#Sartre #L’être Et Le Néant #Amiercan Romanticism #Comparative Literature #Moby Dick
Introduction
People who fail to live in a way that embraces their freedom often fall into the traps of bad faith. Jean-Paul Sartre’s idea of bad faith (mauvaise foi) in L’être Et Le Néant refers to what happens when people lie to themselves to avoid facing their freedom and responsibility. Instead of making their own choices, they pretend they have no control and follow roles or rules set by society. This self-deception helps them avoid the discomfort of realizing that they are free to shape their own lives and must take responsibility for their actions. Bad faith is often associated with three factors: self-deception, inauthenticity, and the denial of human freedom. The character Ahab in the novel Moby Dick seems to be presenting a heroic quest for freedom, but the nature of Ahab’s freedom has positive and negative sides. The problematic aspects of his freedom can be related to Sartre’s idea of bad faith.