Theme Of Death In Sartre's Nausea

Is it possible to prevent someone from dying? Why do people make it difficult for the one who is dying? The horror that Malte felt at the girl’s death is inexplicable. He knew that it was inevitable. He was terror-stricken at the sight of death. The girl’s death lay itself bare in front of Malte. Looking at it, he was filled with horror. And now when some time has passed, he wonders why people do not understand that death cannot be prevented. It cannot because it is always there. It does not come from somewhere outside but it is already there. And when the time comes, it lays bare its frightful existence. It cannot be averted. It is, therefore, important to come to an understanding with it, in order to live life as a whole. Death is the Other

It is somehow like the nausea. It is always there, sometimes behind the scenes. In Sartre’s Nausea, Roquentin fears the nausea every moment. He fears that it will be there, at any moment. This nausea is like the fear of death, of the unknown. At moments, he knows that the nausea is rising in him but does not do anything until it is there. It is not something from the outside, it is within him. He cannot explain it. He wants to avert it but cannot. It is something that possesses him at moments, and in those moments, he feels like an outlaw. He is always alone in his experiences, and the nausea that accompanies him everywhere. It is nearly the same with Malte. The fear that Malte has, makes him different from all the others around him. He sees things differently. He cannot avert the fear, and in the course of time, starts to understand and appreciate it. He feels that there is a certain happiness in the knowledge of this fear, the fear of the unknown (Sartre, Nausea). Malte’s fear appears to be more grave and terrifying than Roquentin’s. Even then, he wishes to understand it. He wishes to convert this fear into something from which he can learn. His writing reflects it. When we read the text, we come to understand this, and that Malte gradually comes to an understanding with what he fears and grows out of it. Unlike Roquentin, he grows to be optimistic about life and death, and considers life to be a preparation for what is to come