to see if Monte is breathing or not; he just wants to leave the crime scene as quickly as possible. As the police catch him before he can leave the premises, he matter-of-factly says,
“This is a pretty big night for you. Lots of excitement. There’s a stiff in there.” This is a very cold an uncaring way to refer to a deceased person. A police officer comes out of the house
and in an equally cold manner states, “You never saw deader.” This sets the tone for mindset of the other characters throughout the film.
Like The Stranger, ethical ambiguity is visible in The Postman Always Rings Twice, as a drifter, Frank Chambers, decides to help Cora Smith kill her husband Nick Smith, just so
he can be with her, even though it is wrong to murder someone. To face the consequences for their actions, Cora is killed accidentally in a car accident and Frank is sentenced to the gas
chamber. Ethical ambiguity is evident in Double Indemnity as well, as Walter and Phyllis plan to kill Phyllis’ husband. Walter desires Phyllis physically, and Phyllis is interested in her
husband’s wealth. To make them pay for their crimes, Phyllis is shot to death, while Walter dies slowly after being shot but still has time to confess his crimes to the insurance
investigator. The Production Code of the Hays’ office made the directors have endings where a moral message is conveyed. The characters’ schemes do not result in their desired
outcomes. The characters’ schemes are fruitless and the characters themselves are self- destructive. In classic noir films, killers are usually killed themselves, cheaters are commonly
caught by the police, and thieves are sent to jail. The characters are not portrayed as being noble or role models.
3.2 Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus
Similar with The Stranger, another of Camus’ works, The Myth of Sisyphus 1942, also deals with the theme of entrapment and indifference, which are common themes of noir
productions. In The Myth of Sisyphus, Sisyphus is in a state of condemnation in the
underworld and the only activity he has is pushing a boulder to the top of a hill, and then the boulder rolls back down on its own. When the boulder reaches the bottom of the hill,
Sisyphus has to go through the whole process again, time after time. He is trapped in this punishment of a boring and mundane existence, which is also the case of many noir world
characters that cannot break free from the fateful hands that have been dealt to them without great sacrifice. Therefore, like Sisyphus who achieves monetary happiness in his earthly
existence, noir characters also can only get fleeting happiness through earthly pleasures, if at all, before succumbing to their predestined fates.
Sisyphus’ imprisonment comes from different versions. One tale tells about how Zeus took the human daughter of Asopus. After he told Asopus about this, Sisyphus got a natural
spring water source from Asopus for the city of Corinth, which made him and the townspeople happy and rich. But in doing so, Sisyphus incurred the wrath of the gods.
Another version reveals how Sisyphus enchained Death so that no one died while Death was captured. But after Death was freed by the God of War, then Sisyphus was forced to die and
go to the Underworld. Basically, Sisyphus has to live forever in the Underworld with a hopeless struggle of pushing the boulder endlessly. A parallel can also be applied in the fate
of noir characters, whose actions are for the most part hopeless. They cannot escape from the doldrums and fateful circumstances that have been bestowed upon them from the beginning.
They do not have the freedom to engage in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which are the ideals in pursuing the American Dream. Like Sisyphus who gains a moment of clarity
when the boulder rolls back down the hill only to have Sisyphus push it back up the hill again, noir characters also often reach a point where they realize they have absurd fates with
no hope in escaping their fates. Even when the boulder is rolling back down the hill, it can show Sisyphus reflecting or longing for the life of wealth and happiness he left behind. This
feeling of longing or reminiscing is also found in noir characters who want to regain something from the past but are unable to do so. This can even be related to an unlikely
return to traditional values in the wake of a changing, more modern, and materialistic society, as was experienced during WWII. Sisyphus’ life and noir characters’ lives reflect this sort of
futility in their actions. Existentialism itself can be thought of as an individual who stands alone in facing a
meaningless universe. There are no meanings or values found in the world or outside humanity. People live in a world of absurdity struggling between objective meaninglessness
and an earnest desire for meaning, according to Camus, rejecting transcendental ideals. Existentialism also places the self as the focus of its philosophical perspective. Existentialists
only consider human existence because people are thought of as living different from animals and inanimate things. Humans are the only source of meaning and value. Existentialism
emphasizes the individual and personal experiences of existence, which are authentic. Also, emotions and moods of the individual are more important than universal philosophical
concepts. Some of the primary moods that existentialists focus on are negative in nature like those dealing with alienation, despair, pessimism, guilt, shame, and anxiety which are
commonly found in noir works. These feelings convey a finite existence that ultimately leads to death. Therefore, existentialism looks at the meaning of life and how individuals respond
to living in a world without meaning. The fate of factory workers during WWII in support of the war effort can be
compared to that of Sisyphus, as they are like drones living absurd existences. Even Camus supported this sentiment by stating, “I don’t know whether this world has a meaning that
transcends it. But I know that I do not know that meaning and that it is impossible for me just now to know it. What can a meaning outside my condition mean to me? I can understand
only in human terms.”
15
Camus believes that because people have a consciousness, it sets them apart from animals, so their lives are absurd in their search for meaning. Therefore,
Sisyphus has a tragic and absurd existence because he is aware of the futility of endlessly pushing the boulder up the hill. Since Sisyphus can recognize and affirm his fate, in a way he
can master it. If one can accept a God-less world, it can make life more difficult to live due to no inner meaning, but on the other side, it can let one overcome the nihilism that absurdity
threatens. “It drives out of this world a god who had come into it with dissatisfaction and a preference for futile sufferings. It makes of fate a human matter, which must be settled
among men.”
16
Parallels are also apparent in Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus with Nietzsche’s concept of eternity. For Sisyphus, he has to keep pushing the boulder for an eternity with no real
purpose. Nietzsche also believes that the universe is in a cycle just repeating itself with no real goal or purpose, which makes everything seem useless. This concept of futility espoused
by Camus and Nietzsche is commonly found in noir works as well, in response to societal changes or pressures.
Camus puts forth the point that life can be viewed as a never-ending struggle without hope. In looking at Sisyphus’ life, it is hopeless and futile. Related with noir characters, if
they realize that they cannot do anything to change their predicaments and the fates that have been dealt to them, then their fates will seem tolerable to them. As long as they do not strive
to achieve more than what is allowed or predetermined, then they will be able to appreciate their lives. Likewise, if Sisyphus accepts his fate of having to push the boulder for an
eternity, it will not be a punishment. However, if he yearns for his previous life or an escape for a better life, he will have a miserable and unbearable life. In examining Sisyphus’
15
Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. New York: First Vintage International, 1955, p.51.
16
Ibid, p.110.
condition in the Underworld, a quote by Arthur Schopenhauer best represents his position: “A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants.” Therefore, Sisyphus cannot hope for
anything other than his current situation if he hopes to find any happiness in his life. At the end of his essay, Camus states “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” This implies that the
readers have no other option than to assume that Sisyphus is content upon accepting his fate. If Sisyphus struggles against his fate, he will be miserable, but if he is content with his fate,
he can find happiness in his existence. As long as he does not have hope or faith for something better, happiness can be found in his life. This last sentence can also mean that if
true happiness is attainable, then Sisyphus must be happy. For noir characters this premise can also be applied. As long as they conform to the societal norms of their noir world
existence, then they should be able to find some semblance of happiness within it. Happiness can only be attained without hope or faith in something better. A parallel can be seen with the
ending of “The Postman Always Rings Twice” when Frank Chambers is indicted for killing Cora Smith in a bogus auto accident and is charged to face a murder trial. Actually, he does
not intentionally kill Cora Smith, but some kind of retribution must be found for his role and Cora’s role in the murder of Nick Smith. So Cora dies in the car accident on the bridge, and
Frank goes to jail for her murder awaiting execution. Although Frank is not charged with the murder of Nick Smith, Frank is able to accept being executed for the death of Cora, as long as
in his rationalism he is being executed for his previous crime and not the murder of Cora. While talking to a priest in his jail cell, Frank goes through a kind of spiritual awakening and
accepts the execution of Cora as being God’s justice for his part in the murder of Nick Smith. Therefore, by accepting his fate at the end of the story, Frank can be at peace with himself, as
he awaits his execution. Hence, as Sisyphus and Frank are content to accept their fate, they will both be able to come to a kind of peaceful existence with their lives.
3.3 Fatalism and Predetermination
