The movie Donnie Darko by Richard Kelly shows how existential life really is. Donnie Darko was a young boy who was living in a tangent universe. He was reliving his life over and over again until he finally dies the way that was predetermined for him. Frank the rabbit was sent to make sure that he chose the right decision instead of having to repeat in a whole other universe. Donnie experienced the tragedy that happened because he chose not to follow the pre decided path. In the end he made the right choice in order to save the lives of everyone around him. Donnie Darko is an existential movie because it addresses the idea of a tangent universe and how life is predetermined.…
Grendel is a fictional character, designed by John Gardner. Throughout the book Grendel develops new philosophies as he continues to explore the world and encounters new surroundings. Solipsism is an idea that everything is created out of your own mind, that your mind is the only thing to actually exist. Nihilism is the thought that life is meaningless. Solipsism is developed after Grendel explores his new world for the first time. Nihilism is created in Grendel after he has a discussion with a Dragon who tells him the world is pointless. Grendel shows Nihilism and Solipsism throughout the story.…
The famous country music singer/songwriter, musician, and actor Waylon Jennings said, “This world that I live in is empty and cold, the loneliness cuts me and tortures my soul.” Loneliness is one of the fundamental themes of the novel, Of Mice and Men in which John Steinbeck wrote in the midst of the Great Depression. In this essay, I am going to show who loneliness impacts the three characters, Crooks, Lennie, and Candy.…
One of the universal themes of the novel, The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is that of moral responsibility. As Father Zosima’s brother, Markel, passionately exclaims, “…each of us is guilty in everything before everyone, and I most of all”(Dostoevsky289). Simply stated, humanity is responsible for one another because human nature is intricately connected. Dostoevsky incorporated the biblical notion of original sin into his novel (Schmoop Editorial Team); therefore, humanity is permanently inflicted with sin and guilt. Because of this, we must selflessly display love towards others through humility and empathy, something Dostoevsky would call active love. Through the Karamazov brothers’ (Dmitri and Ivan) ultimate fates, Dostoevsky…
Existentialism is a philosophy that I, personally, was unfamiliar with until we talked about it in class. The relationship between Grendel and existentialism was profound to me not only in the way that it drew lines of symmetry, but in the way that it helped me to interpret the concepts behind the philosophy.…
Richard Dawkins, Author of The God Illusion, said in his book, “There is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point… The truly adult view, by contrast, is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it.” This entire statement pertains to the characteristics of Existentialism. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible person determining their own life and development through acts of will. This philosophy has been shown in the books Tuesday’s with Morrie and the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass and the life story of Malala Yousafzai. The…
Do you approve of Kierkegaard’s father’s teaching technique? Explain. Are there similarities between his technique and virtual reality? Are there differences?…
The existential therapy is rooted in the concerns that are found in the individual’s existence. An existential therapy is not separated from psychotherapeutic practice, like behaviorism or psychoanalysis. The idea of struggling with the polarities of self, Soren Kierkegaard, who is regarded as the father of existentialism, viewed personhood as what we are and what we shall become. Kierkegaard suggests a continuous active wrestling between polarities of infinitude and finitude, possibility and necessity, and eternity and temporality. The emphasis of existentialism is the inner conflict and struggle with the realities of death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. What is the existential view of anxiety? How might you intervene (from an…
The interest in how humans develop their ideas and their emotions has spurred whole fields unto themselves that try to understand the whys, the whats, and the hows of the human condition. The use of art to explore the inner recesses of the human mind can be seen in various works across art, literature, and theatre. Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground is primarily an account from a nameless man about his beliefs and his life. The Underground Man is isolated from those around him, and for a time, isolated from himself. Dostoevsky’s character created an archetype, of the alienated anti-hero, that inspired Paul Schrader’s Travis Bickle. The film Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese, is heavily influenced by Notes from Underground. The…
“You say: I am not free. But I have raised and lowered my arm. Everyone understands that this illogical answer is an irrefutable proof of freedom.” (Leo Tolstoy, 1998)…
Anton Chekov is well known for expressing the human spirit through vivid storytelling. In Exile embodies the totality of the human condition; from its seemingly blissful Elysium to its hellish disfavor, Chekov gives the reader and Tartar a choice. Peter is a cynical social hermit who is a strong anarchist and believes to have found nirvana for all people on earth. Tartar is a young 25 year old man, yet he was described to appear as a mere child as his appearance at introduction was disheveled and sickly.…
People should do what it takes to make others make good choices in life.society in today’s generation is individualistic. That is why, Dostoyevsky wrote the novel “Notes from Underground” about what was happening to him and society. Everyone has a desire to be perfect, and be very common between each other. People should be open minded to discover new things. Most people are not as open minded, they do not think broad enough and are selfish. Everyone’s perspective is different from the novel “Notes from Underground” than what Dostoevsky thought it would be. People think it was fantasies and not realizing, what they are reading is actually happening under their noses. Dostoyevsky tried to open people’s eyes and get through…
In Ggreat Bbooks since 1700, a large portion of the materials was devoted to Camus’s take on existentialism. Many of the other texts we read and evaluated were looked at through the lens of an existentialist as explained by Camus. Since taking that course, I have noticed existential themes in much of the literature I have read. I have also noticed existential thought patterns in myself and others in the real world. In the limited amount of Camus’s writing that I have read, Camus sought to show the absurdity of life and the random objectivity of the world and how an existentialist navigates both the outside world and the subjective inner personal world. There are notes of existentialism in both Woolf’s, To the Lighthouse, and Eliot’s , Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, but I believe that it is most…
According to an online dictionary, existentialist is “a philosopher who emphasizes freedom of choice and personal responsibility but who regards human existence in a hostile universe as unexplainable” ("existentialist"). As I said before, Willy Loman is on both sides of being and not being an existentialist. A way that Willy is not an existentialist is that, when Willy goes to Howard, who is Willy’s boss, he keeps confidence in his mind that the reason that he’s going to Howard for will turn out to be in his favor. Willy wants to ask Howard for a raise and a job in which he doesn’t have to travel. Willy’s method of gaining success by being liked fails here. Willy’s confidence breaks when Howard…
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery has a lot of symbols of the existentialist views that Saint-Exupery believed in…