A Hard Boiled Endgame: Commercialism and the End of the World
A Hard Boiled Endgame: Commercialism and the End of the World
The infinite circularity that exists surrounding the meaning of life seems to make its inevitable presence in the realm of many of societal qualms, specifically commercialism in everyday life: “ We have nothing to achieve by our activities, nowhere to get to” (Murakami 317). Within Western society, the profligacy that surrounds the advancement of a prominent commercial society has lead to a nihilistic ideal that the future will be dominated by a consumer-based culture to a varying degree. Within Endgame, by Samuel Beckett, as well as Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami, this idea of nihilism is a heavy influence in both themes. Through the depiction of somewhat pointless tales, the metaphysical question regarding the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it in both industrial and post-industrial societies is focused on. In both works, the meaninglessness of life is addressed inadvertently by exploring the seemingly simplistic lives of several individuals submersed in commercial-dominated societies in order to critique a society based on consumerism.
In both Endgame, as well as Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, the overly simplistic worlds presented are used to depict quasi-purgatorial afterworlds. The simplicity of both ‘end of the world’ settings is reflected throughout the works in order to reveal a broader picture. Firstly, within Endgame, this emphasis on ordinariness in a minimalistic setting seems to correspond to the familiarity of the lives of the characters. The play is set within a single dreary room, with nothing to fill it but the characters, a chair, and several trashcans. Even the environment surrounding them is static, emphasized by Clov’s report on what he sees when he looks out the window: "Zero, zero and zero" (Beckett 37). Not only is the setting of the play minimalistic, but also the play in itself seems to
The infinite circularity that exists surrounding the meaning of life seems to make its inevitable presence in the realm of many of societal qualms, specifically commercialism in everyday life: “ We have nothing to achieve by our activities, nowhere to get to” (Murakami 317). Within Western society, the profligacy that surrounds the advancement of a prominent commercial society has lead to a nihilistic ideal that the future will be dominated by a consumer-based culture to a varying degree. Within Endgame, by Samuel Beckett, as well as Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami, this idea of nihilism is a heavy influence in both themes. Through the depiction of somewhat pointless tales, the metaphysical question regarding the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it in both industrial and post-industrial societies is focused on. In both works, the meaninglessness of life is addressed inadvertently by exploring the seemingly simplistic lives of several individuals submersed in commercial-dominated societies in order to critique a society based on consumerism.
In both Endgame, as well as Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, the overly simplistic worlds presented are used to depict quasi-purgatorial afterworlds. The simplicity of both ‘end of the world’ settings is reflected throughout the works in order to reveal a broader picture. Firstly, within Endgame, this emphasis on ordinariness in a minimalistic setting seems to correspond to the familiarity of the lives of the characters. The play is set within a single dreary room, with nothing to fill it but the characters, a chair, and several trashcans. Even the environment surrounding them is static, emphasized by Clov’s report on what he sees when he looks out the window: "Zero, zero and zero" (Beckett 37). Not only is the setting of the play minimalistic, but also the play in itself seems to
Cited: Murakami, Haruki. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World: A Novel. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1991. Print. Beckett, Samuel. Endgame. London: Faber and Faber, 2009. Print. Kant, Immanuel. Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, and What Is Enlightenment? New York: Liberal Arts, 1959. Print.