Existentialism Essay Essay Example for Free

Existentialism Essay EssayEver admiration why we have the term free will or where it originated? People believe that an individual john discover themselves as a person and choose how to live by the decisions they make well this is where the reciprocation existentialism comes into play. Existentialism has been around 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 first coined by Gabriel Marcel, the French philosopher and later on adopted by Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche and other philosophers for whom human existence were key philosophical topics but Kierkegaard is know as the Father of Existentialism. Existentialism proposes that man is full of anxiety and despair with no meaning in his life, simply existing, until he made a conclusive choice about the future. That is the way to achieve gravitas as a human being. Existentiali sts felt that adopting a social or political cause was iodine way of giving purpose to life.Since then, existentialism has been used by writers such as Hamlet, Voltaire, Henry David Thoreau, in Buddhas t separatelyings, and more. Throughout the years, existentialism has been viewed from various lenses to express different ideas, emotions, as well as to cover the thought process of readers, movie goers, and theater lovers everywhere and has been excessively used in Kurt Vonneguts anti-war novel Slaughterhouse Five, Samuel Becketts play Waiting for Godot, and in the movie Inception. Existentialism is a imagination that became popular during the Second World War in France, and just after it.French playwrights have oft used the stage to express their views about anything going on in the manhood. There were hidden meanings that were reciprocal throughout the period so that plays would be able to pass without being banned or censored. angiotensin-converting enzyme who wrote best-se lling novels, plays and widely read journalism as well as theoretical texts during this period was Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre had been confine 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 collection The Wall, and had published his treatise on existentialism, organism and Nothingness in 1943, but it was in the two years following the liberation of Paris from the German occupying forces that he and his close associate became internationally famous as the leading figures of a movement known as existentialism. A major theme throughout his writings was freedom and responsibility.One other super popular writer and playwright during the same time as Sartre, as well as a close friend, was Albert Camus. In a short amount of time, Camus and Sartre became the leading public intellectuals of post-war France achieving, by the end of 19 45, a fame that reached across all audiences. (Existential Primer Albert Camus) Camus rejected the existentialist label and considered his works to be concerned with face up 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 gyre a rock up a hill when he reaches the summit, the rock will roll to the prat 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 incumbent 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 prototype for existentialism in the theatre and lastly inspired Beckett to write Waiting for Godot. In Becketts Waiting for Godot, existentialism manifests itself in a few ways the frustration of trying to understand the meaning in life, the continued 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 annul living a lonely and meaningless life. The two together functions as a metaphor for survival, alike the characters that proceed and follow them, they feel compelled to leave one another, but at the same time compelled to check mark 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 fall the distance between ti me 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 example of the uncertainty and frustration they feel as they wait for an ex thinkation of their existence. One of the most prevalent themes in Waiting for Godot is Estragon and Vladimirs inability to act. When Estragon says allows go, Vladimir says We cant Were waiting for Godot (page 7). They are not flush certain(a) 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 mysterious twilight, Estragon and Vladimir relate to waiting 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.