The Ultimate Fulfillment in Mans Fate by Andre Malraux Essay -- Mans

The Ultimate Fulfillment in Mans Fate In Mans Fate, Andre Malraux examines the induce forces that lead individuals to join a great cause. Forced into a life of contempt, Chen portrays the man of action in the early phases of the Chinese Revolution. He dedicates himself to the communist cause. It is something greater than himself, a phenomenal concept that he has fused into. It is something for which he will give his life. How did this devotion come about? A combination of his personality, his interior life, as well as societys influence, molded him into a terrorist. Chen is self-destructive he is controlled by his religion of terrorism and his fascination with death. He is representative of the dedicated soldier who begins as a sacrificial priest (4) and ends as a martyr. After all, the ideologies of communism and terrorism were practically a religion to those involved in the revolution. An examination of Chens preceding(a) gives us an idea of how he formed his beliefs, and fel l into a state of isolation. At an early date, his parents were murdered in the pillage of Kalagan. In addition, at age twenty-four, his uncle was taken hostage and killed because he couldnt afford the ransom, and with no wife or children he was severed from any attachment to a family. He was practically brought up by pastor Smithson, representative of the thousands of Christians that were present in Shanghai, who gave him his Christian education. However, as he was devoid of charity, a religious calling could lead him only to contemplation or the inner life but he hated contemplation and would only have dreamt of an apostleship, for which precisely his absence of charity disqualified him (64). Thus, he was u... ...reams which take ownership of us because we give them force, but which we can just as easily deny (180). This is further reinforced by Chens idea that In the last second I have felt nothing of what used to weigh on me (192). Chen is the terrorist for the insurrection. His faith had isolated himself from the world instead of submitting to it. We have a personal shoot for connection, Chen is isolated until the end, when all differences are subsumed. Communism gives a sense of escaping isolation. For under this ideology there is a personal connection and a feeling of equality. It is the last fulfillment to live his idea, and more importantly to die for his cause - a cause that is much greater than the individual. In the end Chen becomes the bomb. Bibliography Malraux, Andre. Mans Fate La learn Humaine. New York Vintage Books. 1990