A part of this week’s readings that spoke to me was on human identity realized in the action of revolting.  Camus made some interesting remarks on the process of the individual finding meaning in rebellion, noting that at the moment an individual turns to his master and says “no”, the rebel redefines himself and is loyal to certain aspects of himself that he demands to be respected. Camus notes that, “the man’s obstinate resistance now becomes the whole man, who is identified and summed up in this resistance. The part of himself that he wanted to be respected he proceeds to place above everything else and proclaims it preferable to everything, even to life itself.” (Camus, 15). His remarks seemed to complement Shah of Shahs, where Kapuscinski mentions that the people who participated in the Iranian Revolution felt alive and motivated, with a gleaming hope for the future and fueled by nostalgia. Camus notes, “Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.” (Camus, 105). Camus argues that in the moment of rebellion, the rebel not only finds a sense of value in his/herself, but also is able to feel more connected with his/her peers because the rebel acknowledges that their struggles are the same as his/her own. In The Rebel Camus states, “In absurdist experience, suffering is individual. But from the moment when a movement of rebellion begins, suffering is seen as a collective experience.” He continues, “I rebel—therefore we exist.” (Camus, 22).

The emphasis of finding value in one’s own life and the shared identity amongst all those in the predicament of the rebel reminds me of a question brought up in the first class, “why are revolutions so sexy?” (Or something similar.) From the readings, it seems clear why people are so drawn to the concept of rebellions or revolutions. Everyone craves the moment when they can value their self-worth above anything else. Everyone looks up to someone who is living a better life than themselves, someone who they’d like to be treated as equals with. The revolution offers an opportunity to finally put yourself first and demand that you are worth the ideal life you want, which is appealing to all. A revolution can give you meaning that you’ve never seen in yourself previously, both in how you view yourself and how you view yourself in relation to others.

On a side note, in this post I used the terms “revolting” and “rebelling” interchangeably,” which is a big no-no in Camus’ and Armitage’s books. I did so because, though I agree with Camus that revolutions differ from rebellions in that they are founded on ideas and seek to bring forward a new set of principles, I believe these differences are only clear in a wider view of the uprising or further along in the uprising, whereas the early stages of revolution — on the scale of the individual — are essentially rebellions, which later bring forth the motivating principles that separate the two terms.

Another angle on identity found in revolutions (revolutions as Camus described them) is the point Camus brought up that “History of man, in one sense, is the sum total of his successive rebellions.” (Camus, 107). This means that the only lasting significance and productive change in humanity is the result of revolution. Thus, if one values their own worth on their impact on the world, then they must rebel in order to implement change and have worth at all. Thus the rebel’s life, which challenges the current flow of society, is the only life that can have meaning.