Chance is a force assumed to cause events that cannot be foreseen or controlled. Taking responsibility for chance seems like a ridiculous thing to do because it happens without human intentions. However, taking responsibility for these chances is a key idea in existentialism. In The Stranger, by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is faced ...
In Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Existentialism and Human Emotions,” the author discusses the philosophical concept that existence precedes essence, a theory which involves elements of responsibility and freedom in regards to human choice. The idea that existence precedes essence means that a human being, as well as human reality, exists prior to any concepts of values or ...
There are two major existential themes that evolve in the movie Groundhog Day. One of the major themes is the loss of identity that evolves throughout the story. When Phil (the anchorman) realizes that he wakes up on Groundhog Day every day, he begins to do things that he wouldn’t normally do, like stealing Punxsutawney ...
Existentialism, the philosophy that life is meaningless if one fails to find their own purpose, is not one that is widely seen in film. American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, is a film that revolves around the theme of existentialism. Lester Burnham, the main character, a sad, troubled 42 year old man, married to a ...
A Farewell To Arms Hemingway’s A Farewell To Arms is a tragic WWI story that deals with love and brings up philosophical questions. In Hemingway’s A Farewell To Arms, there are three primary messages he wants to convey to his audience: the horrors of war, our chaotic and senseless world, and the need to escape ...
Existentialism has been defined as a movement that was both philosophical and psychological, and it influenced many diverse individuals during the 19th and 20th centuries. Existentialism has been said to “emphasize the individual existence, freedom, and choice.” Søren Kierkegaard was the first writer to call himself existential, and he rejected Plato’s philosophy that the highest ...
In The Stranger, some of the most significant events, for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness, are mental or psychological. Albert Camus manages to give Meursault’s internal events the sense of suspense and climax associated with external action through stream of consciousness, the narrator’s conflict with other characters and subtle inferences into existentialism and absurdity. ...
The domain of philosophically-inclined literature saw with it the development of an idea of broad-spanned and rather decrepit status. This was existentialism, dating back in origin far before it had been brought to light successfully in modern literature. Following increasing familiarity, and due to the French existentialist movement in which Camus was greatly involved, a ...
There are as many definitions of creative writing as there are people in the world. In general, a person who is uneducated about creative writing pedagogy might think of a creative writer as somewhat of a Shakespearean figure (Haake 4), while the creative writing student might be unable to separate the term creative writing from ...
