Absurdism

In the very first line of the novel elevates the absurdist concept, " My mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know. I received a telegram from the old people's home: 'Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Very sincerely yours.' That doesn't mean anything. It might have been yesterday '' This is not a normal reaction of a son to the news of his mother’s death. In the very first lines we find Mesusault’s strangeness to the normal feelings and emotions. Camus has portrayed a distance…

Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax offers an animated analogy of how man’s actions have recursive actions towards the ecological balance of nature. The film largely emphasises on the artificiality of nature within Thneedville. While its citizens seem unfazed by the lack of natural resources, it is apparent that Dr. Seuss is portraying their oblivion towards the scarcity of nature itself. However, though the lack of natural resources may result in a polluted or contaminated environment, the clean outlook of…

Analysis of themes in Don DeLillos novel White Noise. Reality versus fabrication. An obvious theme within DeLillos novel White Noise is the conflict between reality and fabrication. For example, this applies well to Jack and his altering personalities. Even though Jack has created a respected, intellectual identity for himself through the character of J.A.K. Gladney, professor in the studies of Hitler, he remains awkwardly aware of the fact that this entire character is a lie. In reality, the…

Albert Camus was an award-winning French author who expressed his absurdist views on the meaning of life and the purpose of humans in his esteemed novels, especially his 1942 classic The Stranger. The Stranger demonstrates Camus’ absurdist beliefs, sending a message to the world that life is meaningless and that personal values deserve to be defended. In this novel, Camus’ character of Meursault is the “stranger” that the title refers to because he is greatly misunderstood by his society due…

In an ideal world everything would be accomplished the first time around. Additional attempts would not be required if things did not go wrong, but unfortunately that is not how life works. Sometimes we falter and face hurdles along the way. Sometimes others are responsible for the troubles we face. There are a plethora of things that could go wrong but only one needs to to stop us in our tracks. Charlie, the protagonist of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is no exception…

\ In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s imagery paradoxically defines culture as hedonistic, implying that utopias will never exist. The reduction of societal values in attempts to cause pleasure exposes that happiness stems from experiences, not restrictions. Guy Montag’s ability to break away from an stagnant authority acknowledges a pathological society. Bradbury’s characterization of Montag foregrounds the intellectual suppression of his fictional society and their overwhelming willingness to…

Seldom, one thinks of the meaning of its own existence. Further, if any is assigned, it’s usually nominated by religion or social constructs, which in reality have no productive value. This is evident in everyday conversation when one finds individuals unsure, hesitant, nervous or even unaware of this matter. For centuries though, philosophers or lovers of wisdom as defined in Latin, have sought to find the meaning of life. The different outcomes, the different interpretations and the different…

James Douglas Stark – known as Starkie, a non-fictional war serviceman – becomes a conflict to nationalism’s omnipresence in New Zealand literature of the 1930s. Robin Hyde adopts a realist approach to James Mulgan’s Man Alone; by developing the article ‘Starkie’ Outlaw of N.Z.E.F. into the novel Passport to Hell. Passport to Hell differs from the regular “Kiwi bloke” stereotype, by retelling Starkie’s – a man who was not typically a hero – war experience. Starkie does not fit the stereotypes of…

Existentialism is a reasoning that accentuates singular presence, flexibility and decision. People characterize their own significance in life, and endeavor to settle on valuable choices regardless of existing in a nonsensical universe. Both the ballad "The Man Had No Useful Work" and the painting "Lady and Bicycle", indicate Sartre principles of existentialism. The reason that I feel like they both show existentialism is because Sartre expresses that people are special, putting forth the…

Imagine a world where nobody lets you in, and you can’t feel connected despite your best efforts. This is what Holden Caulfield experiences in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Holden can’t find or reach the connections he wants because the other people in his life won’t let him in, and Holden pushes people away when he doesn’t feel safe from himself and the outside world. Throughout the book, Holden feels depressed. This is the result of isolation and alienation affecting Holden by not…