The anonymity of the modern crowd and the loss of identity are living normalityamong urban citizens.Walter Benjamin describes the metropolis as a space ofconstant movement,where individuals are reduced to anonymous figures in a facelesshuge crowd.“They do not stand for classes or any sort of collective;rather,they arenothing but the amorphous crowd of passers-by the people in the street”(Benjamin180).The urban setting,particularly in a capitalist system,creates an environment inwhich identity is fluid,unstable,and ultimately secondary to economic function.Theindividual is no longer defined by relationships,shared experience,or social ties butrather by transient exchanges,economic transactions,and momentary encounters.
2.2 Transience:An Allergy to Classics
In addition to the contingency,John Self’s life reflects a broader cultural shifttowards transience,the fleeting,momentary nature of experience that characterisesmodern existence.His attitudes toward reading,particularly toward literary classicsand high art,reveal not only a deep-seated aversion but also a clear disdain andresistance to permanence,intellectual rigour,and cultural continuity.This embodieshis preference for instant gratification and sensory pleasures over any form ofsustained cognitive engagement.This chapter explores how Self’s rejection of theclassics and his pursuit of immediate pleasures reflect the essence of transience inmodernity,where the fleeting and superficial replace depth and meaningfulengagement.
Central to understanding Self’s worldview is his constant search for immediategratification through sensory experience,such as pornography,casual sexualencounters,and fleeting moments of physical pleasure.In his view,the strippers’performance is artistic,“blacks and buskers and birdshit,sax-players,pushers arejungle artists”(227),which is the source of his pleasure.The pursuit of instantgratification is usually transitory;grasping at sensory pleasures ultimately diminishesboth satisfaction and lived experience.The pursuit of transient,accidental,andinstantaneous beauty reflects not only the shock of rapid historical transformation butalso an aesthetic tendency toward the abnormal,the unstable,and the decaying.Thisconstant sinking,falling,trauma,and destruction also make people’s hearts easy tobecome pessimistic,a lack of faith and awe,and a lack of the idea of persistent pursuit(Yang and He 157).These forms of gratification,however,are transient;they providetemporary relief but fail to offer any lasting satisfaction.
Chapter Three The Flawed Flâneur’s Negotiating Practices for Lived Experience....................60
3.1 Detached Observer:“I walk more in the street now”.............................61
3.2 Leisurely Stayer:“The present,the panting present”.......................64
3.3 Story Teller:“I whistled and sang,and babbled the whole conspiracy”.........69
Conclusion............................74
Chapter Three:The Flawed Flâneur’s Negotiating Practicesfor Lived Experience
3.1 Detached Observer:“I walk more in the street now”
John Self’s transition from a hedonistic,consumer-driven existence to a morereflective state of being marks a significant shift in his character.This transformationis particularly evident when Self,upon discovering
