Existential Essay Assignment
In a well-organized essay, compare and contrast two existential texts
by closely examining the literary techniques that each text employs to
express a philosophical message. The first text is an existential text of
your choice, and the second text is either Wit by Margaret Edson, The
Stranger by Albert Camus, or Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco.
Essay length: 5-6 pages.
Consider the following existential themes:
Death
Anxiety
Absurdity
Meaning versus Meaninglessness
Passion and Purpose
Authenticity
Justice
God (or lack thereof)
Universe as Cruel or Indifferent
Chaos
Self-Creation (“Existence precedes essence”)
Rationality versus Irrationality
Fate versus Free Will
The Subjectivity of Truth
Individual Responsibility
Human Emotion
Human Drama
Suffering
Freedom
The rough draft is due Wednesday, December 9th (35 points)
The final draft is due Thursday, December 17th (120 points)
Your final draft must be uploaded to turnitin.com by 3 p.m.
Thursday, December 18th
Existentialism Defined (Kind of)
Existential Mantras:
 We make ourselves (Existence precedes essence).
 We are responsible for ourselves.
 There are no excuses.
Definition of Existentialism:
Existentialism is difficult to define. Many philosophers and writers that
are deemed “existentialist” had profoundly different beliefs (e.g.: Kierkegaard
was a devout Christian while Sartre was a self-proclaimed atheist), and some
even disliked being labeled an “existentialist” (Camus was one of the latter).
Existentialism is conventionally defined as a 19th century-20th century
movement, though the movement picked up noticeable momentum after WWI
and WWII. The main thread that runs through many existentialist philosophies
is the supreme responsibility of the individual to face his or her own existence
and to accept accountability for his or her own emotions, thoughts, and actions.
The disparities are intriguing. Some existentialist thinkers came to the
conclusion that there is no inherent meaning in our existence and that life is
absurd. In the face of this absurdity, some philosophers accepted that we live in a
chaotic, godless universe devoid of meaning, while others implored that we must
actively create our own passion and meaning. Some philosophers insisted upon
our freedom to believe in whatever we wanted. Even if that belief was an absurd
leap of faith, it was our leap to make.
Many people associate existentialism with the belief that life has no
objective meaning, purpose, or value, but that is the definition of a philosophical
doctrine called nihilism. As a whole, existentialism is not seen as focusing solely
on the pointlessness of existence (though some existential thinkers came to that
conclusion), but focusing on mankind’s responsibility in confronting feelings of
despair, anxiety, and meaninglessness.
List of Recommended Existential Writers/Philosophers:
Albert Camus
The Rebel (historical portrait of man in revolt)
The Plague (novel about a plague epidemic)
The Fall (novel about a wealthy lawyer’s fall from grace)
Jean-Paul Sartre
Being and Nothingness (philosophical treatise on consciousness; 800 pages)
The Flies (play that is an adaptation of the Electra myth)
No Exit (play about people in hell)
The Wall (short story collection dealing with many existential themes)
Nausea (considered an existentialist manifesto; his best-known novel)
The Age of Reason (depicting his ideas from his treatise Being and Nothingness)
Soren Kierkegaard
The Concept of Anxiety (a discourse on existential choices and consequences)
Fear and Trembling (a discourse on the nature of faith)
Friedrich Nietzsche
On the Genealogy of Morals (considered his most brilliant work)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (mimics the style of the Bible to oppose religion)
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Notes from the Underground (considered by some as the first existential novel)
Crime and Punishment (novel about the mental anguish of a murderer)
The Brothers Karamazov (philosophical novel that explores faith and free will)
Franz Kafka
The Trial (explores the cruel fate of a man arrested for a crime he didn’t commit)
Simone de Beauvoir
She Came to Stay (novel about freedom, angst, and a ménage à trois)
The Mandarins (novel that looks at French intellectuals after WWII)
The Second Sex (her best-known work that attempts to define what it means to be
a woman)
Samuel Beckett
Waiting for Godot (considered the most significant play of the 20th century)
Endgame (the most bizarre one act play you might ever read)
Alternative Option
Instead of reading the “classic” existentialists, you could read a contemporary
piece of fiction that is considered “existential.”
Suggestions:
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (psychological mind trip)
Less than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (1980s nihilism)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (love story)
An American Dream by Norman Mailer (murder story)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (existential sci-fi)
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard (absurdist play)
Your own selection (just obtain approval from Ms. Sieker)