Sisyphus was free to begin with, and remains free now. Why do travelers spend thousands of dollars on vacations, hoping to land back exactly from where they started from?.Why do tens of thousands of travelers, artists, and the generally groovy gather each year to erect an effigy of mankind which is eventually burned down?.Why do gourmet chefs pay such close attention to the taste, color and texture of the dishes they prepare, fully hoping for them to be entirely devoured by guests?.Why do kids look forwards to frigid snowy afternoons to haul sleds and inflatable tubes for a few seconds of descent, all while risking severe bodily injury?.
Why do thousands of hikers take extended leave from careers and relationships to hike the Appalachian or Pacific Crest Trails, hoping that their jobs and loved ones will accept them back when they return?.Why do cyclists huff and puff up impossibly steep hills just to roll back down? Why do they risk getting kicked out by security guards, run over by motorists or colliding with concrete pillars, just to pedal up and roll back down inside of parking structures?.If one must imagine Sisyphus happy, how else might we imagine him? Who else might we imagine happy in their repetitive struggles up a hill? Maybe the gods’ assignment is not exclusively a punishment for Sisyphus, but a challenge giving him the option of punishing or rewarding himself. "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart.
Once it sped past, Sisyphus spun full around in placeĪs I watched his crumpled body twitch on the asphalt, I swear to you, Of the leftmost lane of travel it perceived to be available to it –Įxpressed its annoyance, its anger, its fear by making a discordant shout at him. Paint did Sisyphus turn his head right, where an automobile – denizen Theįunny thing is this: his eyes were locked to his left for his entire Seeing no hunks of metal hurtling toward him – stepped forward. Being, I infer, from another time newly come, he seemed Sisyphus set forth with all intent to cross the busy street, I Perhaps, in some happy accident, an ExxonMobil accountantĬame across this "Sisyphus Project" that had somehow ended up in theirīooks, investigated, and reported this minor, undue drain on the bottom line.ĮxxonMobil rewarded his vigilance with a $25 bonus. Millennia later, there he stood, gawking and grinning, on the The sheets always seemed to be balanced already. Perhaps accounting had thrown them out, as Through some flaw in bookkeeping, they had lost all records Liquidated their assets quite thoroughly, for the most part – with oneĮxception. Long ago due to lack of interest, cleaned out all offices and
That is what makes Sisyphus the Absurd Hero he sees that everything is meaningless, yet in spite of that continues to roll his rock, loving his eternal struggle as his lack of remorse is an eternal revolt against the immortals his lack of regret affirms the love of life he had and still has. No, he knows that he will be punished for eternity, so ending this roll-rock-up-hill thing is just as meaningless as continuing through his labour. So maybe he can place the rock atop the hill without it falling back down, but what would that accomplish? To hope that the gods would then allow him respite would be silly, since Zeus isn't really a guy into that whole forgiveness thing. Sisyphus does not harbour hope he knows that against the all-powerful immortals, he doesn't stand a chance. They want him to hope for an end to it, and each time the boulder rolls back down he feels despair as that bit of hope in him dies once more. Even in his punishment, he is defiant, because he refuses to accept this as a punishment the gods want him to feel repentful for his actions through this futile labour, but Sisyphus does not repent. The absurdity in Sisyphus lies in his continued defiance of the gods. In reference to yerricde's suggestion as to how Sisyphus can end his punishment, Albert Camus would argue that Sisyphus would precisely refuse to do such a thing, because he does not wish to end his futile task.