Absurdist fiction

Science Fiction vs Absurdist Fiction: A Battle of Genres When classifying a piece of literature, it is imperative to consider its genre. A text’s genre can answer the unknown inquiries that a reader may come up with. For example, a genre can explain why a book is written this way, why it contains such language, and why certain plot elements are the way they are. Science Fiction and Absurdist Fiction are two noteworthy genres to consider. Science Fiction is classified as “literature of the human species encountering change”(McKitterick 1). On the other hand, Absurdist Fiction is defined as “a genre of literature with a lack of purpose”(Bunting 1). Determining the meaning of a genre assists a reader in terms of understanding what to expect…

“Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.” This quote extracted from Waiting for Godot, an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett that premiered on 5 January 1953, holds the essence of absurdist theatre and what its playwrights seek to express- the inescapable meaningless and futility of life. The origins of absurdist theatre are commonly linked to the avant-garde experimentations of the 19th century, but there has been speculation that there were traces of absurdist theatre in works…

Throughout history there remains universal themes explored in life and fiction that are not dependent on time or place. In Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis it follows Gregor Samsa, a travelling businessman who transforms into a bug. As a bug, Gregor lives an unfortunate life full of loneliness, which is barely different than his life as a human. In Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron we follow the rise and fall of Harrison himself in a society where everyone is completely equal. Harrison,…

Good morning distinguished guests I’m Samantha Crawford and it’s a pleasure to be here discussing the performance Absurd by Homunculus theatre company. Absurd is about “An internationally renowned brother and sister comic duo… doing a lecture on 4 adaptions of 4 Absurdist Plays” (Humunculous theatre company, n.d.).This production successfully produced a fascinating and interesting theatrical form of entertainment through the clever utilisation of the elements of drama; specially movement,…

Aiman Shafiq Mr. Niedermann The Self in Literature 9 November 2015 The Plague- An Allegory for The Absurd In his novel The Plague, Albert Camus uses the calamity of the plague as it befalls the people of Oran as an allegory for the Absurd. The Absurd represents the realization that despite all of one’s efforts and suffering, life amounts to nothing but an insignificant passage of time, regardless of what one might achieve in his life. Once one recognizes the absurdity of life, Camus argues that…

Absurdism is the philosophical idea of humanity tries to find the absolute meaning of anything such as the existence of human. The Woman in the Dunes is written by Kobo Abe, a Japanese writer who is uniquely in his writing includes dreadful expedition of individual people in the society. The book is taking place in the 1960s. In the twentieth century, it was a time period prevailed absurdism ideology. In this book, absurdism appears when Niki and other characters lose their identities in the…

William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying is an absurdist comedy that follows the Bundren family on their journey to the fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi to bury the deceased matriarch of the family, Addie. Addie’s husband, Anse, and their five children of varying ages traverse the countryside to Jefferson to fulfill Addie’s dying wish of being buried alongside her family in town; however, each character has his or her own personal motive for going on the trip. Fifteen individual characters…

Introduction (200) René Descartes was a French scientist, mathematician and philosopher in the 17th century. His work had a great impact on the world of philosophy. One of his well known work is the First Meditation. In this paper he raises doubt against his era’s best minds’ teachings and belief system so against the foundations of what that world was built on. As he says, “I realized that it was necessary, once in my life, to demolish everything completely and start again from the fundations”.…

People often wonder what motivates them to keep getting up in the morning, to go through their normal routine day after day, and to always think about what they should do or say. They begin to ponder three essential questions: Does life have any purpose? Do my actions impact anything in the future after I die? What is the importance of my life? Philosophers have taken on the argument of these three essential questions for many years now, and there still isn’t a definitive answer that works for…

Absurd Feminism Despite not being a playwright of the absurd, several elements of absurdism are seen in Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls. This is seen throughout the play in things like the ambiguous ending and the general ambivalence to violence shown by Angie. The most prominent example of the absurd in this play is in the dinner scene between the historical figures at the beginning, which seems to follow most of the rules of the absurd and its tropes, however this is not the central focus of…