Written by Josh Rahn. She said, “If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. Palahniuk offers a prime example of how existentialist ideas can still permeate work that is firmly rooted in the contemporary idiom. Billy’s curiosity shows that humans beings, as a whole, tend to find greater meaning if anything happens. The essence of an object is its function. Later existential thinkers would frame their discourse differently, but Kierkegaard’s basic tenets have remained powerfully influential for generations of artists and thinkers. Etymologically, the word existence is derived from the Latin word “existere” which means “to stand out.”, Why you? Generally, our approach towards society remains like this that ‘My World is better than Your World’. Part of him understands this, and resists the urge to simply annihilate things – this provides the greatest twist of the novel – and that part of him is ultimately correct. These lines occur in a play, Waiting for Godot written by Samuel Becket. The writers apply existentialist philosophy in their texts to underpin the efforts of dejected, tormented and alienated humans, how they find themselves facing certain choices in the world. The modern world, which commodifies everything, even one’s internal life, has rendered all philosophies essentially bankrupt. In the 1600s, Balthasar Gracian, It also looked at the anxiety that occurs in life and especially in regards to death. Existentialism in literature is actually a movement or perhaps tendency that emphasizes person existence, flexibility, and decision. Rather than simply provide an exploration of existentialism in literature, or a survey of those literary works that figure within existentialism, this essay will also examine the idea of existentialism as literature – sketching a picture of existentialism as it emerges … The idea in existentialism is that a person will create their essence over their lifetime and it will never truly be finished or fully formed. Some of the most significant examples of literary existentialism can be found in the works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, a 19th-century Russian novelist who wasn’t even technically an existentialist because he wrote so long before anything like a self-aware existentialism existed. His novels typically represent characters caught up in situations and systems well beyond their control, and the ways in which they cope with such seeming futility. Many existential philosophers have intimated that literature is especially well positioned to communicate the central tenets of their philosophy. However, the influence of existential thought is not totally swept away, as many filmmakers and novelists still claim the likes of Kafka or Sartre as prime inspirations. Vladimir: Let’s wait till we know exactly how we stand. Existentialism is a movement in philosophy and literature that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. A character, the nurse, speaks these words when addressing Meursault during the funeral procession. Of course, presenting philosophy in literary form was not new. Copyright © 2020 Literary Devices. However, the primary themes which Kafka wished to convey are understandable in any language. Vladimir: Godot. The reaction of the protagonist is to rail against that commodification in ever more violent ways, but nevertheless he cannot escape the commercial, postmodern world which he inhabits. In addition, following plays are also fall in this category. Welcome to Englishpost.org. Existentialist thought has garnered an unfair reputation for pessimism and even full-blown nihilism. In The Nausea, Sartre tells that story of an academic who becomes aware of the intense singularity of his own existence. There is no why.”, (Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Chapter 4). His literary contributions were relatively few, but … Thus, the philosophy of existentialism shines in the suggestion of Estragon who is of the view that they should take their own path before it is too late. Literary Examples. Means there is a difference between ‘My World’ [Emotional] and ‘Your World’ [Logical]. The philosophy is by most standards a very loose conglomeration of perspectives, aesthetics, and approaches to dealing with the world and its inherent difficulties. Is the Coronavirus Crisis Increasing America's Drug Overdoses? Here Vladimir seems to be spiritual and religious about the arrival of Godot to come and direct them. In this sense, it liberates them from the clutches of moral values, social norms, and religious beliefs. Indeed, some of the most important examples of existentialist writing are literary rather than purely philosophical. ), The Secret Science of Solving Crossword Puzzles, Racist Phrases to Remove From Your Mental Lexicon. The writings of Franz Kafka have long been associated with twentieth century existentialism. Avoid your existential crisis by escaping in modern existentialist literature, with books from authors like Dave Eggers, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace. The conflicts which Beckett presents to the audience – for all drama must have some conflict – are sometimes so obfuscating as to frustrate and distort meaning entirely. From this perspective, art tends to act as a lens which either focuses or diffuses certain modes of thinking which pass through it. He advocated for the downtrodden, and continually struggled for a more egalitarian society based on the worth of each individual. Chuck Palahniuk, Stanley Kubrick, and David Lynch all have created works of art that follow a direct line from nineteenth century existential philosophy. He by all accounts feels no remorse for his act, nor sadness for the recent passing of his mother. This is entirely an absurd situation that points to the existential situation. This kind of moral calculus, carried out by a lone individual and not sanctioned by the greater society, is ultimately bankrupt and doomed to failure. The lead character – one hesitates to label him a protagonist – Raskolnikov believes that he can justify for himself the murder of a greedy pawnbroker who lives near him. Existentialism Examples. There are multiple strains and variations from one author to the next, yet still just enough commonalities to see the shared underlying principles. Positive change is then an imperative for the true existentialist; otherwise existence is a complete void. Meursault’s words that there is really no way out points to the frustration he is going through. Austin Cline, a former regional director for the Council for Secular Humanism, writes and lectures extensively about atheism and agnosticism. He realizes that he is forced or condemned to choose one or the other options and that there is no escape. Critics have pointed out that in the translation from German to English, a great deal of the wit of Kafka’s writing is lost. Existentialism examples can include actions, art, responses to crisis, and much more. Later in the twentieth century, the comedy troupe Monty Python would in a sense follow in Kafka’s steps, presenting life as ultimately absurd and as meaningful or meaningless as one chose to make it. Because existentialism is treated as a “lived” philosophy that is understood and explored through how one lives one’s life rather than a “system” that must be studied from books, it is not unexpected that much existentialist thought can be found in literary form (novels, plays) and not just in the traditional philosophical treatises.