Existentialism

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Existentialism

• As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy
  dreams he found himself transformed in his bed
  into a gigantic insect. He was lying on his hard,
  as if it were armour-plated, back and when he
  lifted his head a little he could see his
  dome-like brown belly divided into stiff arched
  segments on top of which the bed quilt could
  hardly keep in position and was about to slide
  off completely. Hi numerous legs, which were
  pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk,
  waved helplessly before his eyes.
  
• - Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis (1916)

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Martin Heidegger (1899-1976)Karl Jaspers
(1883-1969)
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Background

• Born between the world wars
• witnessed irrationality and terror of fascism
  etc.
• Existentialism is another philosophical,
  religious, and artistic movement that has its
  modern roots in France and Germany. Although it
  dates to the early 1800s, existentialism gained
  its most popular form in the writings of French
  writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus
  in the years following WWII.

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Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
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Existentialism

• Existentialists
• believed that people are created by the
  experiences they undergo.
• made choices that give life meaning.
• Did not believe in God, but rather felt that
  human beings were free to make their own moral
  choices in life.
• In another words
• Alienation or Estrangement

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Ex. 1 Relationship with his family

• Gregor is taking over his father's
  responsibilities leaving nothing for Gregor's
  father to be responsible for.
• Gregor is making plans to send his sister to a
  good school, but he fails to discuss this idea
  with her.  To make things worse,
• Gregor even goes as far as to lock his own
  bedroom doors at night.
• ? He thinks that his family is content with what
  he is doing, but the only thing that Gregor
  accomplishes is to alienate himself from his
  family.

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Ex. 2 Social life

• Gregor goes on many trips for his job, and
  instead of going out to meet people, he stays at
  the motel and does nothing. For this reason
  Gregor doesn't have a friend that he can find
  support in. 
• He follows the same routine everyday of his life
  and fails to look ahead into the future. 
• ? By secluding himself like this, Gregor's life
  becomes like the life of a cockroach.  It is for
  this reason that he transforms into this
  creature.

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EX. 3 Life after the metamorphosis

• Whenever Gregor tries to communicate with
  someone, the only thing that comes out of his
  mouth are cockroach noises that scare his family.
• his appearance causes his family to not want be
  around him.
• His sister tries to take care of him, but
  eventually she becomes weary of this never ending
  task and forgets about him.
• ? Gregor is once again alienated from his family
  and the rest of society.