Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “existentialism” as the following:

a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.

Consider this definition in relation to general philosophical approaches to life. Have you heard this term before? In what context? If not, what might cause someone to believe in existentialism as a philosophy for living? Explain.

Teaching Suggestion: Broadly speaking, the existential movement predates Jean-Paul Sartre; in fact, one may trace its roots in the rise of Protestant, individualist, and rational movements throughout the 16th-19th centuries, which ultimately questioned forms of hierarchy, the purpose of religious institutions and the meaning of the self. However, Sartre’s specific view of existentialism can be linked to the end of World War II, in which various artistic and philosophical movements began to question the meaning of existence in the post-war world.