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essays on Existentialism
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The Metamorphosis and The Stranger - Existentialist Values
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus' The Stranger, both feature protagonists in situations out of which arise existentialist values. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts . In The Metamorphosis the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, realizes his existentialism towards the end of the novella. In contrast, Monsieur Meursault, the protagonist in The Stranger, knows of his existentialism, only realizing his life's lack of meaning moments after he is sentenced to death. Despite the somewhat absurd nature of The Metamorphosis, and the realistic nature of The Stranger, similar values are communicated to the reader. The easiest to pick out being that it is up to the individual to create his/her own life, and that the inhuman behaviour presented by both protagonists will eventually lead to very bad things; namely death in both novellas. These deaths are, however, very different, as are the methods through which Kafka and Camus have made each novel nothing but `a philosophy put into images' .
Meursault (the narrator) in The Stranger only sees and only wants to see the absolute truth in society. The readers first encounter with him...
Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know.
I got a telegram from the home: "Mother deceased.
Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours." That doesn't mean
Anything. Maybe it was yesterday .
...immediately gives an impression of a lack of emotion towards the demise of his mother. This lack of emotion highlights the existentialist ideal that we all die, so it doesn't matter what life we have while we are alive. We simply exist, as did Meursault. It becomes apparent, as the novella unfolds, that Meursault has acquired an animal like indifference towards society. His interactions with his neighbour Raymond are an example of his indifferences. It never dawns upon Meursault that society does not condone his interactions with the pimp, avoided by his community. Meursault simply acts to fill his time. Being a single man, he has a lot of time to fill, and finds the weekends passing particularly slowly.
The title of the book, The Rites of Spring, and the plunge into the world of the Ballet Russe in the first chapter, made clear that Eksteins intended to use Stravinsky's ballet as an image for thinking about The Great War. (The ballet itself was a microcosm of war and the events surrounding the presentation of this ballet involved a war of a different sort.) He showed that, just as Anglo/Franco music and dance were stagnant and ripe for being changed, so were the political and social constructs of those nations heavy with the accumulated weight of their own self-importance. Britain, long self-satisfied, set herself as guardian of the status quo. Although she purported to be a champion of liberty and democracy, this was only true when it suited her goals. One did not need to look far to find examples of British resolutely and unashamedly trampling opposition when she felt it in her interest to do so. France, on the other hand, although supremely confident of herself in matters of taste be it art, music, fashion or literature had never developed a clear and exact idea of itself as a political entity. After the defeat of the Second Empire, she entered into a period of self-doubt and he...
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of time that black music, art, and literature actually started to become known. This was a very important part in African American history because it was one of the first times in American history that many African Americans could earn a living and be recognized for something they accomplished ( Jackson 1). This time period also influenced blacks to come out of there shells and start sharing with the world there different cultures. The nightlife during the Harlem Renaissance became very alive. People were going to clubs listening to the jazz musicians, dancing on the streets, and just going out and having a good time.
Many people do not know what Harriet Tubman’s greatest achievement was. Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Maryland around 1822. When she was born she was first named Araminta Ross and was like every other African-American, born into slavery. In 1844 Araminta married a free black man named John Tubman and later changed her name to Harriet Tubman, her first name from her mother and her last name from her husband. Five years later Harriet’s master died which gave Harriet a decision, she could be free or dead. Harriet decided to run, this decision had led herself down a dangerous path. However, Harriet had chosen to help other slaves, by doing so she had accomplished various achievements, but which one was her greatest? During Harriet’s lifetime, she had worked as a nurse, she had created the underground railroad, and had worked as a spy freeing many slaves.
demanded her voice to be heard. Because she believed every person had a right to be free, Harriet Tubman risked her life to save others.
In the year 1825 in Maryland a true hero was born. This hero did the impossible. This hero dared to do what no one else would do. This hero devoted her life to making America better. This hero overcame something that no one at the time thought would ever be overcame. This hero is Harriet Tubman. No one since Harriet has devoted their whole life to one thing and overcoming it and making a huge difference, which was slavery. From being a toddler to the day of her death she devoted all of it to making a difference in slavery, and she sure did make quite a difference. From being a slave herself to freeing over one thousand slaves Harriet Tubman is a true hero. Imagining America without having Harriet Tubman in it is a hard thing to do. Harriet changed America into a better place and was one of the main reasons that slavery came to an end. Harriet Tubman overcame slavery by escaping persecution, risking her life, and refusing to give up.
Harriet Ross Tubman was an African American who escaped slavery and then showed runaway slaves the way to freedom in the North for longer than a decade before the American Civil War. During the war she was as a scout, spy, and nurse for the United States Army. After that she kept working for rights for blacks and women.
Many slaves found an escape system that led them to freedom. Although the Fugitive Slave Act was passed which meant that it was harder for former slaves to live in the United States (Crewe 8). This confidential system was called the Underground Railroad and the system circulated rapidly from plantation to plantation and from one slave to another (Ray 45). The Underground Railroad was a system which assisted fugitives to flee to the north, ran by genuine townspeople (Ray 46). The helpers on the Railroad provided nourishment, clothing and protection from the slave catchers (Ray 46). They illegally transported fugitives in wagons through threatening regions and led them along the independence path. The most brave among them was Harriet Tubman who fled to independence in 1849 (Ray 46). Tubman would voyage the north by night and would hide every time she heard sounds of horses (Ray 46). She assisted for ten years and helped free slaves (Ray 46). Time after time, she would go back to the South to guide more than three hundred blacks on a unpredictable get away path (Ray 46). Harriet never gave up because at one point, slave hunters proposed twelve thousand dollars for the catch of the heroic "Railroad conductor" (Ray 46). Of course, that didn't stop her. This led to Harriet carrying a gun to prevent scared slaves from going back (Ray 46). At once, Tubman got asked if she would really shoot a fugitive who endangered the other
A historic phenomenon known as the Underground Railroad left an immense impact on the history of slaves and abolitionists. A notorious woman by the name of Harriet Tubman had a paramount role in this audacious and venturesome event. She was even nicknamed Moses from the Bible! Multitudinous slaves had followed Harriet, trusting her as their leader to guide them through the routes of the Underground Railroad; therefore, it is suitable and appropriate to say Harriet Tubman was an extraordinary heroine. Her fervid and passionate determination made her capable of traveling to the Underground Railroad. Using that driven motivation, she assisted countless slaves to their freedom.
...ark. It is her life that should be remembered, the women that had the courage to escape from a life she did not want and the selflessness to return to bequeath the same gift on others that were not as fortunate as her. Tubman knew that although she could achieve freedom in a legal sense, she herself would not feel free unless she had someone to share it with. After escaping from the South, Tubman stated "I was free, but there was no one to welcome me to freedom.... I was a stranger in a strange land." Many slaves had the courage to journey north on the Underground Railroad, however, few slaves had the courage to free themselves, and then plummet themselves back into danger. It is not the action of freeing slaves that Harriet Tubman should be remember for, but rather her fighting spirit and unwillingness to give up until she felt that what was wrong was set right.
Harriet Tubman’s work as part of the Underground Railroad was ended by the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. However, her determined opposition and resistance to slavery did not end there. She assisted the Union throughout the war in a variety of roles. Her practice of partaking in the Underground Railroad meant that she had an understanding and ability to take part in secretive missions and this, in combination with her devotion to helping other people, made her a useful resource for the Union army
In part one of “The Stranger”, the sentences are short, choppy and nondescriptive. Description and detail in the this part of the writing are devoted only to those things that seem unimportant, like coffee or the weather. An example of this style occurs on page 31 when Raymond is describing his plans for revenge on his mistress, “But that wasn’t what he wanted. He was going to think about it. But first he wanted to ask me something” (Camus, 31). In terms of length and vocabulary, there isn’t much variety between these three sentences. This gives the impression that Meursault is not looking into his situation very deeply and is extremely passive about the events he is being presented to. This is contrasted greatly in part two as Meursault is ...
Harriet Tubman was a selfless woman, who devoted her life to save others. Many other slaves from the South escaped to freedom in the North like Tubman. Many of these people stayed where they were free, frightened to go anywhere near the South again. However, that was not Tubman, she was different. She wanted everyone to have the feeling of freedom that she had newly discovered. Harriet was known “to bring people of her race from bondage to liberty,” (S Bradford et al 1869). Harriet Tubman was known as a hero to lots of people during the Civil War.
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland around 1820. By the time Tubman had reached the age of 5 or 6, she started working as a servant in her master’s household. Approximately seven years after she began working as a servant, Tubman was sent to work out in the fields. While Tubman was still a teenager, she sustained an injury that would affect her for the rest of her life. One day, Tubman stood up for another slave and blocked a doorway in order to protect them from an upset overseer. The overseer threw a weight at one of the field hands, missing them and instead hitting Tubman on the head. Tubman was never able to fully heal from the wound she sustained from the overseer. This injury caused a chroni...
The Stranger written by Albert Camus is an absurdist novel revolving around the protagonist, Meursault. A major motif in the novel is violence. There are various places where violence takes place and they lead to the major violent act, which relates directly to the theme of the book. The major violent act of killing an Arab committed by Meursault leads to the complete metamorphosis of his character and he realizes the absurdity of life.
In The Stranger, Albert Camus misleadingly portrays his existentialistic views of life, death, and the world. Camus portrays the world as absurd or without purpose Meaursalt, who, as a reflection of Camus, is foreign and indifferent to his own life and death. Meaursalt eventually senses guilt for his crime, not because of the remorse of taking someone else’s life, but because it means he would lose the little things that he considers important in his life. Meaursalt is a puzzling character, who leaves readers to be uncertain about Camus’ views of life.