The existence of something, is the realization of something.

Honestly, I have never really talked about existentialism in school. So, by hearing the term in class, I was interested in what it meant. Dictionary.com defines it as: “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”. Looking at the reading we have done in class, I can see that this has been a common theme. Well, at least it was in Hemingway. I recall that while reading Hemingway, many of the stories hinted at the idea that life is just a brief period of time, where you experience different situations, but then your gone. Which really got me thinking about legacy, and Arturo Bandini. It seems like Arturo wants to die leaving a legacy, comprised of his writing. But, if you go by the idea of existentialism, then a legacy would mean nothing. I suppose that existentialism is a black and white kind of thing. Either you believe that you only experience a brief period of time on earth and then your gone, or you experience a brief period of time on earth, and then you move on to a spiritual life. Either which way you look at it, it is just a matter of belief, you can’t force someone to believe in it. All this makes me think of the saying: “Carpe diem.” or  ”Seize the day.”, this saying could relate to both sides. It shows that through difference there are similarities.

~simplyelle

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