Symbolism And Imagery In Albert Camus The Fall

In the novel, The Fall by Albert Camus, there is a great amount of symbolism and imagery that is used. Albert Camus displays these themes through the main character and narrator of the novel, Jean-Baptiste Clamence. There are many times where John-Baptiste speaks to the listener about stories from his past. John Baptiste also refers to a certain situation that had happened to him, which we later discover symbolizes a huge part of the novel. When Jean-Baptiste Clamence is unfolding the information on his profession, which is a judge-penitent, he tells the the listener a few details about his past. There is one situation where Clamence was at a traffic light, when a motorcyclist’s bike stalled in front of him, causing a delay. “A motorcycle ridden by a spare little man wearing spectacles…” said Clamence (pg. 51). Clamence was frustrated and asked if the biker could move out of the way. The angry biker ended up striking Jean-Baptiste on the side of his head, knocking him down. This is an example of imagery because Clamence details the complete story of this particular incident. Another example of imagery that Camus displays in the novel is when he had Clamence recall a disturbing event in which a lady committed suicide next to him. …show more content…
He was on the Pont des Arts Bridge, admiring the view and feeling powerful, when all of a sudden, a burst of laughter caught him by surprise. “Taken by surprise, I suddenly wheeled around; there was no one there,” said Clamence (pg. 39). He refers to this laughter several times throughout the novel, however, in the final chapter of the novel, Jean-Baptiste finally reveals what it means. The laughter symbolizes judgment that he wishes to avoid. He states, “Now my words have a purpose. They have the purpose, obviously, of silencing the laughter, of avoiding judgment personally,” (pg.