S Search For Meaning, And Akira Kurosawa's Siddharthu

Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning describes life in a concentration camp and the mental and emotional effects that come with it. "Life in a concentration camp tore open the human soul and exposed it depths" (87). This essay details some of the specific themes of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Two of the main themes in this book are love and hope.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is filled to the brim with rhetorical devices from all three sections of the text. Particularly in his section about logotherapy, Frankl’s practice to find an individual’s meaning of life, he explores the three main meanings of life: accomplishment, love, and suffering. This area uses a plethora of comparison, such as parallelism and metaphor. Recurring themes are used to draw back to Frankl’s three life meanings, like word repetition and alliteration. Frankl’s use of rhetorical devices allows his audience to focus on their individual possibilities and incorporate his ideology into society.

Bitterness came upon their return to their former lives, former hometowns, and former atmosphere. Disillusionment elicited from realizing that even after reaching the absolute limit of all possible suffering, there still was a life to look forward to (Frankl 92). They became humans again. Frankl connects these accounts and thoughts to develop a profound theory of the logotherapy, which is discussed in the next section, titled “Logotherapy in a Nutshell”. Frankl introduces logotherapy by explaining that it focuses toward finding the meaning of life thus the prefix “logo”, which means “meaning” in Greek (Frankl 98). In parallel to Frankl’s idea, everyone has a purpose to live because “man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a “secondary realization” of instinctual drives” (Frankl 99). One needs to have his own will to meaning to achieve significance and satisfy one’s specific goals in mind. Also, Frankl articulates his thought by saying that “love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost

Seeking to “find the source within one’s own self” (Hesse 7), a man goes on a journey of many experiences, lessons, by embracing multiple unique ways of life. Siddhartha follows the path of the unknown, guided by a constant dissatisfaction, the sole fulfillment being connection and understanding of the universe as a whole: “And all the voices, all the goals, all the yearnings, all the sorrows, all the pleasures, all the good and evil, all of them together was the world” (Hesse 135). There is a search for something incomparably significant than mere actions, just as with Victor Frankenstein, a man fascinated with life, not for research as he may think, but for feeling, friendship, love, a hope of quenching the desire for a purpose.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is a book that was influenced by the life of Gautama Buddha. While it may be a novela that points its focus towards the Buddhist religion, there are also undertones of Christian and Jungian religious philosophies. The main character Siddhartha is admired by his friends and family, but he is still discontent. He feels as though his soul is restless, and he cannot achieve inner peace within himself. He has looked to his teachers, father, and even the holy songs to help him find peace within himself, but he fails in doing so. Siddhartha then decides to go on a pilgrimage to meet a holy man by the name of Buddha, and grasp from him the ways to achieve internal happiness. While Siddhartha ventures on this journey, the themes of the Buddhist religious philosophy, Christian faith, and Jungian philosophy are exhibited throughout the majority of Siddhartha and Hesse’s writing.

Through a journey of intense contemplation and enlightenment, author Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha tells the story of a young Brahmin who leaves his life of great riches and luxury to find his inner self and gain wisdom from the world around him. Throughout this novel, Hesse shares the importance of inner happiness, and the journey of finding happiness through spirituality. Siddhartha, along with best friend Govinda search for an understanding of life, or Nirvana. Siddhartha and Govinda both share a desire to understand life through spirituality. Siddhartha and Giovinda achieve true inner happiness and spirituality by going through different trials and tribulations, in different stages of their lives.

Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha is a spiritual book about a man who finds himself , during the time when the teachings of Buddha started to evolve. Throughout this spiritual novel, there are many recurring symbols, themes, and strong bonds between the characters.

​Viktor E. Frankl’s novel Man’s Search for Meaning is a novel founded on the personal journey of Viktor and how he discovered his meaning in life. In the course of his discovery of the meaning of life he decides to hopefully help those in pain and sufferings find their meaning as well. The book entails tragedy and extreme misfortune in Auschwitz concentration camp as a captive; yet through this pain and suffering is where Viktor Frankl originated his will to persevere and psychological techniques for survival.

Frankl believes that despite hardships, we must have a positive outlook on life. Throughout all of the hardships he faced, he was able to portray hope and help others who needed it. Even during the worst, Frankl was able to remain optimistic. I have noticed this trait with those surrounding me. I have witnessed people in pain and suffering who have managed to find a positive from their situation. Frankl learned how to cope with his suffering by finding a source of happiness in his life. Frankl’s happiness came through his thoughts of his wife. “I understand how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved” (37). Although he was separated from his wife, he was able to picture her and find pleasure. In our society, I have noticed that the people who can find happiness in their times of suffering are much stronger than those who don’t. It is important to be thankful for what we have and for the times we spent before our hardships came about. Frankl told his fellow prisoners that all the joys from the past can shine even in the darkness. While it may seem impossible, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light” (J.K. Rowling). In conclusion, “Man’s Search for Meaning” is a very influential book. Not only did I learn about the life and teachings of Viktor E. Frankl, but I was able to find my own appreciation of the book and come across ideas that will help me in my life. I hope to hold onto my own personal meaning and help others find their purpose in life so I can also be an inspiration. I will always remember the quote by Viktor E. Frankl that says, "The meaning of life is to give life

Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is a very popular script and has great renown in the world of psychology. It has been said that the book should be a mandatory reading for all up and coming psychology students and professors alike. The book supplies valuable insight into logotherapy as well as Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis and is inspirational to all those who read it. It has been said that the riveting tale will “make a difference in your life”. The book and Frankl’s ideas debate that people are not driven by desires but by the meaning that they discover and place on their own lives and the task of fulfilling that meaning. In Man’s Search for Meaning Frankl outlines three phases or versions of meaning that all people must go through. The following report will summarize the story of Viktor Frankl as well as analyze the three main points of the book.

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. Although I have never gone through any experiences even remotely similar to his experiences in the concentration camps, in this time in my life I am searching for meaning in a way. Moving on to a new chapter in my life, I feel as though I am trying to find my purpose, who I am, and who I will become. Therefore, Man’s Search for Meaning has provided me with multiple major insights in my own search for meaning.

Siddhartha, a novel written by Herman Hesse, recognized by many as his most influential literary work. Siddhartha depicted the life of a noble young Brahmin, Siddhartha, journey to find spiritual enlightenment. Living in both spiritual world and the material world of is an essential component in Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment. One may not notice it from a surface, but with a keen observation, the novel will reveal common elements in Abraham Maslow, “Hierarchy of Needs.” From a perspective one can define Maslow’s theory as a template to Siddhartha quest to find

“For the meaning of life differs from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment…the meaning of life always changes, but…it never ceases to be” (108,111). Victor Frankl, through his own struggle inside concentration camps, explains the belief that mankind is driven by the incessant search of meaning to their lives, even through the direst of circumstances. This search, as written by Dr. Frankl in Mans Search for Meaning, is defined as logotherapy. This form of psychotherapy focuses on the meaning of human existence, the fulfillment of one’s own future, and provides a will to live and

Man’s Search for Meaning written by Viktor E. Frankl and first published in 1946 is a book that has profoundly affected me. This author shared my personal pursuit to answer, “What is the purpose of human existence and my own purpose within it?” The book explained that meaning is universal to the human experience and with a reason to live a person can endure essentially anything. Viktor E. Frankl was a Jew during the Holocaust. He recounts his personal experiences in Auschwitz concentration camp, how the people in the camp were demeaned and subjected to cruel acts of inhumanity. He described in vivid detail life in the concentration camp for the Jews which was very intriguing to me because of the tenacity of the human spirit to survive in the

The most important aspect of finding meaning in an individual’s life is that the motivation to do so comes intrinsically, not extrinsically. In Man’s Search for Meaning, author Viktor Frankl asserts the idea of “will to meaning,” which is essentially the desire to find meaning and purpose in an individual’s life (Frankl 99). Frankl explains that this intrinsic desire to find meaning acts the “primary motivational force” in man, and it is essential for survival (Frankl 99). He supports this idea by citing a survey in which when asked what was important, 16% of students answered “making a lot of money”, while 78% said “finding a purpose and meaning to my life” (Frankl 100). This idea of finding meaning intrinsically, as opposed to extrinsically in the material world, is further explored in Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha. The protagonist of the journey, Siddhartha, decides to leave teachers early on in his journey, knowing that he will find enlightenment through his own experiences and inner voice, and not through words and practices that are imposed on him by external sources. The contrast between intrinsic and extrinsic guidance is emphasized in several instances in the novel, one of them being when he intrinsically rejects his indulgent life in the material world. Afterwards, he praises himself for having “heard the bird in [his] breast sing and followed it” (Hesse 98). Hesse utilizes the symbol of the bird in his breast to represent Siddhartha’s inner voice, thus showing that