Kafka01
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This journal prompt discusses existentialist and absurdist philosophies. It explores concepts like the absurd, nihilism, and existentialism. Key figures mentioned include Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka, and Jean-Paul Sartre. The prompt characterizes the absurdist view as abandoning hope of finding meaning in life and embracing nihilism. It also shares numerous quotes from Kafka reflecting on themes of isolation, unhappiness, and the meaninglessness of life.
Kafka01
- 1. Journal Prompt August 24, 2012
- 2. Man v man Man v nature Man v society Man v fate Man v self
- 4. Does Death see anything new?
- 19. - No society has been able to abolish human sadness, no political system can deliver us from the pain of living, from our fear of death, our thirst for the absolute. It is the human condition that directs the social condition, not vice versa. - Living is abnormal.
- 20. Doesn’t sound like there is much hope in the world…
- 22. John Paul Sartre
- 23. Samuel Beckett
- 25. Absurd: Absurdism: Ridiculously unreasonable or unsound A philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe. Having no rational or orderly relationship to human life Not necessarily comic
- 26. Nihilism A viewpoint that traditional values and belief are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless A doctrine that denies and objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths Existentialism A philosophy that focuses on how individuals function in an unfathomable and the plight of the individual who must assume responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong.
- 27. The Absurdist abandoned all hope of finding meaning in life and embraced a sort of nihilism. The Absurdist was convinced that everything was meaningless. The subjectivity of a Romantic was appealing to the Absurdist. However, even that implied that something was transcendent--a desire--and the Absurdist would have nothing to do with that.
- 28. Shock or stun the audience Rely on Symbols Focus on non-realistic situations to make a point Heavy on dialogue, short on action. There is no God. There is no afterlife. There is no meaning.
- 29. Meet Franz Kaf ka. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
- 30. Unhappy in life Unforgettable in death Abused by his father Unloved Unwanted Destined to disappoint Isolated Insufficient Alienated
- 31. His view on living: “A First Sign of the Beginning of Understand ing is the Wish to Die.”
- 32. His view on living: “The meaning of life is that it stops.”
- 33. His view on living: “Slept, awoke, slept, awoke, miserable life.”
- 34. “I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.” Kafka’s view of literature
- 36. Read “The Metamorphosis” chapter 1 (pp 11-24) Write a one paragraph summary of the chapter. Look online for summaries of transformation myths (Arcas, Arachne, Atlas, Callisto, Charbydis, Cygnus, Echo, Narcissus) Based on your research, is Gregor’s transformed figure an appropriate one for his life?