Comparative Literary Analysis of “Will to Live”
Abstract
Existentialism holds that human existence is meaningless, emphasizing the nature and value of human existence as well as individual freedom and choice. Sartre's existentialism holds that human existence exists before the essence. Since human existence itself is meaningless, to avoid falling into nothingness and despair, human beings must give meaning to their own life. In addition, Sartre also emphasized the human free will. He believes that people are free and can choose their own way of life and behavior, but they also have to bear the corresponding consequences and responsibilities. Many literary works feature will to live as the themes, such as Wieslaw Mysliwski's A Treatise on Shelling Beans, Yu Hua’s To Live,Even though they have diverse cultural and historical contexts, the individual agency and resilience can be found in these works. The characters in these novels do not yield after encountering setbacks and actively pursue their personal ideals.
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