Jean-Paul Sartre

[Ataraxis]

Back in university, I was introduce to JPS as a philosopher, and I can't say I was particularly impressed. He's kind of a Marxist, you see, and this isn't something I usually jive with. Later on, the circumstances were such that I was reintroduced to him as a playwright through "The Flies," a revisit of the Greek story of Electra.

 

It came in a collection of his plays [No Exit and Three Other Plays], and I've found I've really enjoyed his literary work. The Flies is, as mentioned, akin to the Greek classics such as Electra, The Odyssey, and The Theban Plays.

 

The Titular 'No Exit' spawned his most famous line, "Hell is other people," and appeals greatly to my misanthropic side.

 

Also included is 'The Respectful Prostitute,' largely a commentary on American racism, but one that I found to have off-beat and occasionally hilarious delivery.

 

The real gem from this for me, though, was 'Dirty Hands.' It's a politically charged crime drama with an almost constant underlying humour. A lot of the jokes require you to get a sense of the characters, which may not fully arrive until the fifth (of seven) act. Being relatively short (it's the longest of the four plays here, but in comparison to many works, it's still not particularly long), it doesn't ask you to go back and reread anything, but rather, it continually alters your perspective on what you've already read.

 

I don't suppose anyone else is familiar with/has enjoyed his works?

Edited August 23, 2011 by Ataraxis

[SUMERIAN BLOOD GOD]

I am not familiar with his literary works, no. I'm not even that familiar with his philosophical contributions. I'll see what I can do to check these plays out though.

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

I am familiar with his work, yes. You probably knew that, already.

[exogen]

I have not read his literary work but have read things about them as it pertained to philosophical issues. I own his book Being and Nothingness, which in my opinion is misunderstood. While much of Sartre's work was reactionary to the devistation of brutal realities of WW2 he makes some profound points that I think many miss.

 

When it comes to existentialism there tends to be a stigma that it amounts to a kind of mood and images of french people philosophizing in cofee shops come to mind, but this is just a sterotype. In reality existentialism and phenomenology actually is probably the most important philosophy(ies) in recent contemporary thought.

 

Sarte's own brand of existentialism is very interesting when one really reads books like Being and Nothingness. Pararlles between his philosophy and eastern thought, particularly certain forms of Bhudhism and Taoism are striking.

 

My own philosophy is very existential, which is why I admire his work on phenomenology.

[Ataraxis]

I am familiar with his work, yes. You probably knew that, already.

Yeah, you've got a pretty wide variety of literature covered. I don't suppose you've seen enough to recommend anything else he's written, based on my opinion of these? A few of his novels sound interesting and I plan to get around to them at some point, but if there's anything you'd vouch for, it'd move up the list.

 

Also, this wasn't even staged to be a discussion about philosophy.

 

Going beyond this, it was actually my intention to avoid Sartre's philosophical works. I mentioned them in passing to signify that I'm aware of them, but that they're not what I'm recommending here (or anywhere else). To be fair, Sartre himself had a different opinion on literature, and would probably prefer a focus on his overall message. I read for my pleasure and growth, though. Not the writer's.

 

I suggest these plays because they're short, entertaining, and should be easily accessible. Wikiped actually provides a link for the script of 'No Exit', if you want to give that a shot. It's got some annoying commentary, but it's clearly separated from the work itself.

Edited August 24, 2011 by Ataraxis

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

actually Keanu, I do have some recommendations. Last time I read 'No Exit and Three Other Plays' No Exit was my favorite. Um iirc 'Age of Reason' was good too. I'm drawing a blank right now on other books of his I liked. Along that line of thought, though, peep 'Foam of the Daze' by Boris Vian. That book pokes some fun of Sartre, and more to the point, makes fun of Sartre fanboys in pretty hilarious fashion. That and the book is weird as shit. Either way it's a great read and I think it'll give you an interesting perspective on the Sartre stuff you've read so far.

 

Nah exogen, they got a point. Keanu is just asking if people know about his plays and stuff, not discussion of existentialism. I mean he himself even said it in a post a little after Vincent did.

[Ataraxis]

PD hit it on the head. I'm avoiding his philosophical side because I'm not interested in this turning into some sort of debate.

 

I have heard that on some ut00b video or TV show where someone with bad English calls it Wikiped. I'm going to assume you stole it from there.

It could be. I'm not sure when I started doing it exactly, so it'd be hard to pinpoint why I picked up the habit. It's been at least a couple years, and I normally restrict it to chat/IM. 5 AM will do weird things to a guy though.

 

EDIT: Well after the fact, I can say my influence was probably Quarter Life: Halfway to Destruction.

 

Along that line of thought, though, peep 'Foam of the Daze' by Boris Vian. That book pokes some fun of Sartre, and more to the point, makes fun of Sartre fanboys in pretty hilarious fashion. That and the book is weird as shit. Either way it's a great read and I think it'll give you an interesting perspective on the Sartre stuff you've read so far.

That sounds pretty rad. I like it when writers/thinkers take jabs at their peers. Voltaire was pretty guilty of it, and his stuff was a lot of fun. The short quips I'm seeing in library and bookstore descriptions make it sound bonkers. Definitely going on the short list.

 

exogen, If you like Sartre, then I definitely think you should read some of his stories. You should get your philosophical phix and a good chuckle at the same time.

Edited October 8, 2011 by Ataraxis

[YUNG MASTERLESS GLENCOUR]

Candide is one of my favorite books.

 

Foam is a tricky read, one of those books you might have to read a few passages repeatedly to get. He has this weird style where you think he's speaking in metaphors and stuff but he's not, which makes the whole scene insane. Reading the introduction or extra info is really helpful with those kinds of books.

[Ataraxis]

I'm in the money, I'm rollin' in dough;

City of gold. This is El Dorado!

 

Dough and 'do. Fkin redundancy.

 

I actually have a natural tendency to read things a couple times over anyway, so it sounds like a good fit.

[exogen]

Yeah I think I always wanted to read no exit.

[Shirtless Crackhead]

If I read novels I would probably check this dude out, he was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964 and refused it.

 

It is not the same thing if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize winner. A writer must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most honorable form.