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“The world is, of course, nothing but our conception of it.”
This quote, by Anton Chekhov, seems obvious and easy to relate to. However, it perfectly describes the concept of existentialism, which is neither obvious nor relatable. Existentialism is “a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of personal experience and responsibility and the demands that they make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe” (“Existentialism”). Existentialism is a difficult philosophy to grasp, but by exploring examples in literature and art, one can come to a better understanding of its basic tenets.
The first tenet of existentialism is individualism and alienation, which is revealed in the works The Metamorphosis, “A Hunger Artist,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Each person is an individual; essentially, no two people experience a situation the same because no two people are the same. Due to this, existentialists tend to feel very alone and isolated. Existentialists do not believe in the concept of “society.” The sense of pure individualism alienates them. Professor Gordon E. Bigelow describes the existential view of isolation, “Man lives in alienation from God, from nature, from other men, from his own true self.” One can see this alienation in The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, awakens one morning and discovers that he has been transformed into a bug.
Gregor Samsa feels that he has been treated as a lowly insect and comes to feel that he is one; the story makes the leap from ‘I feel like an insect’ to ‘I am an insect.’ Whatever the causes for Gregor feeling this way, these causes have led to his isolation and alienation (the feeling of being ...
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...and the Language Arts. St. Paul, Minnesota: EMCParadigm, 2000. 47-50. Print.
Jardine, Dan. "The Shawshank Redemption." Starpulse. All Movie Guide, 2008. Web. 6 April 2012.
Kafka, Franz. “A Hunger Artist.” Webmaster, 2007. Print.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. New York: Bantam, 1981. Print.
"Kafka's Metamorphosis." 123HelpMe.com. Web. 5 April 2012.
Lispector, Clarice. "The Fifth Story" 1986. Literature and the Language Arts. St. Paul, Minnesota: EMCParadigm, 2000. 475-77. Print.
Munch, Edvard. The Scream. 1893. Painting. The National Gallery, Oslo, Norway.
Ross, Ph.D., Kelley L. "Existentialism." The Proceedings of the Friesian School. 2011. Web. 6 April 2012.
"The Scream, Edvard Munch." Art History & Periods, Artist Biographies, Art Galleries, & Art Schools. Art History Guide. Web. 7 April 2012.
Waiting for Godot. Dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg. PBS, 2003. VHS.
Franz Kafka’s clear isolation of Gregor underlines the families’ separation from society. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka emphasizes Gregor’s seclusion from his family. However, Gregor’s separation is involuntary unlike the family who isolates themselves by the choices they make. Each family member has characteristics separating them from society. These characteristics become more unraveling than Gregor, displaying the true isolation contained in The Metamorphosis.
...orm of a bug, a form that knows nothing but work. By ignoring the purpose of being an insect, Gregor defeats the purpose of living in his new form of life, and in effect, dies.
Guignon, B. C. and Pereboom, D. (eds). (2001). Existentialism: Basic Writings. Indianapolis, IN: Hacket Publishing.
I, Albert Camus, am a famous French author who had written The Stranger in 1942. I was born in Algeria, and my experiences there had deeply influenced my thoughts, my work, and my philosophies. The Stranger strongly represents my philosophy involving the absurd and existentialism. When I was twenty-five, I moved to France and joined the resistance movement during World War II. After the liberation from Nazi Germany, I became a political journalist and a columnist for Combat, a French newspaper. In 1947, I retired from my journalist career and continued to write fiction and playwrights for the theatre (Simpson). Although I primarily consider myself a writer instead of a philosopher and I deny being an existentialist, the philosophy I most agree with is indeed existentialism. As one will find in my novel, The Stranger, the main character Meursault views the world and situations through an outside perspective, extreme detachment, and a lack of empathy. His characters tend to view the world as an outsider because I personally grew up in many groups
In the novella “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka focuses on the topic of alienation and considers its underlying effect on the human consciousness and self-identity. The alienation Kafka instigates is propagated towards the main character Gregor Samsa, who inevitably transforms into a giant cockroach. The alienation by family relations affects him to the extent that he prioritizes his extensive need to be the family’s provider before his own well-being. This overwhelming need to provide inevitably diminishes Gregor’s ability to be human-like. Kafka also enforces the idea of the ability to resurrect one’s self-identity following psychologically demanding events. In this essay, I utilize Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis to address that alienation, in its various forms, is instrumental in the dehumanization process and can also oppositely induce a restoration of self-identity. The metamorphosis acts as a metaphor to express the inhumane change of state that occurs to a victim of alienation; it also formulates Gregor’s epiphany. He suffers through three forms of alienation: exploitation, violence, and neglect. The joint presence of these three external forces deprives him of a human distinctiveness, but in turn, influences a final realization that enforces the restoration of his self-identity, and therefore human identity.
Gregor is obviously trapped by his external appearance. His physical limitations deepen his feeling of futility. His external appearance mimics his internal feelings, as he now feels helpless by not being able to physically carry out his responsibilities.
Ross, Kelly L. "Existentialism." The Proceedings of the Friesian School, Fourth Series. Kelly L. Ross, Ph.D., 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Existentialism is the epitome of the unknown. There is no straightforward explanation of what exactly it is, there is only certain characteristics and behaviors that describe existentialist views. Throughout today’s world, there are examples of it everywhere, it’s found in movies, books, songs, and just people in general. Existentialists are known to think and do for themselves only. They believe that to understand what it means to be human requires understanding of themselves first. Some very well known pieces of entertainment existentialism is found in are: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and The Breakfast Club by John Hughes. The Stranger is a book written about a young man whose mother dies, which soon leads him to becoming acquainted with the feeling of not caring about what his actions do to others or himself. The main character Meursault starts helping his friend Raymond, carry out ways to torment his mistress. Out of nowhere while at the beach, Meursault shoots Raymond’s mistress’s brother. He is thrown into jail and tried, but he seems to not be affected as much as he should about his actions. He first finds it hard to live without cigarettes, women, and nature, but he soon finds out he doesn’t need any of those. After being sentenced to death, he is suggested to turn away from his atheism but later realizes that human existence has no greater meaning. This realization and acceptance is what truly makes him happy (Camus). Next, The Breakfast Club is a very relatable movie about high school students suffering the consequences of their actions in detention. The kids are all of ...
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing
Existentialism is defined as "a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will”. In other words, existentialism it emphasizes individual freedom. Throughout The Stranger, the amount of existentialism views is abundant. The use of Mersault’s experiences covey the idea that human life has no meaning except for simple existence. The idea of existentialism in Albert Camus' The Stranger reflects through Mersault's life experiences with his relationship with Marie, the death of his mother Maman, the murdering of the Arab, and Mersault's trial and execution, all these events show that Mersault’s life of no meaning.
The novel begins with Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to find out he has been transformed into a gigantic insect.
In conclusion, because Gregor’s identity in his insect form was entirely based on his memory of having once been a human, and because of a lack of any physical proof of his past, he struggled with accepting his own humanness. During this stage of doubt and self-questioning, he went through a mental and physical metamorphosis, turning insane and drowning in depression and anxiety. However, the last straw for him was exactly his family’s refusal to accept him as a human, contributing to him finally breaking and giving up.
Existentialism is defined as a philosophical movement that human beings are completely free and responsible for their own actions. Existentialists will try not to cause waves and remain completely uninvolved with anyone because they do not want to hurt anybody. There is absolutely no such thing as an existentialist because he would have to be so uninvolved to the point where he would not be able to live at all. Although the two stories: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Stranger by Albert Camus are very different in approach, their endings are similar in that they both support the basics of existentialism.
Gregor’s own decisions, along with others, ultimately cause his isolation and lead to the dehumanization
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing