If you were to write an existential novel about life in 2011, what aspect of life would you make the focus of your novel? Explain.
Here is a textbook definition of existentialism; it is not always as bleak as in Kafka's writing:
a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.
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The thoughtless decisions we make everyday, are in my opinion all existential in the way that each decision we make throughout life affects us. Whether its what we decide to wear in the morning, eat for breakfast, or if we as students decide to do our homework, all these decisions act as agents in determining our development though out life. Each and every person has a different life goal and takes different steps to reach said goal. When one chooses what they feel this goal should be and how they reach it , shows the way our lives are all existential. If I were to write an existential novel about life in 2011, I feel that my novel would deal with the routine tasks we make everyday, and how each decision we make bases of free will affects the development of our lives.
Many times though out a single day we are approached with choices, each having a different out come, and each different out come affecting other decisions and outcomes of many other things. Such as simple decisions like whether one chooses to do a big project for a class. If someone in this situation decides to not do this assignment they know that their grade will be affected and that they will still be responsible for getting the assignment done. It will end up being late and then interfere with other work they need to do and poorly affect their grade. This would be a existential decision I would want to showcase in my novel because all decisions with this situation are up to the person in the situation , nothing in this instance is in fates hands. All outcomes are known to the person making the decision their fore they know the outcome each decisions will bring and with free will they choose the outcome for themselves. This is just one of the many existential decisions we are students deal with daily, one simple decision based on free will can affect us throughout life.
Every decision we are faced with everyday, can negatively or positively affect us, all based of the free will decisions we make. More times they not any decisions placed in front of us is existential. Other then in cases of medical issues or court matters we have free will decision over what happens and what outcome we will receive. Therefore if i were to write an existential novel about 2011 i would make my novel about daily life of an american teenager, and showcase how each decision can positively or negatively affect someone through out life.
Once one accepts the fact that they are going to die at any unexpected moment, which is out of their control, their thinking can become more skewed or much clearer. People can either choose to completely disregard the thought of their death or people can choose to focus on their darkest thoughts and allow themselves to dwell on the possibility that each day could be their last. In The Trial, Kafka says, "the only sensible thing was to adapt oneself to existing conditions", which perfectly ties in to recognizing one's fate. If somebody spends their entire life thinking, "I could die at any time so what's the point?", they are negatively impacting the rest of their life by wasting their time awaiting the arrival of their expiration date. If somebody takes Kafka's advice and adapts to their surroundings by living their life to the fullest, they are allowing their ambiance to have a positive impact on their future. Instead of permitting a negative thought to root itself deep in one's brain, one should strive to make the choices he desires.
Recognizing one has an uncontrollable fate greatly impacts their choices. If one allows himself to believe that no matter what choice he makes, everything will always be pointless because of the knowledge of his natural fate, he is making an extremely careless decision. Allowing the thought of your death to deter you from making the choices that would allow you to live your life to the fullest is preventing your happiness in the one, precious life you were given. Because you only live once, you cannot block your happiness; life is short and since you cannot control when you die, you should respect the unavoidable outcome and live how you truly desire. Kafka told us to adapt to our existing conditions and by accepting that everybody dies, yet allowing ourselves to live our lives to the fullest, we are allowing the things we are unable to control to positively impact our future.
In the 21st century social networking and blogging have become the main source of communication and expression of how someone really feels. Social networking and blogging can really shape who a person is, depending on what that person decides to put on the Internet. My novel would focus mainly how one could tell who a person is just by seeing their Facebook or reading their blog without even meeting them. This concept is quite interesting because it is very strange that some people can determine exactly who a person is by looking at their Facebook without even knowing them.
Included in this novel would be how social networking and blogging can help and hurt your future. Also, how blogging can help a person to express their feelings and tell their life story to inspire others. Social networking can be very harmful to someone because there could be pictures or comments on your Facebook that colleges and businesses might see, which could prevent you from going to that college or getting hired. Social networking can be helpful because you are able to connect with others and share many things through cyber space. Blogging is helpful since it is a great way for a person to express their feelings and share stories with other people around the world.
Social networking is existential because a person can control what they put on the Internet. Also, that person is not being told by society to do so, they are making that decision them self. People use Facebook as a way to express and deal with their existential loneliness. If someone on Facebook posts something and another person likes it or comments on it, then that person knows that they are truly not alone, Facebook reassures that person that they are not alone.
If i were to write an existential novel about life, i would make one about mankind's tendency to choose peace over violence.
The first thing i would touch on in this novel is the crusades and how they were a result of intolerance and to any religion that was contrary to Christianity. this would show how they chose to exterminate people who had different beliefs rather than just sending out missionaries to try to get converts. This would provide a solid base for my argument because man killed man in the name of a supposedly benevolent god. Especially since Christianity was in no real danger of being wiped off the face of the earth by other religions.
Another thing that i would touch on is the civil war in which our own nation tore itself in half. I'd talk about how congress acted foolishly, and how the south chose to go to war as opposed to trying to reach compromises and stick together.
If i were to write a novel, this is what i would write about, because this is a serious issue that is relevant even in today's society.
With everything happening in the news in 2011, mainly with Afghanistan, my existential novel might focus around the decision making of people who decide to go into the armed forces. This idea seems to fit the idea of existentialism because, as the definition says, "...the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development..." A person deciding to join the marines or army shows that they are "determining their own development" because they are making this decision, which also seems to make them more responsible after they take on this new experience.
If I were to write an existential novel, the primary subject of the book would be on school life. There are so many choices that are made during a school day and after school regarding school. With all the choices there are the distractions. Though through these distractions we learn how to make better choices and in turn become life changing. Do to the fact that the decisions we make now as students seem small, they actually aren't. A flaw in the foundation can cause the building being built to eventually collapse. Likewise, if you water a flower everyday it can turn into something beautiful. Starting off on the right foot makes every difference in life. Not saying that you can't change your life, but with having 17+ years of work done on top of the faulty foundation it is hard to permanently fix the pasts' work. Being since school decides a portion of our future, it is wise to make choices that will help us out. Though we don't always have to abide by this system. We have the choice to drop it all and do whatever we want. So it all depends on the person's beliefs. Writing an existential novel about school life would be ideal due to all the different choices that can be made.
-Maxx Kleiner
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