Dec 8, 2009

The Wall | Introduction

‘‘The Wall,’’ first published in 1937 and collected in the volume The Wall and Other Stories (1939), is the best known of Jean-Paul Sartre’s five short stories. Written prior to Sartre’s activism in political causes, ‘‘The Wall’’ was Sartre’s personal response to the Spanish Civil War; he wrote it during a period when he felt hopeless about the growing forces of fascism in Spain. The story also outlines Sartre’s philosophy of existentialism. ‘‘The Wall,’’ along with Sartre’s existentialist novel Nausea, helped solidify Sartre’s literary reputation.

In ‘‘The Wall,’’ Sartre chronicles the story of a political prisoner condemned to execution by fascist officers. The knowledge of his death prompts the protagonist to give up on life before he is even killed. At the time of its publication, The Wall and Other Stories sparked some debate because of the negative content—including graphic sexuality and foul language—of the stories. Critics since have argued that these elements lend credibility to Sartre’s philosophical ideas.

Throughout his long career as a writer and philosopher, Sartre produced numerous texts, yet he never again returned to the short fiction format. Critics have paid remarkably little attention to ‘‘The Wall.’’ Interested scholars, however, have generally responded enthusiastically. ‘‘The Wall,’’ however, remains important to the Sartre scholar as well as the general reader because of its deft exploration of Sartre’s philosophies as well as its sheer narrative force. It is a story to be appreciated on multiple levels.

The Wall Summary

The story opens with the narrator, Pablo Ibbieta, attending his own trial. He has been captured by the Falangists and is being tried as an opponent and war criminal along with several of his compatriots. When Pablo goes on trial, the judges demand to know the location of his colleague, Ramon Gris. Pablo claims that he does not know Ramon’s whereabouts.

While awaiting the verdict, Pablo shares his cell with two other men: Tom, a member of the International Brigades; and Juan, whose only crime is having an anarchist brother. Pablo and Tom believe that they will be executed, but that Juan will be set free. However, they are informed that all three men will be executed the following morning.

Juan stops protesting his innocence; shocked, he just sits down and turns gray. Tom tries to comfort him but is rebuffed. Tom begins to talk about his experiences in the International Brigades. Pablo realizes that Tom is simply talking to avoid thinking about death.

A Belgian doctor and two guards come to the cell to wait with the men until the morning. Pablo stares at a lamp, but then... » Complete The Wall Summary