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An evaluation of Jean Paul Sartre existentialism
An evaluation of Jean Paul Sartre existentialism
In Sartre's words, what is existentialism
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The interesting concept of the absurd hero is classically presented by the author, Albert Camus in many of his novels, including The Plague. An absurd hero is a person who does what he has to do regardless of whether or not he can control that situation. Dr. Rieux, a physician in the plagued town, for example, still performs his job daily and just as diligent as he ever has, instead of caving in to the worry and fear that his town experiences because of this widespread epidemic. Camus uses this concept of the absurd hero to develop the four main characters, Tarrou, Rambert, Grand, but especially Dr. Bernard Rieux.
Dr. Rieux is absolutely an absurd hero because he does what he has to do. He still works as a doctor instead of hiding in fear, hoping to not get the plague like many other of the citizens. Of course, he does not want to fall ill, but he knows that should not stop him from completely ignoring his duties. Unlike many of his fellow citizens who just cowered in their home, he realizes his responsibility and lived up to his specific duty. Everyone’s belief was that the whole city is condemned to die, which was influenced by the priest's sermon, stating this is punishment for the sins of the townspeople, but Dr.Rieux ignored that and stayed to fight. "There's no question of heroism in all this. It's a matter of common decency. That's an idea which may make some people smile, but the only means of fighting a plague is – common decency." (Camus, The Plague). He does not give up and he does not show weakness. Dr. Rieux has a very similar personality to the character Sisyphus in The Myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus is sentenced to roll a rock to the top of the mountain and then watch it roll back down, for eternity. “Man...
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...ainst the plague, show it who’s boss. This is good because it shows his persistence and how good his moral character is. Dr. Rieux’s absurd personality is a main contributor as his role as an absurd hero in The Plague.
The concept of the absurd hero clearly displays the development of the main character, Dr. Bernard Rieux. Through his slim chances of changing the present, his maintaining of existentialist integrity, and his absurd personality, comes the perfect absurd hero. Dr. Rieux is a true fighter for what he believes in is best for everyone else, his fellow citizens. He is not selfish nor rude. He is not conniving nor sceptical. He knows exactly what the future brings, more death from the plague, but that does not stop him from doing his purpose in life, to help the sick. He is an unlikely hero, but he sure does prove himself worthy of the “hero” title.
For this assignment, I choose to watch How To Survive A Plague directed by David France. The documentary was focused on the aids crisis in the 1980s. The men were introduced to an illness called HIV positive or aids. The majority people who had aids were the gay people when they had sexual interactions with eachother and did not use protection. There were a couple of women who were HIV positive as well but it was to their understanding that their husband were gay.
The protagonist, Meursault, was interesting character. His ideas and beliefs seem to point to a time when there is no hope to be had. Although he is able to accept the fact that everyone dies and in so doing realizes that you can live better. He lives a controlled life in which he takes responsibility for all of his actions. This is a direct reflect of Camus personal beliefs about absurdism.
They don’t bother themselves with matters involving money. It is very easy for the reader to realize that they are too naive to combat the forthcoming calamity. The theme of not knowing life is more than work and habits will narrow the people’s chances of survival. Rieux explains that the town had a view of death as something that happens every day. He then explains that the town really doesn’t face the Mediterranean Sea.
For instance, Meursault develops the theme of absurdity in two different contexts namely figurative and literal level. On the symbolic level, he is concerned to death after being found guilty. This is a portrayal of the human condition who have to face the consequences after committing a crime more so, a capital offense like murder. On the other hand, literally of the action is seen when he describes the character of a revolt, freedom, and passion. Meursault is not moved by the expectations of the society and does what he feels is best for him. In many cases throughout the novel, he refused to abide by the customs of the society and instead resorted to smoking. Other things he did against the society expectations includes showing indifference during the vigil of his mother, going to the beach with Marie, and spending time with her immediately after his mother was buried as well as writing a letter for his friend, Raymond. His ability to exercise what he believes in and his freedom make it difficult for the society to impose on him some restrictions on his life. He is constant pursuance of pleasure and experiences makes it difficult for him to conform to the norms and values of the
The plague affected people not only on a physical level but a mental one as well. The mental health of the citizens of Oran was amongst the plague's many victims, it suffered of exhaustion as well as being forced to handle mental confrontations. When the citizens dealt with these issues, some people lost their capacity to love as intently, but overall the general capacity of people to uphold their devotion remained resilient to the challenges the plague provided.
...able option. Camus’s main character, Meursault, embodies this third option; by accepting his circumstances and being indifferent to them, Meursault is able to break free of all possible causes of anxiety and find happiness. Furthermore, Meursault’s rejection of religion as belief, his acceptance of the “benign indifference of the universe”, and his acceptance of his circumstances all leading to happiness personifies Camus’s take on Absurdism, the philosophy that Camus is trying to depict in The Stranger (76). By using foil characters to contrast Meursault in actions or personality, Camus creates several polarizing situations, making Meursault the extreme epitome of Absurdism in every contrasting relationship and thus, shining light on his ideology in the process.
In many works of Literature, a character comes forth as a hero, only to die because of a character trait known as a tragic flaw; Hamlet from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Okonkwo from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Winston Smith from Orwell’s 1984 all exhibit that single trait, which leads, in one way or another, to their deaths. These three tragic heroes are both similar and different in many ways: the way they die, their tragic flaws, and what they learn. All three characters strongly exhibit the traits needed to be classified as a tragic hero.
Character development in The Plague plays a significant role in illustrating the way that man will endure against an incomparable being or force. In this case, the plague. The people of Oran have an understanding, though an indefinite one, of the power of the plague because Dr. Rieux publicly accepts the situation. Rieux makes it clear that he plans to “get busy with [the plague]” (89), but “[he] knew: that this wasn’t the easiest course” (89). In other words, Dr. Rieux us fully aware that he is up against something much stronger than himself. However, he is intent on combating the plague. Dr. Rieux, however, does not represent all of the people. Not all of the people are immediately awake to the fact that the plague is a force to be reckoned with. Because a majority of them do not know the true power of the plague, they have no desire to counteract the early stages of the disease. Without knowing the actual severity of the situation, “the risk of the plague seemed insignificant” (70) to them. The overall nonchalant attitude of the citi...
Think of a North America without electricity, no running water, no government, almost no buildings left intact, and ravaged by a Chinese manufactured plague, even though it’s hard to imagine that's what happened in Jeff Hirsch’s The Eleventh Plague. In Jeff Hirsch’s Eleventh Plague a family made up of the Dad, Mom, Grandfather, and son are trying to survive in a North America ravaged by a Chinese Plague , But then the mom and grandpa die and dad and Stephen are left on their own, but when the dad gets injured running away from some slavers, A Town named Settlers Landing that seems too good to be true takes them in. Then Stephen befriends a girl named Jenny, and when they play a prank that sends Jenny, and when they play a prank that sends the town into chaos. A war is started and it is up to them to help stop it. I thought that The Eleventh Plague was a believable piece of Speculative Fiction because of Hirsch's use of elements of Conflict, Theme, and Red Herrings.
The hero is now leaving the ordinary world and entering the supernatural world. Upon entering this supernatural world, Jones faces many unwanted and unexpected trials. The first is when Mayor Phlegmming removes Jones from his position on the case. Subsequently, Drix tells the mayor that he would like to still be able to work with Jones and the mayor allows it to happen. As a result of this, Drix and Jones become actual partners and work together for the remainder of their job in fighting off Thrax. Thrax, better known as the red death, is the disease that is brought into Frank as a result of eating the infested egg. Thrax’s goal is to take down Frank in less than forty-eight hours from the inside out, ultimately by overheating him. Many problems are created as a result of Thrax, but the dynamic duo, Drix and Jones never give up. All is well until the mayor strips Jones from the job and sends Drix out of the body. The two become very depressed realizing they will not be able to defeat the red death together and end up going their separate ways. Mayor Phlegmming still believes that it is just a common cold, yet the dynamic duo knows that there is more to it. Jones then comes to realize that Thrax is still alive and tracks down Drix so that they can tackle the red death together. As they hunt down the red death, the body starts to overheat and Frank himself
A hero is someone who goes on a life journey that is a quest for self-awareness and self-development. Published criticisms of Kesey’s protagonist, R.P. McMurphy, argue that his character is crazy and dangerous; I partially disagree disagree because McMurphy is also adventurous and has a good intention in what he does. McMurphy has a life journey that could consider him as heroic. McMurphy’s journey starts off with him working on a farm then he gets sent to a mental institute. During his time at the mental institute he meets new friends and his mentor, Chief. He also meets his enemy, Nurse Ratched who causes him setbacks. His friends helps him overcome these obstacles. McMurphy became a leader for the other patients at the hospital because he
Tragic figures are characters that aim for a goal but never reach it. They suffer throughout their story and are most likely to die before the play ends. The tragic hero is the most commonly known of these figures, but tragic villains also exist. An example of the tragic hero is Franz Woyzeck, of Georg Büchner’s working-class tragedy ‘Woyzeck’. Compared and contrasted to Woyzeck is the tragic villain, Ferdinand, of John Webster’s tragedy ‘The Duchess of Malfi’. Both characters fail to gain what they desire because they suffer of a mental illness.
A tragic hero can be defined by several different factors; the hero usually has a major flaw that prevents him from seeing the truth that lies in front of him, which contributes to the character’s peripeteia due to mistaken judgement. This mistake then leads to achieving anagnorisis, usually at the end of the play, but is too late to change anything, and results in death.
...y this made the young doctor almost a god, he could dispense health or death and just about as he wished but with consequences if he disobeyed Death wishes. The lesson here is seen by the folly of his actions, the doctor believes that he is above all earthly constraints and believes that he is indeed a god. The young doctor is placed in this situation on purpose. He is told that he can cure anyone as long as Death allows it but he is also given the choice to do as he pleases albeit with consequences. The young doctor ignores all warnings and ultimately has to pay for his folly with his own life. What the story does is to show us that we are all human. That we can not play with death or life and that ultimately death will come after us be us rich or poor. I specially loved the symbolism of the candles of light, makes me wonder if indeed there could be such a place.
In 1962, writer Mark Esslin took pleasure in composing the novel Theatre of the Absurd and quickly became a major influence on the works of many inspired writers. Esslin subsequently made ensuing plays and stories which focused on nonspecific existentialist concepts and which did not remain consistent with his ideas, rejecting the “narrative continuity and the rigidity of logic.” As a result, the protagonist of these stories is often not capable of containing himself within his or her disorderly society (“Theatre”). Writer Albert Camus made such an interpretation of the “Absurd” by altering the idea into his view of believing it is the rudimentary absence of “reasonableness” and consistency in the human personality. Not only does Camus attempt to display the absurd through studied deformities and established arrangements; he also “undermines the ordinary expectations of continuity and rationality” (“The Theatre”). Camus envisions life in his works, The Stranger and “The Myth of Sisyphus,” as having no time frame or significance, and the toiling endeavor to find such significance where it does not exist is what Camus believes to be the absurd (“Albert”).