Within the philosophical texts from Camus and Kierkegaard and the literature presented in The Theatre of the Absurd, the Absurd is defined as a conflict that humans will have to face within the eternity of time. Every day as humans, we hopes to find happiness and value through our daily struggles; more generally, we want to find meaning in our lives. In general, the writers, who write about the Absurd, reject the notion at least on the surface that we are able to do find any meaning in an uncaring universe. Though the authors approach the absurd very differently, they all initially utilize the idea that the world has no inherent meaning or purpose to communicate their overarching arguments. With all these different tools, including the philosophical…show more content… At the end of his introduction, Kierkegaard explains, “Only the Christian knows what it is meant by the sickness unto death. He acquires as a Christian a courage which natural man does not know,” (Kierkegaard 266). Through this quote, Kierkegaard evidences his belief of facing absurdism with blind faith and embracing it through faith in God. Rather than worry about earthly matters like “the natural man,” Kierkegaard illustrates that one should instead pursue the possibility of eternal salvation after death through a spiritual connection with God. Essentially, Kierkegaard emphasizes that one must trust his or her relationship with God to reach salvation after death, quite literally a leap of faith. By putting this abundance of faith in Christ and salvation, Kierkegaard essentially rejects any notion of human logic or reason; Kierkegaard points out that only after one has rejected earthly duties for the untold and infinite can one reach salvation. Within the second excerpt of The Sickness Unto Death, Kierkegaard illustrates, “So the despairing self is constantly building nothing but castles in the air, it fights only in the air.” (363). He also defines defiance to be “the despair of willing desparingly to be oneself” (359). In this second excerpt, Kierkegaard attempts to explain despair, the sickness unto death by explaining the futility of those who simply dwell on earthly matters. To Kierkegaard, neglecting one’s spiritual side is to “fight only in the air.” Quite demonstratively, Kierkegaard portrays this neglection as ignorance of the self; fundamentally, Kierkegaard is admonishing those without the fortitude to live a spiritual life, which is how he attempts to face the
