Analysis of Existentialist Philosophy by Sartre Literature review

Analysis of Existentialist Philosophy by Sartre - Literature review Example This is the responsibility of authenticity, realizing one's being and acting in good faith (Brown, 1948). These three propositions are reflected in Frank O'Connor's "Guests of the Nation" and Albert Camus' "The Guest." O'Connor and Camus highlight the absurdity of the universe and show how the failure to make choices which reflect authentic being, leads to existentialist suffering. The titles of both short stories express the theme of absurdity. In O'Connor's story, the two Englishmen are war hostages, the prisoners of the Irish soldiers, Donovan, Noble and Bonaparte and certainly not "guests of the nation." In Albert Camus' "The Guest," the reader questions the identity of the guest. Is it Daru, the European who has no other home than Algeria; Balducci, the military police officer who personifies French authority and colonial power; or is it the Arab, for whom Algeria is the home of his ancestors and his homeland. By making readers question the nature of the guest, host, enemy, friend relationship, both O'Connor and Camus draw attention to the absurdity of allowing politics, rather than our nature, to dictate our relationship with others. The absurdity of trying to impose political meaning on relationships is highlighted in "Guests of the Nation." Belcher and Hawkins, officially war hostages, were, however, treated as guests and as friends, a fact which makes their execution all the more absurd horrendous. As Bonaparte says, "after the first day or two we gave up all pretense of keeping a close eye on them." (Reference) They did not need to keep a close eye on Belcher and Hawkins because they had become part of the surroundings and had integrated into the community. They were not, on the human and interpersonal level, enemies. The absurdity of war had made them enemies and when they were able to leave the war behind them, even if temporarily, they became friends. This makes their execution all the more absurd because, at the end of the day, there is no reason for executing these two men. It is not the senselessness of the act which incites the existential suffering in the Irish soldiers because existentialist philosophy is premised upon an acknowledgment of the inherent absurdity of life. Instead, suffering is an outcome of the fact that their participation in the execution was not something which agreed with them. At some deep, internal level, the soldiers objected to the executions but carried them out, thereby failing to act authentically. The futility of existence and the absurdist nature of the universe are further reflected in the theme of senseless deaths. Camus's "The Guest" is set in Algeria but of the three main characters, only the Arab is Algerian.