responsible for the birth of existentialist thought. Existentialism is the theory that individuals are independent beings and are free to exercise their own free will. It focuses on questions such as: Do humans have a predetermined essence or do they live completely free from restrictions? If a divine creator does exist‚ what is its true nature? And whether the universe is indifferent to human existence. This paper takes a deeper look into existentialism and how it can apply to literature. Mary Shelley’s
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Existentialism is a philosophy of existence that asks what the nature of human existence is. Albert Camus’ The Stranger is an existentialist novel because it represents three main ideas in the philosophy of existentialism: absurdity‚ death‚ and emotions. Absurdity according to an existentialist means life has no meaning or ultimate purpose‚ humans need to make sense and have purpose. Throughout The Stranger Meursault experiences many absurd act‚ for instance “Gentleman of the jury‚ the day after
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Existentialism In The Stranger and The Metamorphosis Have you ever contemplated whether or not your life‚ or even life in general‚ has meaning or purpose? Have you ever wondered why we are here or why we have responsibilities or even why we think of things as we do? This series of questions that an individual might ask in his or her own mind all point to a philosophy known as existentialism. Existentialism explores the uselessness of the human’s responsibility to make choices‚ perform actions
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Cartesian Skepticism to Existentialism The nature of our reality and existence has been a topic of debate since at least the ancient Greeks. Do we exist? Why do we exist? Does it even matter? These are questions I will attempt to address thoroughly. Answers may not be comfortable or satisfactory‚ but it’s better to rip that band-aid off now than continue blindly in the dark. Rationalism and Empiricism have both attempted to prove existence‚ but at their most extremes they fall apart. Using
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the opinions of their loved ones‚ others do not forget to factor the ideals of human existentialism. In order to appropriately approach the point brought across‚ one must factor in the underlying tone of the existentialist values of ‘The Metamorphosis’ as written by Frank Kafka. Although many existentialist philosophers hold conflicting values across the board‚ there are many key traits that follow existentialism. Therefore‚ I am inclined to‚ due to my level of understanding remain impartial towards
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Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe‚ regards human existence as unexplainable‚ and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one ’s acts. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger and not only serves as one of the themes but probably the main reason Albert Camus wrote the book altogether. Presented in first person narration through the eyes
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was somewhat of a slave to his instincts. But were they even his? And thus‚ my own curiosity over existentialism and naturalism began. Though Richard Wright’s Native Son encompasses several traditional values of existentialism‚ the style and themes presented are primarily a reflection of the naturalistic movement in philosophy and literature. The philosophical studies of human beings‚ existentialism and naturalism‚ share a vital amount of similarities. But the distinctions between the two must be
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Existentialism: Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett‚ father of the American hard-boiled genre‚ is widely known for producing a suffocating world of realism in his works (“Hard-boiled fiction”). According to Paul Abraham’s “On re-reading The Maltese Falcon‚” the realistic atmosphere of Hammett’s third novel is reactionary to the post-war turmoil in which the work was born (97). This provides the ideal foundation for subtle philosophical concepts of existentialism such as‚ quests
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Existentialism : Here & Now Existentialism aimed to explore and encourage personal sensory detail via the thought processes of human beings. “Existentialism stressed the special character of personal‚ subjective experience and it insisted on the freedom and the autonomy of the individual” (Wolf). The philosophy of existentialism‚ and one of its greatest philosophers Jean Paul Sartre‚ were the motivation and inspiration to the arts and humanities during the 1940’s and 1950’s. First allow me to
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Existentialism is a chiefl y philosophical and literary movement that became popular after 1930 and that provides a distinctive interpretation of human existence. The question of the meaning of human existence is of supreme importance to existentialism‚ which advocates that people should create value for themselves through action and living each moment to its fullest. Existentialism serves as a protest against academic philosophy and possesses an antiestablishment sensibility. It contrasts both
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