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Human Condition In Literature Essay

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To have a decent understanding of how the human condition relates to literature, a person must have an understanding of what the human condition is. Medically, human condition relates to the state a human is in; however, on a larger scale, the meaning of human condition relates to the meaning of being alive and having the ability to feel emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, etc. Throughout history, society has a way of altering the meaning of different pieces of literature, which overall result in the meaning of the human condition changing. There are many famous novels, plays, and other forms of writing that test, analyze, and question the human condition: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare; The Case for a Tragic …show more content…

By death what he means is not an event, but a death in life. Because there’s no rebirth, there’s no changes, there’s not transformation without death” (West, 1). What does Plato mean by death in life? How can you die but continue living? To die in life relates to killing the past, close-minded, non-accepting version of yourself: Without this death, you will not achieve your true potential. The majority of people choose not to reach their full potential due to sheltering a belief or stubbornness. With quotes such as that, Cornel West questioned the human condition and the truth to the meaning of life in The Examined Life. He concluded that if you never question yourself, your beliefs, and the people you surround yourself with, you will never reach your true potential and overall result back to having issues with achieving the greater aspects of the human condition, such as happiness and meaningfulness. He further more stated, “It takes more courage to examine the dark corners of your own soul, than it does for a soldier to fight on the battlefield” (West, 1). Having the courage to examine yourself and your beliefs means you have to question everything you believe in your entire life; you have to question whether your religion, culture, morals, etc. are what you truly believe in. To reach the full state of human condition, one must allow their minds to become open and accepting to

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