Existentialism is synonymous with the futility of human existence, angst, ennui, alienation, uncertainty, and absurdity. These emotions in people were likened with the myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus, a cruel king from the Greek and Roman mythologies was punished for his crimes by the gods to carry a boulder up a hill and he miserably failed each time he tried to climb the hill with the boulder. In the 20th century, a lot of intellectuals identified man’s hard work with the labor of Sisyphus; they believed that despite all the toil and hardship that man faced in life in search for the ultimate truth, he was still left clueless (as opposed to the 19th century concept of existentialism). The term existentialism was first used by Gabriel Marcel in the 1940s. There are some timeless and brilliant reads that illustrate the 20th century view of existentialism.
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Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is a paradigm of the Theater of the Absurd. The two protagonists Vladimir and Estragon keep waiting for someone called Godot; however they have no idea about who Godot is. While waiting for him, the reader/audience can note the strain on human emotions and concerns: Vladimir being hostile towards Estragon and then the appearance of Pozzo and Lucky proves to show the shameful face of imperialism and slavery. Godot’s absence leads one to wonder the hopelessness of man’s wait for something to happen.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka highlights the Kafkaesque despair that almost everybody experiences at least once in their lives: isolation and helplessness. Gregor Samsa wakes up one fine morning and realizes that he has metamorphosed into a vermin. His disgust at his situation and his family’s abhorrence to his physical self calls show the ineffectuality of human existence.
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky reveals the memoir of an angst-ridden and anonymous civil servant from St. Petersburg. His life is a scene of inertia and boredom and he sets a monologue of indecipherable thoughts. He talks about war being fought by man with an objective in mind; however he concludes saying that man fights a war without any purpose. His thoughts are paradoxical with each other.
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre discusses the protagonist Antoine Roquentin’s predicament, alienation, and boredom in the lives and conversations of others in society. Disinterested in society he is on the societal brink. He experiences the ambiguity of existence and his predicament makes him wonder, “My existence was beginning to cause me some concern. Was I a mere figment of the imagination?”
The Plague by Albert Camus questions destiny, the human condition, and suffering. Human failings and avarice are vividly sketched. However it ends with a lot of optimism and the stoical resilience to fight back the plague.
Soren Kierkegaard and Frederick Nietzsche are considered as the pioneers of existentialism. They discussed the human condition and prioritized it as their subject of study in comparison to Maths and Science. They believed in the concept of free will and focused on the quiet suffering of human beings. Nietzsche created the concept of the Ubermensch who defined freedom and the nature of one’s existence. His philosophy ran along the death of god and the will to power. Kierkegaard believed in faith in god (unlike Nietzsche) and is considered to be the first existentialist. However both Nietzsche and he believed in the individual’s choice to exercise their rights and course of action.
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