The Existential Crisis of Rubber Ducks: A Quacky Inquiry into the Absurd. In the vast ocean of existential musings, there exists a peculiar anomaly that has long been overlooked by scholars and philosophers alike: the existential crisis of rubber ducks. Yes, you read that correctly. Rubber ducks, those whimsical companions of bath time bliss, are not immune to the throes of existential angst. In this essay, we shall embark on a quixotic journey into the depths of absurdity to unravel the enigmatic psyche of the rubber duck. At first glance, one might dismiss the notion of rubber ducks having existential dilemmas as preposterous. After all, what could a small, yellow, squeaky toy possibly have to contemplate in the vast expanse of the bathtub? …show more content…
What is the purpose of a rubber duck? Is it merely to float aimlessly in a sea of tepid water, subject to the whims of human hands? Or does it harbor a deeper yearning for significance, a desire to transcend its bath-time confines and embark on a quest for self-discovery? The rubber duck finds itself torn between these two opposing forces, oscillating between existential resignation and quixotic ambition. Furthermore, let us delve into the realm of identity. What does it mean to be a rubber duck? Is identity merely a construct imposed upon it by society, or does it possess an intrinsic essence waiting to be unearthed? The rubber duck grapples with its own sense of self, questioning whether it is more than just a hollow vessel for water displacement, or if it harbors a soul yearning for liberation. And what about mortality? Ah, the existential dread that haunts us all. Does the rubber duck fear the inevitable moment when its buoyant existence will come to an abrupt end? Does it ponder the void that awaits beyond the porcelain confines of the bathtub, or does it embrace the fleeting nature of its existence with stoic resignation? The rubber duck confronts the abyss with a mixture of trepidation and defiance, refusing to be consigned to oblivion without a quack of
This essay will argue that the statement “Cordwainer Smith’s story, ‘Alpha Ralpha Boulevard’, is an existentialist text,” is incorrect because Alpha Ralpha Boulevard exhibits elements that do not correlate with existentialist philosophy.
In “Don’t anthropomorphize inky the octopus”, Jacob Brogan offer an answer to us—anthropomorphism. That is, human tend to interpret animals by “turning them into distorted mirrors of our own experience and expectation” (Don’t, 23,24). The escape of the octopus, Broman illustrates, is anthropomorphized by the human as “breaking out of animal aquarium”, “reminiscent of Finding Nemo”, “a magician like Houdini” for our own plights. We don’t want to know and care what exactly how octopus thinks and how he finds the way to escape; we focus on how to reflect our willingness on their behaviors. Instead of anthropomorphizing them in human terms, Brogan logically demonstrates, we should understand these creatures by their own cognition, their emotion, their complexity even if they are different than us in some
The film Beasts of the Southern Wild is a coming of age movie, told from the point of view of a six-year old progantist Hushpuppy. Hushpuppy is a six-year old girl living on the outskirts of Louisiana society, where HushPuppy learns to survive in an off the grid community called the Bathtub. Through the lenses and point of view of Hushpuppy, the audience is about to see the human experiences of Hushpuppy’s transition from dependence to independence. Through the use of adult figures, motifs, and overall ways Hushpuppy learn how to cope with the hand she is dealt. Hushpuppy is able to unfurl her story of how she learned how to subsist with the loss of her mother, illness and death of her father, and forced evacuation, all while learning how to
Ducks Unlimited is a North American non-profit organization that conserves wetlands and associated habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife and people. Ducks Unlimited was formed during the Great Depression when a group of conservation-minded waterfowlers saw a decrease in waterfowl populations. As an employee of Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), I have a strong understanding of the company, and I will be analyzing the site of DUC’s sister organization – Ducks Unlimited Inc. (DUI).
Summary In Layoverland by Gabby Noone, the main character Beatrice Fox dies in a car accident and finds herself in a limbo-like afterlife where she must help other souls accept their deaths to move on. This afterlife is called Layoverland. She was assigned to guide 500 souls, one of the souls she meets is Caleb, who died in the same accident, they develop a meaningful bond despite the initial conflicts they had. Through her interactions and challenges in Layoverland, Beatrice not only helps the other souls, but also confronts her own unresolved issues. Like something good
Guignon, B. C. and Pereboom, D. (eds). (2001). Existentialism: Basic Writings. Indianapolis, IN: Hacket Publishing.
classicmoviescripts/script/seventhseal.txt. Internet. 4 May 2004. Blackham, H. J. Six Existentialist Thinkers. New York: Harper, 1952. Choron, Jacques. Death and Western Thought. New York: Collier Books, 1963.
Journal Of The Society For Existential Analysis 21.1 (2010): 76-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Ross, Kelly L. "Existentialism." The Proceedings of the Friesian School, Fourth Series. Kelly L. Ross, Ph.D., 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
The Merriam – Webster Dictionary defines existentialism as a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad (Merriam, 2011). In other words, an existentialist believes that our natures are the natures we make for ourselves, the meaning of our existence is that we just exist and there may or may not be a meaning for the existence, and we have to individually decide what is right or wrong and good or bad for ourselves. No one can answer any of those things for us. A good example of existentialism is Woody Allen’s movie, Deconstructing Harry. A man is haunted by his past and his past has followed him into the present. He is a wreck not because of the things that happened to him, but because of the choices he made. He is consumed by regret and insecurity and he tries to find blame in his situation with someone other than himself, however he cannot (Barnes, 2011). Throughout the rest of this paper I will be discussing two of the most prominent existentialists, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche.
Many people wonder: what is the meaning of life? What is the human purpose on this earth? At least one time in our lifetime, we all look at ourselves and wonder if we are living our lives the way we were meant to live them. Sadly, there is not a definite answer to the principles of human life. Every human comes from different backgrounds and different experiences throughout their existence. Each person is different, each with different emotions and reactions to their surroundings. People strive to uncover the secrets to the meaning of life. In reality, humans are given the desire to live the way we want and have a critical thinking mind, unlike animals. In the essay Living like Weasels, Annie Dillard believes we should live more carefree and instinctual as weasels, but what we were given as humans is a gift that no other creature has – free will and choice to shape our own lives.
Kreis, Steven. Lecture 12: The Existentialist Frame of Mind. 25 July 2002. The History Guide. 27 Nov. 2002.
The world War II had pressed hard ‘The Absurdists’ as well as the ‘Existential philosophers’. They both got disillusioned and came to realize the emptiness of the human world. In retaliation to Ionesco’s criticism, Sartre criticized his ideas that he had put in his book ‘Rhinoceros’. According to Rosette C. Lamont, “Sartre’s criticism highlights a primary difference between the Theatre of the Absurd and Existentialism. The Theatre of the absurd shows the failure of man without recommending a solution” 10. Ionesco felt that Sartre and Camus thought out the themes which they did not express in a far more vital contemporary fashion. He said in an interview with Claude Bonnefoy, “ I have the feeling that these writers---- who are serious and important – were talking of absurdity and death, but they never really lived these themes ….. that all this was not deeply inscribed in their language. With them it was still rhetoric, eloquence; with Arthur Adamov and Beckett it really is a very naked reality that is conveyed through the apparent dislocation of language11. Beckett’s own relationship with Sartre was complicated and ‘he generally found the writing style of Sartre and Heidigger to be too philosophical and he considered himself ‘not a philoshpher’’ 12. However, it is safe to say that the war-weary world had shaken the nerves of all thinking men, whether ‘Absurdists’ or ‘Sartre- minded philosophers’ and everyone gave expression to his feelings as per his own bent of mind either using philosophical expressions or simply ‘absurd’ outbursts. The Existentialism and ‘Absurdism got so mixed up that it was difficult for great critics even to distinguish and disentangle one from the other. The ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ movement was original...
Albert Camus considers absurdity to be a fight, a force pushing between our mind’s desire to have meaning and understanding and the blank empty world beyond. In argument with Nagel, Camus stated “I said that the world is absurd, but I was too hasty. This world in itself is not reasonable, that is all that can be said. But what is absurd is the confrontation of this irrational and the wild longing for clarity whose call echoes in the human heart. The absurd depends as much on man as on the world.”[1] He continues that there are specific human experiences evoking notions of absurdity. Such a realization or encounter with the absurd leaves the individual with a choice: suicide, a leap of faith, or recognition. He concludes that recognition, or realization, is the only defensible option.[2] The realization that life is absurd and cannot be an end, but only a beginning. This is a truth nearly all great minds have taken as their starting point. It is not this discovery that is interesting, but the consequences and rules of action drawn from it.[3]
Saul Bellow’s novel Seize the Day has personal relevance to me, because, in some ways, the story of Tommy Wilhelm is the story of my father. They both face a world that they neither belong in nor understand. They both have violent tantrums that reveal the emotional maturity of a child. They both victimize themselves by complaining about the supposed injustices that the world has committed against them. Wilhelm and I both experience an existential crisis partly due to our fathers, although we are in two very different stages in life. Having an existential crisis led many philosophers in the twentieth century to develop a philosophy known as existentialism. The novel embodies existentialism in its exploration of themes such as anxiety, absurdity,