On The Irrational Resistance In Samuel Beckett’s Murphy

Samuel Beckett(1906-1989), a renowned Irish writer, enjoyed a considerable celebrity of the 20 th literary circles. Murphy was Beckett’s first important novel written at the eve of the World War II which was published in 1938. Through the analysis of hero’s madness image, this paper intends to reveal the psychological dilemma and spiritual crisis of underclass individuals oppressed by the society, which was apparently orderly but in fact was besieged on all sides in the 20 th century.The French Philosopher Michel Foucault(1926-1984) is the leader of post-modernism. In his "Madness and Civilization", Foucault puts forward that the history of madness, which is not just madness itself but about how the madness was controlled by reason. In Foucault’s eyes, the conflicts of reason and madness have brought the hidden danger to humans. With human’s spiritual alienation brought by rationality, the rationalism as the positive forces brings human beings the opposite influence and makes human fall into a confused state for human beings. Foucault’s theory redefines the rationality. In Foucault’s views, the dominant rational discourse has caused lots of people in a speechless condition and presents a state of madness. This madness is not a real mental illness, but a resistance of marginalized dilemma. Combining with the social and historical context, starting from Foucault’s theory, this thesis focuses on the psychological dilemma and spiritual crisis of Murphy, and provides us a new perspective of further understanding of the relationship between rights and subject.Focusing on the protagonist Murphy’s spiritual predicament, this thesis analyzes from three dimensions of “self-imprisonment”, “self-resistance”, and “self-salvation”, aiming at exposing the spiritual condition of British ruling class during the peculiar transitional social period, and trying to discuss the connotation of irrationality under the power of social rationality, which endows a more profound understanding of sociology. In the Introduction part, a literature review about this novel is made and the systematical introduction to the madness theory is put forward, then there are three questions: What kind of social condition at that time is reflected by Murphy’s self-imprisonment? What influence does the social change have on human’s mental domain? What is the way of Murphy’s resistance to society? How is the social context of cultural connotation through the resistance of the work? What is Beckett’s writing purpose? What is the significance of Murphy’s death? Chapter one mainly discusses from Murphy’s self-imprisonment perspective, and reveals the hidden social reasons behind the madness and individual’s choices. Murphy was situated in a marginalized speechless condition because of his long living in a deprivation and depressed society. He escapes from the outer world through the way of self-resistance and then to encounter the predicament which he faces. Murphy is in a dilemma because of the various social realities. Chapter two is about Murphy’s resistance to the rational world. Murphy has to submit himself to the social community and tries to pursue a balanced way of life. Though, the cold and strong world doesn’t embrace him, instead of pushing him to the despair edge. Murphy begins to resist the mechanical world through the way of escape and deception, and he also doubts himself. Chapter three explains that Murphy’s self-salvation. Murphy tries to reconstruct himself in the mental patient, gains his discourse power and realizes self-salvation. He made a great struggle and made a finally resistance by way of death and searches for self-emancipation.Finally, the conclusion of this thesis not only answers the above questions, but also emphasizes that the reason of Murphy’s madness is the result of invisible power under the complex society, not just personal factors. Murphy’s crazy personality in the alienated society causes his losing in his spiritual labyrinth and his inability to feel the sense of belonging. The character of Murphy reflects the conflicted reality between the rationality and irrationality, and mirrors his desire to communicate with others. Murphy’s character is Beckett’s challenge to the power of leading rational society, which arouses our reconsideration and attention to human subject. The absolute social rights lead to human’s inability to escape from the discipline of power discourse. Madness is just a kind of unavailing struggle. It is not the lack of rationality, but the excessive rationality. Beckett warns that we should treat madness friendly, which reveals that the ideological emancipation is a call of times during the World War II periods.