The Existentialist Literary Exam Paper: Existentialism

Blythe McGregor

December 5, 2017

Existentialist Literary Exam Paper: Prompt 3

Reality is a fundamental concept discussed in many branches of philosophy. It is particularly important within the existentialist framework. Existentialists, as well as phenomenologists, believe that when a human being is separated from reality, reality is altogether lost. If one is not currently in direct contact with reality, there is no reality at all. The existence of reality is dependent on one’s own experience of it. In the world of existentialism, humans delineate the meaning of life for themselves and in doing so create their own reality. The existentialist sees a certain absurdity in existence and part of that relates to this idea of being responsible for

The existentialist idea of losing all of reality once reality is lost for the individual is exemplified for each of these characters, although this is executed in varying styles depending on the text. Lack of reality is also used as a tool to further the plotline in all of these works, as well as to demonstrate to readers other pillars of existentialism. In this way, the idea of a loss of reality ties each of these pieces and their characters together. This idea also unifies the existential concepts introduced and helps paint a picture of this branch of philosophy for the audience. The subsequent paragraphs will examine the role reality plays in each of these works, and what these texts give by way of support to existentialist ideas of

As the story progresses, K. has some experiences that seem terrifyingly real and others seem straight out of a dream. The transition time between these two states is often nonexistent; Kafka’s writing seems to flip between realistic and fantasy without much effort. An example of this would be when K. shows up for his initial court date. His morning seems fairly normal, K. decides to walk to the building and in doing so he is surrounded by people talking and laughing. This scene seems very realistic and clear-cut. The moment K. sets foot in the trial building, surrealism immediately sets in. The building is large and confusing. The trial takes place in a large room filled with mysterious people. A sexual and somewhat violent confrontation between a man and a woman take place in the back of the meeting hall. Everything seems a little off, like something out of a dream. K. is obviously perturbed as evidenced by his rebellious outbursts in front of this mysterious group of people. This shows that the switch from reality to this dreamlike world is toying with his mind, just as it toys with the minds of