Identity and Game: An Attempt at a Sociological Interpretation of Milan Kundera's Story "The Hitchhiking Game"

This paper attempts a sociological interpretation of the interaction between the characters from the story The Hitchhiking Game by Milan Kundera. Applying different perspectives connected with interpretative sociology, the paper shows how and to what degree the social actors redefine their roles and identities within a social context. The social context changes in accordance with the game the actors undertake. The relation between them is analyzed on the two levels of personal identity and social identity, both of which refer to the two temporal sequences, before and during the game. In trying to show and explain an identity conflict (personal identity versus social identity), the structural theory, specifically the concept of the latent binary opposites in the actors' interaction which express the nature versus culture conflict, is employed. The paper seeks to reveal the most basic rules governing individuals' behaviour and shows how fragile their relationships are. A "personal social world" can be destroyed by an apparently innocent game.