The Search For Meaning and Life Essay - 1061 Words

Albert Camus once stated, â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.† In Eudora Welty’s, â€Å"Death of a Traveling Salesman†, R.J. Bowman, the main character and notorious â€Å"traveling salesman†, is in a constant, internal battle about the roads in which his life choices have led him down. As Bowman travels he gets lost physically and emotionally, he finds himself in the middle of nowhere with two bizarre people who may just cause him to realize, that what he once considered truth, may in fact be false, and that maybe life isn’t measured by the questions one answers, but by the things that make you ask questions. In this work of art written†¦show more content†¦Sonny gets Bowman’s car from the vines and ditches while the woman goes about her household chores as Bowman watches and continues to think about his life. As the w oman works Bowman cannot help but to think of the woman who have been apart of his life and how he let them slip from his fingers because his work has always been his top priority. Sonny and the woman are happily married and expecting a child. It seems, although they may not be rich or have a fulfilling career, the two share a very fulfilling life together. The two have everything in life that Bowman now understands that he has always wanted: love, happiness, and family. The simplistic blissfulness of the couples’ life proves to be too much for Mr. Bowman to take and he ultimately dashes from the house later in the night where he is met by his untimely death. Toward the end of Bowman’s life he realizes all he has missed out on by not settling down and raising the family he never really knew he wanted. Although the missed opportunity to become a family man is a great pain for Bowman, perhaps the greatest is the loss of the chance to love someone as the woman he meets lo ves her husband, Sonny. As he talks to the woman she continuously mentions Sonny in conversation, from the statement that Sonny would fix his car to the mention that Sonny brews the whiskey she offers Bowman. As Welty has Bowman compare his life to that ofShow MoreRelatedVictor Frankls Life and Work Mans Search for Meaning Essays1390 Words   |  6 Pagesbook and wrote a different book, â€Å"Man’s Search for Meaning† in nine days. Viktor Frankl later died on September 2, 1997, of heart failure. Mans Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl is a story that talks about the need for hope in future especially to people who are facing trouble and disillusionment in life. The story emphasizes on the need to have hope and faith in God and not in man. The story covers on the life history of Frankl who spends part of his life in a prison camp. His family and friendsRead More`` Homo Religiosus `` By Karen Armstrong1416 Words   |  6 Pagesout the materialized definition of an â€Å"individual† through concepts such as religion, activities like yoga, the artistic features of caves, and most importantly the image of Brahma. The detailed notions placed on each concept yields the reassuring meaning that religion symbolically is a safe harbor, in which individuals can feel comforted and relieved. However the question that always comes up is if an individual is willing to exclude themselves from the harsh realities of society. As the essay progressesRead MoreA Student s Search For Mean ing890 Words   |  4 Pages A Student’s Search for Meaning As I read through Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, I grasp on to all the epiphanies and realizations that Frankl reflects upon and take them into consideration in my own life. 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After being liberated, Frankl recorded his experience and whatRead MoreEssay about Dr. Viktor Frankls Mans Search for Meaning1051 Words   |  5 PagesDr. Viktor Frankls Mans Search for Meaning He who has a why to live for can bear any how. The words of Nietzsche begin to explain Frankls tone throughout his book. Dr. Frankl uses his experiences in different Nazi concentration camps to explain his discovery of logotherapy. This discovery takes us back to World War II and the extreme suffering that took place in the Nazi concentration camps and outlines a detailed analysis of the prisoners psyche. An experience we gain from the first-handRead MoreThe Absurd, By Camus1517 Words   |  7 Pagesquestion of life and whether it is worth living. In the opening line of The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus states that there is â€Å"One truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.† (495) Absurdism begins by questioning the purpose of life and the response, or lack of response from the indifferent silence of the universe. It reveals the void one might encounter in t he search for the meaning of lifeRead More Vonneguts Nihilistic Views Exposed in Cats Cradle Essay1178 Words   |  5 PagesIf humans strive to fulfill their void, of a lack of meaning in their lives, their folly will blind them from the truth. Kurt Vonnegut portrays his inner emotions and feelings of the insignificance of religion through the characters of his novel, Cats Cradle. His satiric approach to a subject that many people base their daily existence upon, challenges the readers faith. As people search for a deeper meaning in their lives, the more confused they become. Only