within works of Existentialism
1. A person can be defined as nothing other than what he/she is, a conscious being
2. Anguish as the universal condition of human existance
3. Absurdity, to exist as a human being is absurd, we are just here, but why here ? Why now?
4. Nothingness - If I am here and I believe only that I am myself, there is nothing else, than I stand alone in nothingness.
5. Death - a continuation of the theme of nothingness, death is the ultimate nothingness.
6. Alienation - somthing we see happen to J.B. and Gregor they are left alone because of their condition. (This defination is not how the site explained it but because of the two characters I thought it made sense this way.)
Some other themes would be the individual within society, how that individual reacts to situations and what their purpose in society is. Also the individual within the family or small group, what their place and purpose in the group/family is.
I think that J.B. and Gregor are the most alike in that they are both hurt by a "higher being" we know who and why J.B. was hurt, but he doesn't know, and Gregor doens't know anything. They both have a second person who questions why Sarah and Grete, they do not question why they have been plighted. They also both have border characters who play a part in the story, but not a main part, they are mostly foils to show how the main characters have been hurt and how they are being affected.
Settings
All the the settings are very different. One is in a house, J.B. is set in the city, Waiting for Godot is under a tree and the last is set in Hell. I think that again J.B. and Metamorphisis have the most in common. Both of their settings are kind of bleak they seem kind of dark and unhappy, probably because both characters have been alienated because of their condition. No Exit and Waiting for Godot aren't all that alike but they do have some similarites. They both are kind of waiting for somthing to happen. It isn't as apparent in No Exit but the characters are waiting for the torturer's to come with the hot pokers. They also don't seem to me to be as dark setting.
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