The quotation in the epitaph at the beginning of The Sympathizer says, “Let us not become gloomy as soon as we hear the word “torture”: in this particular case there is plenty to offset and mitigate that word—even something to laugh at.” While this quotation is difficult to comprehend, the unnamed narrator in The Sympathizer expresses this sentiment throughout his confession, especially when he recounts his experience after he was captured. After he is tortured, the narrator is able to find humor in his enlightenment and see how it bonds him further to Man.
As soon as the narrator remembers and understands why the commissar was torturing him, he finds the situation amusing. He describes the intense pain and suffering he felt during the torture and contrasts that with his feelings after he becomes enlightened. The narrator describes the humor in the situation, explaining, “In retrospect that answer was obvious. So why did it take me so long to understand...The answer was so absurd that now, months later and in the temporary safety of the navigator’s house, I laugh even as I reread this scene of my enlightenment” (369-370). He realizes that he needed the suffering to understand the answer to Man’s question, and he laughs at the apparent simplicity of the answer. His realizations bring a new understanding to the epitaph, as he explains his amusement at the result of his torture and “the paradoxical fact that nothing is, indeed, something” (371).
Furthermore, Man or the commissar, sees torture in a positive light, as it strengths the deep bond between him and the narrator. Man explains why the narrator has to endure this suffering, explaining, “You do not yet understand. Certain things can be learned only through the feeling of excruciation. I want you to know what it is that I knew and still know...what’s being done to you is for your own good” (335). Man wants to further educate his blood brother and he wants the narrator to be able to understand something that Man had to learn. The narrator understands this after he finishes his reeducation, as the narrator states, “Only the commissar understood what I meant...Only the commissar understood that I had to beat myself” (370-371). Because both Man and the narrator experienced similar situations, they are able to relate to each other further, serving as a testament to the strength of the blood brothers’ relationship.
I find the epitaph to be very strange. I do think that torture isn't necessarily portrayed in a negative light. That being said, I also don't think torture is portrayed quite as positively as you make it out to be. In my opinion, this quote serves to help the reader sympathize with Man later in the book. I disagree that Man sees torture in a positive light whatsoever. I get the sense Man sees torturing the narrator as something regrettable he must do to protect the narrator. At the beginning of their torture session Man says "I am doing my best to make sure worse things don't happen to you . . . we must play out or roles until the commandant is satisfied" (329-330). This doesn't sound like someone who enjoys torture but rather finds it necessary to save his friend. As for the narrator I'm not sure we can trust the narrator's amusement of his earlier situation. After all, the narrator seems to have lost his sanity by the end of his "reeducation". After all he laughs at his own pain and refers to himself in the plural. While I am personally not a psychologist, neither of these seem like the actions of a mentally stable human being. As such, it seems like we should not always trust the narrator's emotions. With these things in mind, I think we should interpret the epitaph not as an endorsement of torture, but rather a case for sympathy towards Man.
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