New Media Expands Old Philosophy

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Recommended: Essay on existentialism

This famous quote summarizes the gloomy philosophy of existentialism. Schopenhauer, using this philosophy, believed that the universe was meaningless and irrational, and that his irrational life was full of choices that brought him in contact with the nothingness of the universe. Existentialism has no definite description because individuals create their own meaning by making sense of the world as it pertains to the individual. While individuals create their own meaning, there are several common themes that are followed. These themes fall under the general idea that reality is absurd and it is the responsibility of humans to make their own choices and accept the consequences of these choices in regard to the individual’s experience. Some of these universal themes appear as morals of the effects of not being an existentialist in the writings of existentialists who decided to share their own reflections in books, songs, and movies. Within existential literature, three themes, dread and anxiety, alienation and estrangement, and choice and commitment, are most common and also epitomize the philosophy of existentialism. Dread and anxiety show the existentialist that his direction or choice is wrong at the time.
The first theme of existentialism is experiencing dread and anxiety as a result of making a choice and feeling that it was wrong. This theme encompasses many existentialist writings, such as The Yellow Wallpaper. In The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the main character, Jane, suffers from depression. Her husband moves her to a mansion outside of town to help relax her mind. Upon entering her rooms for the summer, Jane felt anxiety from the sight of the wallpaper. Jane is left confined in her room and her anxiety ...

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...the philosophies into society, especially in the poorer social classes, would solve some world problems and also create a happier morale in society.

Works Cited

Camus, Albert. “The Myth of Sisyphus.” Literature and the Language Arts. Ed. Laurie Skiba. St.
Paul: EMC Corporation, 2001. 1053-1056. Print.
Camus, Albert. The Stranger. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1946. Print.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories.
Mineola: Dover, 1997. Print.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Trans. Stanley Corngold. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
Print.
Perks of Being a Wallflower. Dir. Stephen Chbosky. Perf. Logan Lerman, Johnny Simmons,
Ezra Miller. Summit Entertainment, 2012. Film.
The Quotesome Team. “100 Best Quotes About Existentialism: From Despair to Freedom.”
Quotesome Blog. Quotesome, 6 July 2013. Web. 8 May 2014.

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