Is Walter Mosley, more than just a writer of light fiction... is he a black existentialist? Before I begin, I should explain what existentialism is...
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to deities or authorities creating it for them. It emerged as a movement in twentieth-century literature and philosophy, though it had forerunners in earlier centuries. Existentialism generally postulates that the absence of a transcendent force (such as God) means that the individual is entirely free, and therefore, ultimately responsible. It is up to humans to create an ethos of personal responsibility outside any branded belief system. In existentialist views, personal articulation of being is the only way to rise above humanity's absurd condition of much suffering and inevitable death.
I know... it sounds pretty depressing, doesn't it? I confess, there is a part of me that is a bit of a nerd. As a teenager, I read books by Albert Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, and Franz Kafka... all known writers of the existentialist school of thought. I was also reading Richard Wright's darker novels ("Black Boy" and "Native Son"), which also seemed to belong to existentialism. Some people will argue that Richard Wright was what they call a "Naturalistic" writer... another
blog for another time.
I have read three novels by Walter Mosley this year "Blonde Faith", "Killing Johnny Fry", and "Diablique" and I'm wondering if I have discovered, at long last, a black Existentialist. In all three novels, the main charactor seems locked into a life and set of circumstances that are beyond his control. The protaganists seem bored, hopeless, and depressed until they take action... an action that gives them meaning and purpose... a reckless action that could mean their downfall yet, makes them feel more alive than at any other time in their lives.
I am curious as to Mr. Mosley's philisophical leanings. Of course, I know that one could argue that the protaganist in any story must overcome odds that are beyond his or her control...but in the existentialist novel... the character's response to those odds is a response that defines his/her existence... a response that redeems them somewhat... which is what makes the story fall in this genre. Plus, the themes of meaninglessness, sadness, and betrayal by life itself... I found these themes in all three novels.
Mr. Mosley is not a lightweight. No indeed. He is up there with some of our best writers but, I defer, I am biased... he is my favorite. Oh, and just for the record, I am not an existentialist. In order to be a true existentialist, one would also have to be an atheist, to which I am not. Nor am I one who believes that there is no meaning to life, no pre-determined meaning to life. I do believe in these things and I do have hope. It gets strained at times but, it's still there.
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to deities or authorities creating it for them. It emerged as a movement in twentieth-century literature and philosophy, though it had forerunners in earlier centuries. Existentialism generally postulates that the absence of a transcendent force (such as God) means that the individual is entirely free, and therefore, ultimately responsible. It is up to humans to create an ethos of personal responsibility outside any branded belief system. In existentialist views, personal articulation of being is the only way to rise above humanity's absurd condition of much suffering and inevitable death.
I know... it sounds pretty depressing, doesn't it? I confess, there is a part of me that is a bit of a nerd. As a teenager, I read books by Albert Camus, Jean Paul Sartre, and Franz Kafka... all known writers of the existentialist school of thought. I was also reading Richard Wright's darker novels ("Black Boy" and "Native Son"), which also seemed to belong to existentialism. Some people will argue that Richard Wright was what they call a "Naturalistic" writer... another
blog for another time.
I have read three novels by Walter Mosley this year "Blonde Faith", "Killing Johnny Fry", and "Diablique" and I'm wondering if I have discovered, at long last, a black Existentialist. In all three novels, the main charactor seems locked into a life and set of circumstances that are beyond his control. The protaganists seem bored, hopeless, and depressed until they take action... an action that gives them meaning and purpose... a reckless action that could mean their downfall yet, makes them feel more alive than at any other time in their lives.
I am curious as to Mr. Mosley's philisophical leanings. Of course, I know that one could argue that the protaganist in any story must overcome odds that are beyond his or her control...but in the existentialist novel... the character's response to those odds is a response that defines his/her existence... a response that redeems them somewhat... which is what makes the story fall in this genre. Plus, the themes of meaninglessness, sadness, and betrayal by life itself... I found these themes in all three novels.
Mr. Mosley is not a lightweight. No indeed. He is up there with some of our best writers but, I defer, I am biased... he is my favorite. Oh, and just for the record, I am not an existentialist. In order to be a true existentialist, one would also have to be an atheist, to which I am not. Nor am I one who believes that there is no meaning to life, no pre-determined meaning to life. I do believe in these things and I do have hope. It gets strained at times but, it's still there.
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