Sartre's Idea Of Existence Analysis

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The idea of existence, or existentialism, to use the proper term, usually is related to the factor that deals with a human being’s life and their freedom. The reason this idea is studied is the same reason that defines the difference between a living thing and a non-living thing: human beings can function according to their own will and have freedom, ideas, and identity of their own, unlike non-living things. Human beings have the power to define a non-living thing but the vice versa cannot be true. Human beings, in fact, define themselves, hence giving them the power to decide their own freedom and existence. Existentialism, as a concept, …show more content…

Existentialism treats a specific human as “a conscious being” and the main focus of the entire theory remains on an individual living their own life on their own terms, rather than binding him or her to the system or the society where they are forced to follow the previously set rules. Existentialism denies the responsibility of an individual to be passed on to god, or society, or the system, or any other factor, but rather claims that a human being is the way he is because he is that way, and he solely is responsible for his own actions, choices, fate, and destiny. Sartre’s idea of “l’existence précède l’essence”, meaning “existence before essence” truly locates itself at the heart of the theory of existentialism, where he stresses that the idea of the existence of an individual comes before and holds a greater standard and significance than the idea of the nature and of the essence of that …show more content…

Bensoussan believed that two of them had insulted his girlfriend and an heated argument amongst them turned into a knife fight and later a gun fight. The officials interjected before any serious damage could be done, but the scene was so deeply imprinted on Camus’ mind that he allowed the encounter to be the final climax of his most famous literary work that truly defined him as a writer. The novel starts and ends at Meursault, the absurd antihero. He starts the novel by attending his mother’s funeral where the sun and the exhaustion has a deeper damaging affect on him than his mother’s demise. Throughout the entire novel, the sun remains a big factor that affects Meursault. For him, the sun becomes a symbol of evil, or an idea of bad views, which always brings sad news along with it. The sun represented everything that included violence. It represented a world that was devoid of any meaning and of any significance. Meursault paints such a picture of the sun through his narration that it appears that the sun has the power to slurp out everything worthwhile and meaningful from life, leaving it devoid and