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Absurdism And Existentialism Analysis

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Modernism is considered to be the biggest revolution of the first half of the twentieth century in western literature. This period witnessed some of the most disturbing and frightening events in the history of mankind as the atrocities of the end of the both World Wars caused a severe sense of crisis in the minds of English society. The devastation brought about by World War II changed the personal, social and political life of millions of people all over Europe. Moreover the aftermath of both wars resulted in a sense of severe depression and hopelessness within the British society. This resulted in the loss of faith in human existence and shattered all hopes of a good life. The shocking consequences also affected people psychologically, bringing …show more content…

Moreover, it deals with the essential nature of the absurd and how humans should respond once they are aware of the absurd. Absurdism is closely associated with Existentialism: a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of personal experience and responsibility and the demands that they make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe or more simply put is the belief that through a combination of awareness, free will, and personal responsibility, one can construct their own meaning within a world that intrinsically has none of its own. Absurdism begins with the works of Soren Kierkegaard, a19th century Danish philosopher. Kierkegaard is credited for shaping the existential philosophy; hence he started dealing with the absurd and the manner individuals deal with it. However it wasn’t until the publication of Albert Cumus’s essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” (1942), that absurdism as a notion, became broadly acknowledged and considered. The atrocities of the aftermath of the wars especially World War 1, delivered social environment, hence resulting in the expansion and popularization of absurdist

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