. Linguistic Keys / V. I. Karasik. — Moscow: Gnosis, 2009. — 406 p
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