The Fall

Clamence often uses contradiction and irony while communicating. What is he able to communicate in this way instead of talking more straightforwardly? Cite an example from the text where he uses irony or describes something in a contradictory way. What does this literary device bring to the story and his character?

Do you think Clamence is telling the truth or lying about his faulty memory? Why? Why might Camus have made the truth ambiguous?

Camus chose to narrate in first-person direct address to highlight Clamence’s alienation and egotism. How might he have explored other themes and aspects of the novel if he wrote the novel from a different perspective? Choose one event or passage in the novel and consider how it could be explored differently from another perspective, such as third- or first-person narration.

The theft of the Just Judges is an actual world event, though an obscure one compared to the other real-world events referenced in the novel. Why do you think Camus chose to include the Just Judges and only reveal the panel at the end of the novel?

Some scholars hesitate to classify The Fall as a novel due to its lack of a central narrative and conflict. If you had to classify The Fall as something else, what would it be? A collection of monologues? A philosophical essay? Explain your answer by discussing what you think constitutes a novel.

Camus relies heavily on references to Dante’s Inferno. What does Dante’s version of hell bring to his work that a more general reference to the Christian hell would not?

What is the significance of Clamence uttering, through his friend’s mouth, the final lines of the novel? Why does he not claim his words as his own? The novel ends abruptly without explaining this scene. What do you think is happening?

Clamence makes allusions to historical and literary figures throughout The Fall, from Lohengrin to Du Guesclin. Pick one and explore its significance to the text. What does the reference illuminate in Camus’ writing?