다중에의 불신과 지식인의 역능(役能) 방기 －최인호론

Abstract

Many reviewers recognized a value of individuality in Choi, In Ho’s story, but on the other hand brought up a question of a poor historical consciousness in his novel. The present writer agreed to their appreciation and considered its proximate cause in this paper. Firstly, what to be confirmed in the result is distrust to the multitude recognized by Choi, In Ho, the author. The author represents that the multitude is a barbarous actor to deprive an individual liberty to bring undue pressure upon others, or a crowd of people in the world full of worldly desire and lack of enlightenment rather than theme to improve an irrational life actively. Choi, In Ho, the author looks at such a multitude from a cold point of view thoroughly. The author deserted a social duty as an intellectual to the multitude because of such a reason. Many intellectuals in the Korean history of convulsions enlighten the multitude and made an effort to solve a social difficult problem by being jointly with them. But, it is difficult that Choi, In Ho’s story finds such figures except Mr. Choi of [a barbarian]. It is all they can do to abandon such a real problem instead of an effort to improve it. In there, it has to make a premise of the bitters of the times suffered by people who passed through a rough Korean history.“ Craving for life to have a strong hold on life like weeds”for them comes before everything else. The present writer thinks that it is an attitude of existential-life that a private life takes precedence of a public or community interest. Also, the present writer thinks that Choi, In Ho as a liberation age who had war experience and had to live under the homeless parents was not able to have free play from conditions of such a difficult life. And also the present writer thinks that such factors had appeared on the outside of his work due to lack of his historical consciousness.