Waking up each morning, no one can resist wondering why they were put here, what they were destined to do. Everyone lives everyday searching for their reason, their meaning in life. While most claim to find their life’s meaning through gratifying work or service, all hope that defining life is as simple as a glance into a dictionary. However, realistic authors like Flannery O’Connor, Ernest Hemingway, and Herman Melville use their literary works to delve into complex characters who find their life’s purpose through immoral or unusual actions. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, The Sun Also Rises, and “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, these authors develop their protagonist or antagonist to display the universal theme of finding meaning in life. Through
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Plagued by toxic relationships, low self-esteem, and psychological isolation, Jakes constantly seems to doubt his purpose in life. Throughout the entire piece, Hemingway places Jake in situations in which he must face his personal demons, wondering if they blur his grasp on life; he acts as both a realist and hypocrite, stating that living life to the fullest is useless as “nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters”. While Jake disregards the chance of achieving a fulfilling life, he also lies awake each night, troubled by his constant discontent with life. Hemingway puts Jake through a constant struggle of refocusing his life in the efforts of finding something meaningful. As a part of Hemingway’s connection of Jake to greater meaning, Jake questions his past, especially in his faith, stating that “[he] was a little ashamed, and [he] regretted that [he] was such a rotten Catholic”. When his efforts at Christianity fail, Hemingway turns Jake into a man who drowns away any questions of purpose with drinking and isolation. Instead of facing life sober and energetic, Jake acts as a recluse, shading his thoughts and actions with the most powerful psychological weapon, alcohol. Beyond his stoic expressions, Jake conceals his avoidance of life. Rather than taking any moment to ponder and regret life, Jake completely averts any questions as to his meaning in life, fearing that he may never find any purpose for
Plagued by toxic relationships, low self-esteem, and psychological isolation, Jakes constantly seems to doubt his purpose in life. Throughout the entire piece, Hemingway places Jake in situations in which he must face his personal demons, wondering if they blur his grasp on life; he acts as both a realist and hypocrite, stating that living life to the fullest is useless as “nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters”. While Jake disregards the chance of achieving a fulfilling life, he also lies awake each night, troubled by his constant discontent with life. Hemingway puts Jake through a constant struggle of refocusing his life in the efforts of finding something meaningful. As a part of Hemingway’s connection of Jake to greater meaning, Jake questions his past, especially in his faith, stating that “[he] was a little ashamed, and [he] regretted that [he] was such a rotten Catholic”. When his efforts at Christianity fail, Hemingway turns Jake into a man who drowns away any questions of purpose with drinking and isolation. Instead of facing life sober and energetic, Jake acts as a recluse, shading his thoughts and actions with the most powerful psychological weapon, alcohol. Beyond his stoic expressions, Jake conceals his avoidance of life. Rather than taking any moment to ponder and regret life, Jake completely averts any questions as to his meaning in life, fearing that he may never find any purpose for