...Meaning and Existentialism in My Life - Existentialism is a phiosophy which revolves around the central belief that we create ourselves. External factors are not important. It is the way that we let external factors affect us that determines who we are. As individuals we all have the freedom to choose our own path and that is what life is all about. Along with the freedom of choice comes the responsibilty of one's actions which can make some people anxious but give others meaning to their lives. To overcome this anxiousness and accept responsibilty is to meet the challenges of life and to truly live it.... [tags: Existentialism, ] 675 words (1.9 pages) $14.95 [preview] Understanding Existentialism - Do we matter. Do we seek personal happiness in life. These are questions from existentialism. The dictionary defines existentialism as an individual’s experience filled with isolation in a hostile universe where a human being attempts to find true self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. Hamlet is an existentialist character who believes that he is forced to avenge his father’s death and the hatred builds in his heart because of the many betrayals which direct him towards a senseless life and constant thoughts about suicide; this ultimately leads to his demise and he is left with naught.... [tags: Existentialism] 872 words (2.5 pages) $14.95 [preview] Life Value vs. Existentialism in Grendel - A main theme in John Gardner’s Grendel...
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...life.” The famous masterpiece of Albert Camus, The Stranger, gives us the true taste of existential philosophy and teaches us about the universality and inevitability of absurd in humans’ lives. However, one can meet very similar concepts and ideas illustrated in another piece of art, which is the movie “I Heart Huckabees” by David O. Russell. This philosophical comedy does, indeed, share many similarities with The Stranger. The four main principles of existentialism similar in the book and the movie are observation, meaning of life, coincidence, and absurd. The best place to start is one of the most important aspects of existentialism and absurd as well as of The Stranger, observation. In The Stranger, we read about the constant observation that is done by the main...
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...Finding Joy in Albert Camus’ The Stranger: A Different Perspective Existentialism is often defined as a philosophical movement that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes a few main points, such as the freedom to choose and how the choices you make should be made without the assistance of another person or standard. From the existentialist point of view, you must accept the risk and responsibility of your choices and follow the act and result to wherever it takes the individual. Someone that is put in a certain situation understands it far more than someone looking in on that same situation; one commonly used situation that appears often in existentialist works is that of death. The existentialist should learn to accept death when the time has to come and should know that the most important questions in life are simply inaccessible to reason or science. Acting on your own experiences is essential in arriving at the truth and "man is condemned to be free” (Sartre). As a result of the diversity associated with this term it is impossible to define precisely. As is evident through the root of the word, exist, there is an emphasis on fixed individual existence and freedom of choice. Certain aspects of existentialism are shown in Albert Camus’ The Stranger. Existentialists attempt to direct our attention to ourselves as individuals. They force us to think about our relation to such topics as the existence...
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...existential novel The Stranger, Albert Camus portrays his existential theme of the absurdity of the universe through the main character, Monsieur Meursault’s actions and his apparent lack of all human emotion. However, in this novel the reader will find that Meursault is oblivious to the absurd that Camus has falsified, but nonetheless Meursault is affected by the absurd. Camus explores this theme in order to explicate the importance of certain existential realities throughout his novel. For example, Meursault is always seeking logic in an illogical world; in addition, he sees no meaning in any of his interactions or relationships with the...
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...Existentialism Existentialism research papers discuss the existential movement that influenced much of the world in the 20th Century. According to the New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Existentialism is a 20th Century movement that involved literature and philosophy. The main component of existentialism rests in the belief that people are entirely free and responsible for the choices they make. Existentialism By the middle of the 20th century, writers and philosophers had encountered a human society that had gone past the brink of hell and back. With the two World Wars having ravaged Europe, life itself seemed morally bankrupt. Jean-Paul Sartre, the great French existentialist, basically denied any moral code, yet held the individual solely responsible for his or her actions. This ideal was prolific by many intellectuals of the day, as faith in institutions was abandoned in light of the destruction and war across the globe. In many respects, this is one of the most unsettling philosophies in existence. The unsettling aspect of existentialism is that if there is to be no universal moral code, then individuals are free to make their own decisions about right and wrong, regardless of civil statues and the rights of others. Granted, we are all responsible for the choices we make. If we choose to kill, for example, we must accept the repercussions. However, knowledge of consequences and a willingness to establish one’s own moral code are two different things. Human...
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...An Exception to the Rule With how technology has embedded itself into the lives of american citizens, specifically millennials, people have begun to deeply consider its effects on society. One such effect is the constant availability of information, true or false. Accurate information can benefit and evolve a society whereas false information breeds hate and elongates struggle and grief. Communities based on beneficial information or tactics aid in the lives of millennials as well. With the way Millennials experience information and partake communities based on true information, elements of Kafka’s and Camus Existentialist writings can be adhered to daily life. Existentialism is a literary movement that focuses in on the individual as opposed...
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...Existentialism can be defined as a philosophical and literary tendency that typically displays a dismal of abstract theories that seek to disguise the untidiness of actual human lives and emphasizes the subjective realties of individual existence, individual freedom, and individual choice. Runaway by Kanye West is a great example of this philosophical theory and many connections can be made to his work and the work of Soren Kierkegaard, Franz Kafka, and Albert Camus. These four artists apply existentialist themes in their literature and even their private lives. The two themes that I found preeminent in these artists work are isolation and death. The four artists have a very philosophical cohesion between them. They all have a sense of isolationism in their works which makes their creations so unique. In Runaway by Kanye West, a phoenix falls to earth like a meteor and doesn’t know where she has ended up. The phoenix attempts to fit in with our society but she doesn’t know how to act in front of all these people so she is isolated. When the phoenix is at Kanye West’s dinner party, she sees a turkey that is about to be served for dinner and she is shocked and shrieks obnoxiously in front of all the guests and they look at her very differently and isolate her. In Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Gregor Samsa is portrayed as a bug and people look at him very differently. Gregor is isolated in his home and can’t leave because he doesn’t want his parents to look bad. “During the day...
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...Albert Camus was a French-Algerian writer best known for his absurdist works, including The Stranger (1942) and The Plague (1947). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. Early Life Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913, in Mondavi, French Algeria. His pied-noir family had little money. Camus's father died in combat during World War I, after which Camus lived with his mother, who was partially deaf, in a low-income section of Algiers. Camus did well in school and was admitted to the University of Algiers, where he studied philosophy and played goalie for the soccer team. He quit the team following a bout of tuberculosis in 1930, thereafter focusing on academic study. By 1936, he had obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophy. Political Engagement Camus became political during his student years, joining first the Communist Party and then the Algerian People's Party. As a champion of individual rights, he opposed French colonization and argued for the empowerment of Algerians in politics and labor. Camus would later be associated with the French anarchist movement. At the beginning of World War II, Camus joined the French Resistance in order to help liberate Paris from the Nazi occupation; he met Jean-Paul Sartre during his period of military service. Like Sartre, Camus wrote and published political commentary on the conflict throughout its duration. In 1945, he was one of the few Allied journalists to condemn the American use of the atomic bomb...
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...What is Existentialism? , Existentialism is a way of life, for example some people who live a life of an extensialist don’t care about anything or anyone. They take each day as it comes. They don’t worry about anything and act like their okay when they really aren’t. In the movie “The Dark Night” by Christopher Nolan’s and the book “The Stranger” by Albert Camus gives great examples of people who live the life of extensialist. Living an extensialist life comes with many consequences. Good or bad it doesn’t really matter. “I guess the joker is as crazy as they say” (Nolan). In the movie the Dark Night a man who works for the joker says how the joker is actually crazy like everyone says. Now in the story the stranger Mersault is crazy when he doesn’t cry or grief because his mother has passed away. They look at both of these characters as crazy. But are they actually crazy? Or are they crazy because society says they are? In a society many people see who is crazy who is not, but in these both stories they really aren’t, the joker just does things as they come and people are the ones who actually cause the crazy ness he just takes the blame for it, well that’s how I see it. In the book Mersault doesn’t cry for his mother’s death because he says they never really had any relationship at all. Society says he’s a jerk and he’s heartless for not doing so but he’s an estensialist and they really don’t show emotions at all. An extensialist does things as they come, they don’t plan...
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...Absurdity stresses the incompatibility between rational thought and the universe. Camus considers the recognition of absurdity an act of liberation from the restraints of humankind. In Camus’s The Stranger and Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the absurd is continually repudiated by society; individuals in these novels shun the human condition of absurdity, aligning with any trend of mankind. Existentialism emphasizes self-reliance and individualism. The philosophy encourages people to make their own decisions without accounting for societal trends or laws. Humans inherently have free will which is encroached by social structure and man-made laws. Similarly, the emphasis on freewill yield choices made only by an individual’s mind. These personal...
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...Paper – Existential Theory Existential Theory There are numerous counseling theories available to explain human behavior. Unlike many other theories, Existentialism explains human behavior through a person’s response to existence. “Existential psychotherapy is a dynamic approach to therapy which focuses on concerns that are rooted in the individual’s existence (Yalom, 1980, p. 5). Existentialism seeks to give meaning to questions humans ask such as: What does it all mean? Why am I here? What should I do with my life? Existential theorists believe in the uniqueness of human beings, and that each is responsible for choosing his or her own fate. This paper will summarize the structure of personality and function of personality as they apply to Existential Theory. Further discussion of the factors of environment, healthy functions, and unhealthy functions as they relate to client problem sources will be addressed. Existentialism does not have one father, or school of thought, per se. There are several philosophers who have contributed to the Existential Theory. Those philosophers include Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gabriel Marcel, Victor Frankl, and Irvin Yalom. While these are not the only contributors to Existentialism as a therapy, these philosophers are central to the meaning of Existentialism. Structure of Personality Existentialists believe humans are born with free will (choice of lifestyle), responsibility for our own destinies, uniqueness...
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...Throughout Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger (Outsider) the author attempts to demonstrate his philosophy of the world with the protagonist, Meursault. The society described in the novel, much like our own, has varies overwhelming influences from the media and the society towards the general public. This statement may seem paradoxical, but it is one of the vital factors in the protagonist, Meursault’s, development and realization of Camus’s philosophy, existentialism. Furthermore, it is this influence from others that separates Meursault from others and truly defines him as an outsider to society. The novel begins with an interesting event where the antagonist, Meursault’s mother dies. Then as the story goes on Meursalt continues on a romantic appointment with a women the very next day. From these events the readers find them under the impression that Meursault is someone that shows very little emotion and is very detached from the world around him. Later we find out that this is not entirely true. Although it is not stressed often, it is revealed in varies situations that Meursault does have emotions and show them very honestly. The author in some cases even purposely avoids mentioning Meursault’s emotion upon situations as in the first sentence of the book “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” (P1)This gives a very strong impression that he cares little for his mother. However, later in as in the book “I wanted to see mother right away.” This quote explains...
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...THE STRANGER PART I CHAPTER 1: REACTION TO TONE AND OPENNING BY CAMUS The opening to Camus’ The Stranger, has, ever since the novel’s publication, been a recurring aspect and reference in existential literature. The novel opens to the death of the protagonist, Meursault’s, mother. Her death plays a major role which recurs through the plot, but in the essence of the opening to The Stranger, it already introduces readers to the indifference of the protagonist and the initial tone at which the story is told. From the first paragraph, Camus lets the reader already establish an initial tone; through which he establishes thru many ways. Primarily in the texts structural level, Camus established the tone with the use of short, declarative sentences with no emotion. The narration is done in a matter of fact way creating the detached tone which resonates throughout the whole chapter. The detached tone allows no medium for which emotion is to pass. No matter the event the text maintains this structure of declarative, short clauses bearing no emotion- thus adhering to the tone of detachment. Secondly, Camus also uses digression as a method of establishing the detached tone. Digression serves as a method for Meursault to go to his own world: one he could call his own, with his own norms and beliefs. The motif which recurs as a medium for Meursault’s digression is the weather. This is witnessed initially in the bus trip as he dozes off from glaring at the sky (Pg4). This occurs just pages...
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...AP English The Stranger Novak (Practice AP samples) THE THESIS PARAGRAPH: • Society is like its own little exclusive club. If an individual fits the criteria, then that person is in; otherwise, an “unwanted” sign is put up, and the outcast is pushed aside. Through books and novels, alienation has revealed the true values of society by using a character’s status as an outcast to prove how un-adaptable cultures are. In Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Meursault’s creed is why is he shunned and not accepted by society. (What is that creed? What does society value?) • The common values of a society do not necessarily dictate how all its citizens will act. In The Stranger, Camus creates a society in Northern Africa where people live according to both their material and emotional needs. Meursault, however, illustrates a point of view that seems devoid of emotional need. Thus, he does not live in accord with the virtues of the same society that gives him his life and possessions. His decision to kill a man—a choice devoid of sufficient reason—is the pivotal point between his acceptance within his society and the malice he faces for violating the human right to life. Ultimately, Camus shows how the popular resentment of this murder is based on society’s ideals of justice, love, and a life of purpose—all virtues that Meursault does not have. (Very nice but mention Camus’s first name and introduce Meursault as a character.) THE THESIS STATEMENT: ...
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...The Stranger written by Albert Camus, poses main character, Meursault as an individual whose persona and attitude go against society's norms, which impact how he is viewed from other characters. His view of living an existential life, portraying limited emotions based on his actions, and his overall personality of his interactions add on to his character, causing him to act in a way that readers and society fits unredeemable. Camus' use of narrator point of view and vivid imagery emphasize how Meursault as a person unfolds, giving readers a glimpse into the mind of a person who has a passive internal thinking process and how it can heavily effect the outside world. This comes to portray how societal standards can influence how one reacts to...
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