All over the world people often find themselves thinking about what the purpose of life is. Repeatedly people occupy themselves with finding their true purpose, but even when they find their purpose they find themselves wanting more. Some believe that believing in a higher power may help seal the void, however, many philosophers argue that people can only achieve happiness if they accept that life has no true purpose. One philosophical system that is studied by many philosophers if called existentialism. Existentialism focuses on the existence of free will and the development of the self through a person’s actions. In addition, existentialism focuses on the consequences of one’s actions. Another philosophical system is called absurdism which
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In doing this the protagonist, Gregor Samsa accepts the absurdism of life but he, unfortunately, dies at the end of the story. In the beginning, Gregor wakes up and notices that he has transformed into a giant insect. As he tries to roll out of bed he begins to remember how much he hates his job as a traveling salesman. Gregor states that traveling takes much more effort than “doing [his] own business at home, and on top of that there 's the…worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that [one] can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them” (Kafka 112). This circles back to existentialism because Gregor chooses to work at a job that has made him feel numb about the world, thus, he is suffering from the choices he has made. Gregor has lost all the will that drives a human to live; therefore, he appears to have accepted the absurdity of life. Once Gregor turns into an insect his family begins to resent him. This might be because he is no longer able to provide for the family. In addition, the family feels like they need to hide Gregor because they fear what people might think of them. Kafka’s way of thinking is like Camus’s way of thinking because they both believe in the absurdity of life and the meaningless of it. However, Kafka focuses more on the choices that his characters make and the consequences that follow. In addition, a biography on Kafka states that people have an “individual side and a side with the commitment of society” (Kafka). It is the choices that one makes that define a person. “If a person chooses [oneself] over society, [one] will lose the support of society; however, if a person chooses society, [one] will lose [one’s] individuality” (Kafka). This means that since
In doing this the protagonist, Gregor Samsa accepts the absurdism of life but he, unfortunately, dies at the end of the story. In the beginning, Gregor wakes up and notices that he has transformed into a giant insect. As he tries to roll out of bed he begins to remember how much he hates his job as a traveling salesman. Gregor states that traveling takes much more effort than “doing [his] own business at home, and on top of that there 's the…worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that [one] can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them” (Kafka 112). This circles back to existentialism because Gregor chooses to work at a job that has made him feel numb about the world, thus, he is suffering from the choices he has made. Gregor has lost all the will that drives a human to live; therefore, he appears to have accepted the absurdity of life. Once Gregor turns into an insect his family begins to resent him. This might be because he is no longer able to provide for the family. In addition, the family feels like they need to hide Gregor because they fear what people might think of them. Kafka’s way of thinking is like Camus’s way of thinking because they both believe in the absurdity of life and the meaningless of it. However, Kafka focuses more on the choices that his characters make and the consequences that follow. In addition, a biography on Kafka states that people have an “individual side and a side with the commitment of society” (Kafka). It is the choices that one makes that define a person. “If a person chooses [oneself] over society, [one] will lose the support of society; however, if a person chooses society, [one] will lose [one’s] individuality” (Kafka). This means that since