Existentialism: Does Life Have Meaning? Essay

Most people would like to think that their look has some motley of meat or excogitation. However how this meaning in life sentence is obtained can cause some differing views. unmatchable may rely that they were born with a purpose in life and the other may believe that it is their have responsibility to pass their protest life meaning. While the first belief may be the preferred option, it doesnt seem very practical. Existentialists believe that unmatched must give meaning to their declare life, which in alone reality seems to be the truth.In the novels Their Eyes Were Watching God, Crime and Punishment, The Awakening, The Stranger, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, the existential view that the individual is responsible for giving their own life meaning is confirmed through the partings actions, pressures of caller, and the over whole meanings of the works. The behaviors of the characters in these various novels help explain their search for meaning in life .In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Nora Zeal Hurston, the main(prenominal) character Janie is on a search for her line up purpose in life. She spent her whole life being controlled by her nan and her first two husbands, and now that she is living her life with her third husband Teacakes, she is stem to discover her true potential. Janie is always trying to serve the men in her life so much to the point that she belittles herself into having no meaning to her own life. Janie began to try to pick up her own meaning in life early in the novel.In chapter two it states, Janie was stretched on her back beneath the pear tree soaking in the alto chant of the visiting bees, the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her. She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the sock embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and effervescing with delight. So this was a marriage She had been summoned to behold a revelation.Then Janie felt a pain unmerciful sweet that left her limp and languid. At this point Janie carry outs that it is her own responsibility to create her own purpose in life and she quite a littles out to do so. By the end of the novel, Janie realizes that she can solitary(prenominal) depend on herself to be happy and she must put her own demand before the needs of others, thus purpose her meaning of life. The actions of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, seem to be a constant search for the meaning of life.In Act Three, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have a conversation after they realize that their mission they were sent on is now useless. They say, Guildenstern Weve travelled too far, and our momentum has taken over we come across idly towards eternity, without possibility of reprieve or hope of explanation. Ros encrantz Be happyif youre not however happy whats so good about surviving? Well be all right. I think over we just go on. Guildenstern has clearly determined that life has no meaning to it at all and that he is just waiting for death.However, Rosencrantz recognizes that they must make their own meaning of life. Rosencrantz indicates that the fact that life as a whole does not have some(prenominal) obvious meaning does not mean that it is impossible for any individual life to have meaning. Rosencrantzs response is an attempt to find meaning and purpose on precisely this individual level. When faced with the chaos of life, Rosencrantz decides that his personal purpose will be to seek delectation for himself. They begin to realize that they must make their life meaningful on their own rather than by the expectations of others, supporting the existential view.Societal expectations play a big part on ones quest to find the meaning of life. In the The Stranger by Albert Camus and Cri me and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the main characters are conflicted by the pressures of society and doing what they need to do. In The Stranger, Meursault kills a man on the beach and is termination through a trial, where he is eventually sentenced to the death penalty. Meursault knows that society is against him and wants him to be put to death. However, Meursault doesnt want to die.Like all people, Meursault comes to realize that he has been born, will die, and will have no further importance. solo after Meursault reaches this seemingly dismal realization is he able to attain happiness. When he fully comes to foothold with the inevitability of death, he bring ins that it does not matter whether he dies by execution or zippys to die a natural death at an old age. This understanding enables Meursault to put aside his fantasies of escaping execution by register a successful legal appeal. Meursault sees that his hope for sustained life has been a burden.His liberation f rom this false hope of not being executed means he is free to pass life for what it is, and to make the approximately of his remaining days. With this, Meursault discovers the existential view that it was his own responsibility to give his life meaning and he should bear worrying about societal pressures. Raskolnikov, the main character in Crime and Punishment, finds himself in a homogeneous situation to Meursault. He murders two women and is now debating on whether to turn himself into the police or not.This ultimately leads to Raskolnikovs existential crisis to live or to die. In the novel Raskolnikov says Where is it Ive read that someone condemned to death says or think, an hour before his death, that if he had to live on some high rock, on such a narrow ledge that hed only room to stand, and the ocean, everlasting darkness, everlasting solitude, everlasting violent storm around him, if he had to remain standing on a square yard of space all his life, a thousand years, eter nity, it were better to live so than to die at onceOnly to live, to live and live Life, whatever it may be This shows that by the end of the novel, Raskolnikov understands that he must make his life meaningful in order for him to want to live. He knows that he was born into this world with no meaning and he has to give himself a purpose in life to strive towards, no matter what society says. Society wants Raskolnikov to just get executed, but he decides to serve his time in person so that he could still make meaning in his life after he got out of prison.Raskolnikov came to understand that only he could fulfill his purpose in life and he must live in order to do so. In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin, the overall meaning of trying to find ones true self helps support the existential belief of the responsibility of creating ones purpose in life. Edna Pontellier is unhappy with her life and she begins to try to find a way out. In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her. She has this awakening where she realizes that she needs to stop living for everyone else and instead live for herself. Towards the end of the novel she says, I would give up the unessential I would give my money, I would give my life for my children but I wouldnt give myself. I cant make it more than clear its only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me. She has discovered that her meaning in life was not to be the perfect wife or mom, but to live for what is best for her.Edna knows that she needs to create her own meaning for her life so she decides to leave her old life behind and set out to do so. By the end of the novel, Edna commits suicide because she realizes that the only way she can escape her life that she is living for everyone else is just to end her life all together. All in all, the existential beli ef that one must create their own meaning in life is supported in the novels through the characters actions, societal pressures, and the overall meanings of the works.Many of the characters can teach the readers a lesson on how to live for oneself and not be influenced by the wants of others. One only has a single life, so they must make the most of it and create their own purpose in life in order to actually live. If one doesnt live for their own meaning and purpose in life, then what is the point of living? Its your choice, but just remember, you only live once.