This is a sign of his detachment from his children, which is one reason Clay, and his friends are 'lost'. Clay murmurs 'It's the drugs,' ' his father replies, ' 'I didn't quite hear that' ' (43). On one occasion for example, his father shows concern and asks if he is fine. Clay has no one to turn to but he tries hard and this suggests that he was not exactly a non-existentialist being, willing to succumb to the dead monotonous of his indulgent lifestyle. He knows he needs help but help it appears is not forth coming. Far from it- the protagonist in this case knows and believes that his life is his own making but he is simply confused as to what could bring an end to the painful 'hollowness' of his existence.Ĭlay's existentialist bend of mind is visible from his various efforts to break free of the vicious circle of sex and drugs. But this doesn't follow that the novel has a non-existentialist theme. For this reason, he chooses to silence his feelings and appears more like a mechanical mannequin that does what everyone else does because there appears to be no easy way out of the situation. But he doesn't want to question or probe since it is likely to lead to unwelcome and unflattering answers.

(205)Īll this suggests that Clay knows that there is something wrong with his life. If I care about things, it'll just be worse, it'll just be another thing to worry about. I like nothing.ĬLAY: I don't want to care. The girl needs to know if Clay has any feelings for her and his response explains why he was so devoid of emotions.īLAIR: What do you care about? What makes you happy?ĬLAY: Nothing. In the second situation, he is with a girl Blair who was once his girlfriend.

And then I call a cab and finally take the Wayfarers off and she tells me to be quiet walking down the stairs so I won't wake her parents. She lights a cigarette and I start to dress. I can hear thunder in the distance and it begins to rain harder.

Less than zero bret