The remarkable presence of watches and clocks in two crucial scenes in La Condition humaine brings into question not only their symbolism but also the architecture and composition of the novel. The passages in which they appear are indeed crucial for both the plot and its metaphysical significance; they concretize the fundamental opposition between Asia and the West, which for Malraux is based on different conceptions of existence and of history.
CLIL theme: 4027 -- SCIENCES HUMAINES ET SOCIALES, LETTRES -- Lettres et Sciences du langage -- Lettres -- Etudes littéraires générales et thématiques