What Makes An Existentialist Hero?

In writing this paper I've struggled to grasp existentialism, which is obviously a vital component to determining whether a character is or isn't an existentialist hero, and why or why not. My expectation that there would be a clear-cut answer was more than a little off, what with how much existentialism has evolved through time and how existentialist philosophers hold completely contradictory beliefs from each other. Existentialism doesn't fit into a neat box any more easily than existentialists do. Although it was confusing at times, I have learned and feel I have a strong enough understanding of the most important beliefs and the primary core values of existentialism. In this paper, I will describe how the character Harold Crick from the film Stranger Than Fiction (2006) goes from an extraordinarily ordinary man to an existential hero.

What is Existentialism?

Existentialism is more a way of thinking than it is anything else. In many ways, it's a philosophy of making your own philosophy. Existentialism values individualism and freedom above all else. It's not really surprising that people who value these things are going to be individuals not easily grouped together. According to Shinn (1999), the quintessential existentialist wouldn't even want to be called an existentialist, because the label would place them in a category, instead of preserving their individualism. This seems almost comical, but demonstrates how highly individualism is valued by the existentialist. One must be an active participant in their own life and make decisions that are unique and personal to themselves to fulfill this value (MacQuarrie, 2005). This means that our actions define who we are, as who we are decides our