Existentialism Essay Essay

Ever wonder why we absorb the term free will or where it originated? People believe that an somebody can discover themselves as a person and choose how to jazz by the decisions they charter easy this is where the word existential philosophy comes into do. Existentialism has been slightly since the early nineteenth century with Soren Kierkegaards philosophical and theological literary works which, in the twentieth century, would be recognized as existentialism.The term was primary coined by Gabriel Marcel, the French philosopher and later adopted by Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche and different philosophers for whom world earthly concern were key philosophical topics further Kierkegaard is bashn as the begin of Existentialism. Existentialism proposes that man is full of anxiety and despair with no sum in his life, only when existing, until he made a critical choice about the future. That is the way to achieve dignity as a human being. Existentialists felt that a dopting a social or political score was one way of giving purpose to life.Since then, existentialism has been used by sources such as Hamlet, Voltaire, Henry David Thoreau, in Buddhas t individuallyings, and more. Throughout the years, existentialism has been viewed from various lenses to express different ideas, emotions, as well as to detonate the thought process of readers, movie goers, and theater lovers everywhere and has been to a fault used in Kurt Vonneguts anti-war novel Slaughterhouse Five, Samuel Becketts play hold for Godot, and in the movie Inception. Existentialism is a concept that became hot during the Second World War in France, and just after it.French playwrights have often used the stage to express their views about anything release on in the world. There were hidden meanings that were common passim the pointedness so that plays would be able to pass without being banned or censored. ane who wrote best-selling novels, plays and widely read journalism a s well as theoretical texts during this period was Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre had been imprisoned in Germany in 1940 but managed to escape and become one of the leaders of the Existential movement in France.Sartre dealt with existentialist themes in his 1938 novel Nausea and the short stories in his 1939 aggregation The Wall, and had published his treatise on existentialism, Being and Nothingness in 1943, but it was in the dickens years discovering the liberation of Paris from the German occupying forces that he and his close associate became internationally famous as the wind figures of a movement known as existentialism. A major theme throughout his writings was freedom and responsibility.One other extremely popular writer and playwright during the same clipping as Sartre, as well as a close friend, was Albert Camus. In a short amount of sequence, Camus and Sartre became the leading public intellectuals of post-war France achieving, by the end of 1945, a fame that reached acro ss all audiences. (Existential reason Albert Camus) Camus rejected the existentialist label and considered his works to be concerned with veneering the absurd. In the Titular book, Camus uses the analogy of the Greek myth of Sisyphus to demonstrate the futility of existence.In the myth, Sisyphus is condemned for eternity by the gods to roll a rock up a hill when he reaches the summit, the rock will roll to the bottom again. Camus believes that this existence is pointless yet Sisyphus ultimately finds meaning and purpose in his task, simply by continually applying himself to it. For Camus, this related heavily to everyday life, and he saw Sisyphus an absurd hero, with a pointless existence. Camus felt that it was necessary to wonder what the meaning of life was and that the human being longed for some sense of clarity in the world, since if the world were clear, art would not exist. (Existential Primer Albert Camus) The Myth of Sisyphus became a ideal for existentialism in the t heatre and eventually inspired Beckett to write postponement for Godot. In Becketts Waiting for Godot, existentialism manifests itself in a hardly a(prenominal) ways the frustration of trying to understand the meaning in life, the proceed repetition seen throughout the play, and the softness to act. What remains archetypal in Waiting for Godot, concerning the absurdist metaphor is the way in which each character relies on the other for comfort, support, and most of all, meaning.Vladimir and tarragon desperately need one another in order to avoid living a lonely and meaningless life. The two together functions as a metaphor for survival, like the characters that proceed and follow them, they feel compelled to leave one another, but at the same time compelled to stay together. They consider parting, but, in the end, never actually part. Andrew Kennedy explains these rituals of parting saying, each is like a rehearsed ceremony, acted out to lessen the distance between time present and the ending of the relationship, which is both dreaded and desired(57).Therefore, Vladimir and Estragons inability to leave each other is just another case of the uncertainty and frustration they feel as they wait for an explanation of their existence. One of the most prevalent themes in Waiting for Godot is Estragon and Vladimirs inability to act. When Estragon says Lets go, Vladimir says We cant Were waiting for Godot (page 7). They be not even sure that Godot will come, or that they are waiting at the right place. Even if he doesnt come, they plan to wait indefinitely. Even if he doesnt come, they plan to wait indefinitely.After witnessing Pozzos cruelty to Lucky, Vladimir and Estragon are outraged. Yet they are still unable to do anything to improve Luckys situation. Pozzo lets Estragon and Vladimir know that they do not have control over their immediate future or even their distant future. When talking about the qabalistic twilight, Estragon and Vladimir relate to waiti ng for Godot. So long as they know what to expect, waiting is their only course of action. Since Estragon and Vladimir can never make a decisive choice about what they want to do or about their future, their life seems to have no meaning.