[DOWNLOAD] "Quest for Identity in Richard Wright's the Outsider: An Existentialist Approach (Critical Essay)" by The Western Journal of Black Studies " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Quest for Identity in Richard Wright's the Outsider: An Existentialist Approach (Critical Essay)
- Author : The Western Journal of Black Studies
- Release Date : January 22, 2006
- Genre: Social Science,Books,Nonfiction,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 228 KB
Description
Technicians of human personality especially sociologists and psychologists define man in their own perceptions and disciplinary studies. To a sociologist, man is defined only in terms of his relationship with others and the social dynamics within which he operates. A psychologist defines man in terms of his personality. The reality of his existence is determined by his total personality. The theologian's definition of man is more objective, seeing the reality of man's existence only in relation to his subservience to his creator, God. However, the philosopher's definition of man is subjective and to a certain extent complex. In other words, man can be anything or nothing. If man feels, he therefore exists. But sometimes, he may feel and yet does not exist. So man's existence is determinist in nature. Man can out of his own freewill, create non-existence out of existence, while still living. Absurd as it sounds, this is the definition of man by existentialist philosophers. Jean Paul Sartre, the exponent of the philosophy of existentialism defines man in the following words: Man in Sartrean essence, is the creator of his own destiny and in so doing, accepts the responsibility of his own actions, rational or otherwise. Sartre applies his philosophical theory in literature by using it in some of his works. For instance, in his novel, Nausea, he uses words such as "existence" from which existentialism is coined and "absurdity" which are fundamental in the definition of the characters and their actions. As the hero of the novel, Nausea, remarks: "Never until these few days had I understood the meaning of existence."