Existentialism and Metamorphosis Essay Example for Free

Existentialism and Metamorphosis Essay Existentialism is defined as a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of one’s experience and accountability. Its focus is the make on the personal reflections that these make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe. Its philosophy is meticulous that, in a nutshell, advocates a diverse arsenal of responses and solutions to the ‘existentialist attitude’; which, essentially, is what an individual feels when confronted by the absurdity of life. Throughout humanity, rumination and self-proclaimed ‘ultimate’ truths have assumed various forms: poetry, religion, and numerous other doctrines and textual works. In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka narrates the ramifications of a metamorphosis in which the subject and protagonist, a man named Gregor Samsa, is transformed into a bug. Despite the novella’s literary methods and influences, the most prominent being the way Kafka so nonchalantly describes such irregularity in his life, The Metamorphosis is also hailed as a prime textual work of existentialism, the previously mentioned philosophical movement. Both prior and subsequent to the transformation, Kafka portrays Gregor as a man who seems lost within himself, and lacking identity. The reminiscences of his past are neither nostalgic nor poignant: his human life is seen to revolve solely around trivial matters. His social life pays the price from this, his failure to assert a concrete and consistent existence. The extent of his lack of individuality is further exemplified by his reaction to the metamorphosis: finding himself â€Å"transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect† (Kafka, 296), he prioritizes work over all else, even in his newly equated insect form. Furthermore, he panics because â€Å"the next train went at seven o’clock; to catch that he would need to hurry like mad and his samples weren’t even packed up† (297). Gregor’s identity crisis is a device for conveying Kafka’s belief of an impersonal society where individualism is drastically mitigated as a result of excessive materialism. Gregor, in the context of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground analogy, would be the ‘ant’ in the anthill— thus rendering his metamorphosis ironically. Another dominant theme prevalent throughout the novella is the absurd situation Gregor is confronted by. These nonsensical happenings (296-327) reflect the world as seen from the existentialist perspective: a world absent of a rational and comprehensive objective. Jean-Paul Sartre postulated that ‘every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance’. This meaninglessness is precisely what Gregor is victim to in the microcosm of society that Kafka generates: Gregor flounders about, beleaguered by absurdity and helplessness, presumably because he is unaware of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard’s somewhat consoling conclusions that one must devise meaning for one’s own existence ex nihilo. Once again, Kafka utilizes a combination of plot and character to convey his angst concerning an apparently pointless existence. Freedom— or rather the lack thereof— is another existentialist tenet that Kafka addresses. Gregor is depicted as someone constrained by self-imposed burdens, the most demanding being the role as the financial pillar of the family. Despite having the freedom to repudiate this role, Gregor instead pursues it with feverish ardor to the extent that it becomes his ‘sole desire’ (310). Yet his harangue regarding his career (297-298) reveals that this is not due to personal desire, but rather the belief that he must replace his father financially, regardless of preference. Gregor’s delusion regarding an absence of choice contradicts what Kafka perceives as the truth: that freedom is ubiquitous in spite of any ethical obligations we may be expected to adhere to, and that the individual defines his or herself via one’s decisions. A quasi-motto of existentialism coined by Sartre, ‘existence precedes essence’. In conclusion, Kafka employs the fictional literary elements he constructs to address the very non-fictional, existentialist aspects of society and life. Akin to Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground, it can be interpreted as both a rumination and tirade against impersonal communities, restriction of freedom, and the absurdity of life.

The Role Of The Media In Democracy Essays -- essays research papers f

How much does your vote really count? As a voter, does your choice really matter? How much influence does the media have on your vote? How many choices does the media actually make when it comes to our nation's leadership? These are questions pondered by both political scientists and the average American citizen each year as the second Tuesday in November approaches. Though we know that the framers founded this nation on the principles of representing it's citizens, and on the ideals of a nation for the people and by the people; it is obvious that the people feel that their vote doesn't always count. In this paper I plan to expand on these questions and the justifications behind asking them, and I plan to follow up with a specific example in which the media played a highly significant role in the choice of high government officials. How much does your vote really count? Does your choice really matter? According to the framers, your choice does matter. They say that one man equals one vote. Congress also seems to believe that the American vote should count. They have passed Amendments to the Constitution in order to give more people the chance to vote and the chance to make a choice of their representatives. But why then does the people actually directly elect so few officials? Perhaps they agree with the ideas of Converse and Lane and are using voting only as a way to attempt to get the citizens out of the voting slump they seem to be in. Converse stated that voters are minimally informed, minimally capable, and therefore incompetent of voting. Lane claims that this is not the problem, but that instead, voters are simply lazy in their ideology. (Muraca, July 13, 1999) I tend to agree with both, but I don't feel that the fault lies on the shoulders of the people. Rather, I feel that the burden of voter incompeten ce lies on the shoulders of the media. Voters are not uninformed perse, but they are limited in the amount in information that they posses. The reason that this information is limited is because of the media. Media makes the choice everyday what they do and do not want the public to know. The power to make the choice of our knowledge rests in their hands. Without the information they pass on from day to day, we, as voters know nothing about the happenings of our government. Yet on more than one occasion the media has held back information that c... .... It is a nation founded on free speech and freedom of the press, and the media uses these freedoms to influence some of the most important decisions that may ever occur in our country. It is somewhat scary that the fate of our nation could be put in the hands of the King of Porn, but at the same time it is somewhat invigorating. As citizens, the framers entrusted everyday citizens with the right to influence the actions and fate of our government, even if only through a small article in the newspaper. Even though they did give the media this right, and we as citizens the right to use it, they still found fault with the nation as a whole. Otherwise, citizens would have been given the chance to directly elect those they feel represent them the best. The question of why they did this remains, but the fault lies at the feet of the media for keeping the citizens left uninformed and unable to cast a reasonable vote. Works Cited Janda, Berry, Goldman. The Challenge of Democracy. Sixth Edition. Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Muraca, Stephanie, T.. In-class-notes. July 13, 1999. Shepard, Alicia, C.. "Gatekeepers Without Gates", American Journalism News Link. March 1999.

Which Nut Has More Energy

Running Head; WHICH NUT Which Nut has More Energy? Aidan J. Flood Christ the King Many people ate peanuts such as explorers; the ones that explored the colonies. They lived off of the types of nuts grown in the colonies. (The life and Times of a Peanut) Many people ate nuts such as walnuts, peanuts, and almonds. All of the nuts pack a ton of energy inside. The testing was on which nut had more energy. It is necessary to test or experiment with the power of a nut, so people know how much energy each nut really holds, so they know which one to buy. In order to understand a nuts’ energy, it is necessary to know the following terms and formulas. You may need to understand energy. Energy is a usable heat or power, powers something or someone. You may need to know temperature, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a sample of matter, expressed in terms of units or degrees designated on a standard scale. (http://www. thefreedictionary. com) BTU means British thermal units, it means the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water from 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 61 degrees Fahrenheit. I am using 125 ml, half a cup of water, which is equal 4. 17 ounces. The formula that I have for energy is, Energy= mass (125ml or half a cup, 4. 17 ounces) x increased temp Mass of the nut x 1000 (nut as in walnut or peanut) One is Celsius; Celsius is the type of temperature measurement in almost every other country except America. It was named after an astronomer; he created the scale of temperature. The other is Fahrenheit; Fahrenheit is mostly used in the U. S. It is a scale temperature which water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Now for the things that are being tested, A Peanut is a small oval seed of South American plant, mostly roasted, salted, and eaten as a snack. Also called a one seeded plant, grown on large farms. A nut is a hard shelled, one seeded fruit like an acorn or hazel nut. You will also need to know what a graph is, a graph is a diagram that exhibits a relationship between different sets of numbers and items. (http://www. thefreedictionary. com) Many plants and crops are grown organically and inorganically so that must be explained too. Organic means that the plants or crops are grown naturally without pesticides and any harmful chemicals. (http://www. thefreedictionary. com) This actually doesn’t affect the peanut because it is hard shelled and no pests can get in. Inorganic means not made with any organic materials at all and is protected with man made items that are not always helpful to the environment. The plants are grown with pesticides and chemicals. Morgan D. Nagatani conducted the same type of experiment in 2002. She thought that the walnut would have the most energy and it did. She stuck the needle into the nut and burned it with a lighter, but she used a small bucket instead of a juice can. The walnut did show the highest BTU, with cashew in second (I did not test the cashew), and the almond in 3rd. These results caused me to be more interested in for walnut . It had the highest in my experiment. This also helped me explain BTU, British Thermal Units, and it did affect my experiment. There are some things were noticed in the experiment that I learned. The walnut had the most energy out of many different nuts. Also people wanted to know what Joules were and I found that they are also another measurement of energy and heat. Something that I noticed was that when I was testing the bottom of the can would turn black, so I needed to know if the soot on the bottom would effect the heat that it gave off, and it did so I had to clean the can after every trial. Many people expected the walnut because of its mass, and it was because it was grown inorganic plus very large so it can burn longer. In the past experiment the walnut also won the prize for nut with most energy. It relates to my experiment because it tells me which nut to expect to win.

Sample Entrance Essays

Sample Entrance Essays It is not a secret for anyone that life offers us multiple ways of development and self-realization. A person without aims and zest to spiritual growth sooner or later starts feeling that something is missing from his life, even thought at first sight everything looks ok. It is an obvious sign of the necessity to change something and to think over your natural and real needs, not those dictated by the society or your family. Freedom and harmony with your own self and the world around you are impossible without three things. The first thing is a constant feeling that you are a part of this world, and the world has a great number of aspects. If you do not accept some of its aspects, why do you think the world will accept you as you are? So, taking life as it is and being wise in changing it, is the first step to harmony and freedom. The second thing is following your real wishes and needs, which sometime is very difficult to identify and to take out from under the layers of social attitudes. You have to find out what is good for you, not what the people think is. If you feel that you want to plant cabbages on the river bank somewhere in the middle of America, instead of having juridical practice in New York, you won’t be happy until you fulfill you wish, even though juridical practice looks more attractive and reasonable for everyone. Not for you, though. The third and the most important thing is to love your own personality with all its drawbacks and imperfection, which is the basis of love to the world and other people. If you do not accept yourself as you are, it is hard to love other people deeply and sincerely, without egoistic â€Å"he-or-she-is-my-property† attitude. Love to yourself also means constant spiritual and social growth, since the wish to do the best for the person you love (yourself this time) is more than natural.