The Silence Of God Existentialism And Religion - 1930 Words

The Silence of God: Existentialism and Religion in The Seventh Seal The Seventh Seal is a Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film takes place in Sweden in the time of the bubonic plague; it follows the adventures of the crusader knight Antonius Block and his squire Jà ¶ns. Antonius Block has returned from his crusade, downtrodden he lays on a beach with Jà ¶ns next to a chessboard. He is approached by a pale-faced man in black, who introduces himself as none other than Death himself. The movie goes on to chronicle the actions of Antonius, Jà ¶ns, and their steadily growing band of followers as Antonius battles Death in a game of chess. The Seventh Seal is a film concerned with more than just the misadventures of the knight and his squire, it is a piece of philosophical interest that deals with the one unanswerable question: what is the purpose of life, is it God—or is there no purpose. Antonius first meets with Death on the shores of Sweden, and challe nges him to a game of chess. The first move is not yet made before the scene switches to a cliffside, and the two travelers come across a man and his dog. Jà ¶ns attempts to converse with the man, but upon inspection the man is dead, and has no eyes. When asked by Antonius whether the man had given him any direction, Jà ¶ns says that the man said nothing. Antonius asks if the man was mute, and Jà ¶ns replies that the man was in fact eloquent, but, â€Å"what he had to say was most depressing.† (Bergman). Here is theShow MoreRelatedExistentialism as Exemplified in ‘the Seventh Seal’1115 Words   |  5 PagesExistentialism as Exemplified in ‘The Seventh Seal’ The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film offers interwoven storyline. It starts with a game of chess between a medieval knight, Antonius Block, and Death – in which if Block won, Death will prolong the knight’s life. This game goes on in intermittent times. The knight is accompanied by his squire, Jà ¶ns, as they go back to the knight’s castle to be reunited with his wife. Throughout their journeyRead MoreThe Song Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield850 Words   |  3 Pageshappiness, you must also take any blame that may be presented no one can take that for you either. There are many other musicians that have existential themes in their music and I have noticed that most of existentialism music seems to span from much of the well-known literature. Existentialism is prominently seen in literature through the minds of geniuses like Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre. The Concept of Anxiety by Kierkegaard helps to explain the true definition of anxiety and why it existsRead MoreCommentary on Candide by Voltaire and Irrational Man by William Barrett1406 Words   |  6 Pageswas in motion. Christian philosophers of the middle ages argued that Aristotle’s unmoved mover must be the god of Christianity. Looking at that instance we can see how it relates to the ideas of the era of enlightenment, in a way of how one man talked about science and based everything on it and then the church tied religion to his thoughts. Aristotle at the time had no conception of a god would have found the Christian thought about his idea meaningless. Another important man is Galileo GalileiRead MoreEssay Theory of the Absurd1667 Words   |  7 Pageshimself to be comforted by the illusions and emotions which ordinary screen men from the cold, bitte r stone of their actual condition† (Scott 127). Throughout The Stranger, the â€Å"silence† in the book portrays the themes of this novel. For instance, when Meursault shot and killed the Arab man, he portrayed silence by senselessly shooting the Arab four more times after he already fired the initial bullet (Lehan 21). This act depicts that there is no true point to human life. While Meursault isRead MoreExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 PagesEssentialism vs. Existentialism Essentialism: A belief that things have a set of characteristics that make them what they are, amp; that the task of science and philosophy is their discovery amp; expression; the doctrine that essence is prior to existence While, Existentialism:A philosophical theory or approach, that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free amp; responsible agent, determining their own development through acts of the will. Existentialism * isRead MoreOverview of Three Interpretations of Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot3226 Words   |  13 Pagesheralded, the lack of clarity and consensus brings about a tension and discussion that has lasted over sixty years. I will look at what I have determined to be the three most predominant interpretations of the play, including anti-Christianity, existentialism, and nihilism. By also examining Beckett’s life and influences, I believe that a well-rounded set of possibilities will be presented. Finally, I will use sources to work my own argument. I believe this play is inherently about nothing, andRead More Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot as an Existentialist Play4416 Words   |  18 Pagescompulsive task. Estragon: †¦ Lets go. Vladimir: We cant. Estragon: Why not? Vladimir: Were waiting for Godot. (p.14). The essence of existentialism concentrates on the concept of the individuals freedom of choice, as opposed to the belief that humans are controlled by a pre-existing omnipotent being, such as God. Estragon and Vladimir have made the choice of waiting, without instruction or guidance, as Vladimir says, He didnt say for sure hed come (p.14), but decidesRead MoreMaman’s Funeral Characterises Meursault And the World of The Stranger1663 Words   |  7 PagesIn the experimental novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, he explores the concept of existentialism and the idea that humans are born into nothing and descend into nothingness after death. The novel takes place in the French colony of Algiers where the French-Algerians working-class colonists live in an urban setting where simple life pleasures are of the upmost importance in the lives of working class people like the protagonist of the novel Meursault. What is fascinating about this novel is thatRead MoreEssay about The Irrelev ant God in Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms2818 Words   |  12 PagesThe Irrelevant God in A Farewell to Arms      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A Farewell to Arms begins with a gods-eye-view, cinematic pan of the hills surrounding Gorizia-the camera of our minds eye, racing forward through time, sweeps up and down the landscape, catching isolated events of the first year in the town as it goes. The film ultimately slows to a crawl, passing through the window of a whorehouse to meet the eyes of Frederic Henry watching the snow falling. As we attach ourselves to Frederic Henrys perspectiveRead MoreEssay on Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein2163 Words   |  9 Pagesthe most notable) have a decidedly religious flavor to them. For his adamant insistence on subjectivity rather than objectivity (in reaction to Hegel) when dealing with questions of personal importance, he has been labeled the father of modern existentialism. Kierkegaards works are not straightforward proclamations of his philosophy: he wrote under pseudonyms and assumed the persona of these fictional characters in his writing. Thus, one must be care ful when attributing a particular position to Kierkegaard