An Analysis on the Absurdity in Amsterdam

【Abstract】Ian McEwan is an influential contemporary British novelist， and this article attempts to reveal his concern for the living conditions of modern people by exploring the absurdity in his Booker Prize-winning novel Amsterdam.

【Key words】Amsterdam； absurdity； death

1. Introduction

Ian McEwan is an influential contemporary British novelist， who won the Booker Prize for Amsterdam in 1998. In his work Understanding Ian McEwan， David Malcolm takes Amsterdam as “an account of contemporary Britain （or part of it）” （189）. The living conditions of modern people are revealed through McEwans depiction of absurdity， and this article aims to explore the absurdity in Amsterdam to reveal his concern for the living conditions of modern people.

2. An Analysis on the Absurdity in Amsterdam

In Amsterdam， absurdity is mainly reflected in the relationship between Clive and Vernon， the scandal of Garmonys photos and the death of Clive and Vernon.

2.1 The Absurdity of the Relationship between Clive and Vernon

Clive and Vernon are friends and also Mollys lovers. Actually， the relationship between the two friends who are also rivals in love is absurd， and its destined to break up. Clive encourages Vernon to strive for the editorship of The Judge when no one else supports him， visits him frequently when he is ill， and helps him out by lending him money. However， Vernon seems to have done nothing for Clive， and just sends his secretary to visit Clive when Clive is ill. Thus， there exists an imbalance in their friendship， and Clive harbors resentment for it. In The Myth of Sisyphus， Albert Camus mentions absurd rancour and holds its absurdity “springs from a comparison” （151）. The absurdity arises when Clive compares what he has given with what he has received.

As the editor of The Judge， Vernon intends to boost its declining circulation by publishing the transvestite photos of Garmony who is foreign secretary and Mollys lover， but Clive opposes the publication， which provokes Vernons resentment. When Clive seeks inspiration outdoors for his musical creation， he turns a blind eye to a woman harassed by a rapist. He tells it to Vernon who urges him to tell the police what he has seen. Then， Clive is annoyed and thinks he has mistaken Vernon for a friend， sending him a postcard that says he deserves to be sacked.

Later， Vernon is dismissed， and he thinks the postcard is gloating over his collapse. Actually， Clive sends it before Vernons dismissal， but Vernon receives it after his dismissal， taking it he gets what he deserves， which is “the comic nature of their fate” （McEwan 127）. Then， Vernon calls the police about Clives behavior， and Clive blames Vernon for disrupting his creation. Consequently， their relationship is at stake.endprint

2.2 The Absurdity of the Scandal of Garmonys Photos

Before Vernon publishes Garmonys transvestite photos， Mrs. Garmony gives a press conference in advance， clarifying Molly is a friend of their family and has taken some photos of his husband in a spirit of celebration， and showing them to the public. She severely reprimands Vernon who plans to publish them， and emphasizes he will fail as love conquers all. Thanks to his supportive wife， Garmony scrapes through this scandal of his photos.

Vernon could never have thought Garmonys wife would ruin his plan， and he even pays a high price for it as he is not only dismissed by The Judge， but also mocked by the public， which is contrary to what he expects. Actually， Vernon plans to ruin Garmony with his photos， but he is sacked without destroying Garmony， which is quite absurd. Therefore， there exists a “disproportion between his intention and the reality he will encounter”（Camus 151）. This disproportion engenders absurdity which originates from the conflict between Vernons intention to drive Garmony from office and the reality that his plan fails and he loses the editorship.

2.3 The Absurdity of the Death of Clive and Vernon

After attending Mollys funeral， both Clive and Vernon suffer anxiety about death. In Being and Time， Martin Heidegger holds that “death is understood as an indeterminate something which first has to show up from somewhere， but which right now is not yet objectively present for oneself， and is thus no threat” （234）. Clive once feels his left hand becoming cold and inflexible， but as that sensation disappears， he regards it as anxiety and a casual blast of fear of death caused by Mollys death. Therefore， he no longer regards death as threat to him. Vernon is no longer haunted by the numbness of his scalp and fear of death as these feelings are replaced by his self-righteous move to publish Garmonys photos. Hence， it is necessary to cancel their previous agreement reached out of anxiety about death that they should help each other end life without suffering when needed.

Unfortunately， their relationship worsens， and they blame each other and seek to revenge. Coincidently， they come up with a same method to avenge， pretending to reconcile with each other and intending to murder each other in Amsterdam for the sake of hatred and revenge regardless of the previous amiable agreement. The two former friends exchange a glass of poisonous wine simultaneously and in that way murder each other unconsciously. The absurdity lies in that they intend to kill each other， but the fact is that they are killed by the person whom they are eager to kill quite beyond their expectation.endprint

3. Conclusion

Based on the above analysis， it can be found that absurdity is pervasive in the novel as a prominent theme. The relationship between Clive and Vernon is absurd as they are not only friends but also rivals in love. It is also absurd that Vernon intends to publish Garmonys transvestite photos to ruin him， but he fails to destroy Garmony， only to be dismissed by The Judge and mocked by the public. What is more absurd is that the two friends previous amiable agreement to help each other end life without suffering when needed is turned into intentional and malicious mutual murder. In fact， the absurdity in the novel embodies McEwans satire on modern peoples living conditions of spiritual emptiness and loss of humanity， through which he expresses his extreme concern for the living conditions of modern people.

References：

[1]Heidegger，Martin.Being and Time：A Translation of Sein und Zeit.Trans.Joan Stambaugh.Albany：State University of New York Press，1996.

[2]Malcolm，David.Understanding Ian McEwan.Columbia： University of South Carolina Press，2002.

[3]McEwan，Ian.Amsterdam.New York：Rosetta Books，2003.

[4]阿爾贝·加缪.西西弗斯神话[英汉双语].贾斯廷·奥布赖恩英译，张清，刘凌飞汉译.北京：中译出版社，2013.

作者简介：马小繁，女，汉族，现就读于西安外国语大学英文学院2015级英语语言文学专业，主要研究方向：英国文学。endprint