...happiness that will never be found. This is what Albert Camus shows us in The Myth of Sisyphus. The central point is the absurdity of happiness, this is apparent in the following sentence “But when he had seen again, the face of this world, enjoyed water and sun, warm stones and the sea,” (Albert Camus). Sisyphus is a hedonist, he takes great joy from the world and enjoys all the earthly pleasures of the warm sun, and the calm sea, he loves to live his life full of pleasure. However, the gods are determined to punish Sisyphus for not staying in the underworld after he had died. Consequently, he is taken by Mercury back to the underworld, were his rock is there ready for him....
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...The Day Sisyphus Escaped the Assembly Line The short story “The Sandwich Factory” is written by Jason Kennedy in 2007 and tells the story of a male individual’s time at a sandwich factory in 1994. We hear of the narrator’s low-paid, meaningless job where mechanization has made the workers’ task subordinate and absurd. He works at a conveyor belt that spits out two loafs of bread. The mission of the employers is then to place ingredients in the sandwiches while the product is moving past them. They even rank the different ingredients; “…if you were unlucky or new, it would be tomatoes.” (l. 48, p. 3) Their large attention on such a small subject illustrates the extreme relativism that characterizes the story. We follow an unnamed 1st person narrator, and the story is told through his point of view. We only know that he is a man because someone at the factory wants him to find a female partner (l.93, p. 4). The language of the short story is characterized by a lot of humor and irony, for example the description of Dot, who would have been an excellent pirate, giving both blowjobs and sandwiches to the seagulks (l. 36, p. 3). The character Dot has, like many of the other workers, lost her soul by the monotonous work at the factory and she is now giving blowjobs to strangers at the local nightclub. We also hear of another co-worker who looks afraid every time he interacts with our narrator (l. 42, p. 3) - he is not used to human contact and is alienated from his colleagues. The...
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...Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero can be seen in many works of Literature, and has verified its importance towards a lot of authors. His definition basically states that the character comes from a noble figure, occupies a high position in his/her society or kingdom and epitomizes a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his or her downfall. The term Hubris is defined as excessive pride and self-confidence. It indicates that the person who exhibits it has lost contact with reality and always overestimates his accomplishment, which can lead to his/her downfall. The downfall could be anything from mental disturbance to even death. The concept of a tragic hero can definitely be seen in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare’s King Lear. Even though there are differences in both the writing, they also have some similarities. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, the title character was the king of Thebes, and his city was infected with a poisonous plague. To discover the source of the plague and to get rid of it, the Oracle of Delphi was called. It turned out to be that the only way to get rid of plague would be to banish the killer of the former ruler of Thebes, Laius, from the city-state. Oedipus was Laius’s and Jocasta’s son, which was given to shepherd and was order to kill Oedipus, because it was found out that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother. He was very shocked after hearing this because he did not believe that he would ever do something like that. Jocasta then...
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...Is Suicide Justifiable? According to Albert Camus, suicide was considered the fundamental issue for moral philosophy. Unlike other philosophers who had written on the subject and tried to find sufficient reasons behind it to put off facing the consequences of the absurd, Camus was interested in not only accepting, but also embracing absurdity while renouncing suicide. His philosophy is profoundly evident in one of his non-fiction works, The Myth of Sisyphus, which illuminates the ethics of suicide. Through Camus’ thoughts and writings, the concept of absurdity has influenced authors around the world and has left a great impression on their writings, such as Henrik Ibsen’s play, Rosmersholm, and poses the question whether suicide is in fact justifiable. In his philosophy, known as absurdism, Camus emphasizes that "There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide." The goal of this idea is to judge whether or not life is worth living in a meaningless world. Camus defines the notion of the absurd as something that expresses an essential disharmony in our existence. He emphasizes that this is product of a clash and "confrontation between our man and his own obscurity" (Camus, 494) . In other words, Camus explains that we are free agents in this life, and that we live by a sense of meaning and purpose, and under this acceptance, we feel at home. However, everyone, at some point in their life, has experienced the feeling of absurdity, whether its during...
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...The term Theatre of the Absurd was first used by Martin Esslin, a literary critic, who used it to connect Samuel Becket, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet and Arthur Adamov as the primary playwrights of the Absurd in his study from 1961. This dramatic movement developed in Paris during the 1950s and it declined in the mid 1960s. These dramatists are chiefly concerned with expressing a sense of wonder, of incomprehension, and at times of despair, at the lack of cohesion that they find in the world. The Idea of the Absurd (in the sense which these writers incorporate into their writing) was first mentioned in Albert Camus’s essay Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus). According to Camus, the Absurd is the result of human desire for clarity and meaning in a world that offers none. Works of the writers of the Theatre of the Absurd are characterized by - * lack of logic * unconventional dialogue * rejection of conventional characterization and plot. They all express the idea that human existence is essentially meaningless and that in this world true communication is impossible. Camus in his Le Mythe de Sisyphe “In the universe that is suddenly deprived of illusions and of light, man feels a stranger. His is an irremediable exile …this divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting, truly constitutes the feeling of Absurdity”. This very idea surfaces in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. A mixture of absurdity and reality, illusion and...
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...Marlon Straker Ms. Tobenkin AP Literature, Period 1 1 May 2016 The Stranger Essay While Meursault is walking down the beach, he is creating a tension that leads him to the killing of the Arab. By walking down the beach, he is using this to demonstrate his freedom and independence towards the Arabs and the readers. While he is walking down the beach, the Arabs are following him but they are not threatening or doing anything to harm him. But for safety reasons, Meursault decides to take a gun which he uses to kill one of the Arab. When Meursault shoots the Arab, Camus creates a tension that builds onto the climax of the story. “All I could feel were the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead and, indistinctly, the dazzling spear...
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...Certain novels include a character who, based solely on his actions, would appear to be evil, but in an in-depth examination, can be seen in a different, more sympathetic light. The character Meursault, in Albert Camus’s The Stranger, is notable for this description. While his murderous crime and indifference to emotions make him seem to be cretinous, his dramatic transformation at the end of the story make us feel for him. When he finally grasps the theme of the book, embracing the “gentle indifference” of the universe, he also grabs our hearts, in becoming an “absurd” hero. To begin, the outside observer of Meursault would find him a distressingly hardened criminal. Most notable, of course, is his cold-blooded murder of the Arab. When he declares that it was “because of the sun,” he is labeled “a monster,” by the prosecutor, and our minds. His other so-called crime is being found guilty of indifference. All throughout the book, Meursault refuses to open any part of his self to the emotional world. “Maman died today. Or maybe yesterday,” symbolizes his lack of regard for the people in his life. Later, when he sheds no tears at the funeral and answers nonchalantly to Marie’s talk of marraige, we come to realize that he is without the vital passion that fuels human existence. So, it would appear that the cards are stacked against Meursault in his initial description to the audience. Yet, Camus manages to add subtle details to the story, which give us a reverse impression...
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...One’s ability to examine his or her own thoughts or feelings is a key aspect of human awareness and is significant in every social activity. To understand who and how one is, one repeats his or her own experiences and actions. In Grendel, John Gardner, the author, writes to a broad audience to people from the modern time. This time period brought reflection of why people believed what they do. John Gardner retells the poem Beowulf from the perspective of Grendel, the protagonist. The intended audience in Grendel by John Gardner is targeting introspective thinkers to compare the human-like characteristics of Grendel to the reader. To begin with, Gardner argues that there is no meaning to life and no reason to follow the organization of the society. Through Grendel, Gardner scorns religion and personal desires. He compares life to “a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears” (Gardner 21). Grendel’s adolescence scars him to life on a few approaches. His first look at the indifference of the universe and to make the experience less psychologically painful is to do something human: make up a logic that meets expectations. A strong self determination is key and to have a great defense mechanism. In addition, Grendel asserts that everything in life is chaos implying there is no god or higher control controlling human fate. In this case, the audience can relate to Grendel because Grendel relies solely on unscientific evidence to support...
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...The meaning of life to Sisyphus may or may not be pointless and hopeless. Although Sisyphus was forced to finish the task that were condemned from God and never accomplishes the task because the task is endlessness, the task is continue to go on unless Sisyphus thought of a way to use the stone to do something else unique. Some criticism that I am against from Taylor’s argument that life is objectively meaningless. I against that Taylor points out that Sisyphus efforts comes to nothing but to lacks meaning of life because he cannot get anything done. I don’t think what Sisyphus is doing is effortless because he put values and heart into accomplishing his task and he have a strong desire to take this challenge and I don’t think it is wrong that Sisyphus is...
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...relationship with others mostly described by Sartre’s literary work No Exit and analysis from Being and Nothingness. Components of Existential Philosophy This paper will firstly discuss the major existential principle of existence preceding essence. This notion is discussed by Sartre’s (1946) lecture “Existentialism is Humanism”. This central theme existence preceding essence is the backbone for most existential thought and that is why it is discussed and understood thoroughly from the beginning of this paper. This leads to the existential thought, absurdity of life. Life being absurd is a component of the existential human condition and this is discussed using The Myth of Sisyphus as a beacon of how absurdity applies to life and happiness. This was written and discussed by Camus in his work The Myth of Sisyphus. Lastly this paper will discuss how others impact the individual or human relationships, discussed by Sartre. His thesis regarding others interactions are that it is Hell. This is the central theme in his play No Exit, and unpacking this existential thought this paper will use his work Being and Nothingness. Human Condition Existence comes before essence; this is a main theme found in existential philosophy. Sartre (1946) states in his lecture “Existentialism is Humanism”, the theme existence precedes essence, is an ideal that all existential philosophers hold true. To understand the existential claim that existence precedes essence it is beneficial to define the...
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...University of Phoenix Material Cosmic Myth Worksheet Choose two myths from each of the following myth categories: creation, flood, afterlife, and apocalypse. Answer the following questions for all eight myths. Creation Myths |Myth 1: In the beginning was Chaos. Then came Earth |Religion or culture of origin: | |which produced Sky. Covering Earth each night, Sky |Greek Creation | |fathered children upon her. Earth was personified as | | |Gaia/Terra and sky was Ouranos (Uranus). | | |Myth 2: |Religion or culture of origin: | |Their children included the Titan parents of most of |Greek Creation | |the Olympian gods and goddesses, as well as many other| | |creatures, including the Cyclopes, Giants, | | |Hecatonchires, Erinyes, and more. Aphrodite was the | | |offspring of Ouranos. | | ...
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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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...Deconstruction essay The play Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett, is about two men, Vladimir and Estragon, who endlessly wait for another man named Godot to appear. In this play, there are several binary oppositions that contribute to the overall meaning of the play. Through the use of three binaries: forgetfulness/memory, active /passive, and despair/hope, it appears the meaning of this play would be that by waiting or being inactive one will eventually gain success. However, by reversing the binaries, it becomes apparent that the true emphasis of this play is that people need to be active in order to accomplish something. Throughout the play, Vladimir and Estragon repeat the same activities over and over. They forget events that have happened in the past while waiting for Mr. Godot to arrive. "And Pozzo and Lucky? / Pozzo and Lucky? / He's forgotten everything!" (Beckett 67). Not only are Vladimir and Estragon affected by this "amnesia," but several of the other characters also do not remember having previously interacted with the two primary characters. "Do you not recognize me? / No sir. / It wasn't you came yesterday. / No Sir" (Beckett 105). Although the audience knows that the same boy came and delivered a message to Vladimir, the boy refuses to acknowledge that fact. By reversing the binary of forgetfulness/memory, these moments create meaning. When another character forgets something, the others become angry, so the idea that forgetfulness is more valued does not make...
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...Both Meursault and society undertake mutual mistreatment. Meursault is both the narrating protagonist and societally estranged antagonist. The conflict of Meursault versus society overlaps the conflict over Meursault versus himself and though at the demise of one, he achieves victory over the other. In speaking to the chaplain Meursault discusses his almost ignorance as to his condemned position in terms of justification by subjective "human" justice versus objective divine intervention/interpretation. Meursault then goes on to state his ignorance of sin and his acceptance, although unknowingly or incomprehensibly as to why, to his societal condemnation as guilty. Camus’ true absurd hero is actually presented in his other work The Myth of...
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...Existentialism The purpose of this essay is to summarize the main views of Nagel and Taylor and to determine if they are too pessimistic in nature, or if in fact, Wolf’s standards for how to live are indeed too low. I will begin by discussing Thomas Nagel’s views on why life is fundamentally absurd given the criteria taken from Nagel’s article, “The Absurd.” Secondly, I will discuss Richard Taylor’s theory, which states that as humans, most people do not live meaningful lives, and demonstrate how that statement relates to the story of Sisyphus, and expand upon Taylor’s belief that it is essentially impossible for the majority of people to live a truly meaningful life. Thirdly, I will introduce Susan Wolf and her views on what features are needed in order to live a meaningful life in contrast to the views of Taylor and Nagel, and determine whether or not her criticism of Taylor and Nagel is indeed, accurate. I will conclude with a brief summery detailing the main points of this essay. In the essay “The Absurd”, Nagel touches on the idea that most people have an inexplicable awareness to the absurdity of life. Many feel on occasion that life is absurd, and some even go so far as to deal with this conviction in their daily lives. Rationale has been applied to explain this naturalistic sensitivity of the absurd, however Nagel claims that the reasoning put forth is patently inadequate. The first argument for absurdity begins with the concept that nothing we do will matter in the...
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