Although most people believe in the supernatural, they struggle with the absurdity of life every day. For example, the life considered real by many could be a dream, while that lived in dreams could be the real one. Absurdism is a conflict that arises when humans try to seek order in a chaotic and meaningless universe. Writers and artists use absurdity as an exploration tool for the world elements that seem to make little or no sense. Realism emphasizes the use of accurate details of contemporary life and nature. It is portrayed in well-explained activities of daily life obtained through observation rather than imagination. The supernatural concept deals with mystical experiences and magical characters. Artists and literature writers have used absurdism, realism, and the supernatural in their writings throughout history.
The absurd, the real, and the supernatural are intertwined into one complex system that defines the experiences of human beings. The absurd creates a conflict, realism offers comfort in certainty, and the supernatural promises a resolution of every other detail a human cannot comprehend. The elements of absurdism include the search for the meaning of life, belief in free will, the feeling of self, the need for love, and an ambition for improvement. These are represented in dark humor, purposeless actions, nontraditional plots, irrational occurrences, and satire. Unlike absurdity, which focuses on nonsensical things, realism emphasizes the actual daily activities of people. In realism, the reality is portrayed comprehensively, the plot is plausible, characters are well developed, social classes are depicted, and realistic settings and events are utilized. The supernatural includes witches, religious figures, gods, ghosts, and spiritual rituals. The supernatural is related to the collective unconscious because most beliefs and practices are inherited from one generation to another without conscious intervention. Therefore, the supernatural is harbored within the unconscious for most people and cultures.
The short story Sealed Off represents elements of absurdity in its setting, characters, and events. The town is sealed off from the rest of the world due to an ongoing war, creating a chaotic environment that contradicts the order humans expect. The tram passengers cannot continue traveling home and are trapped in an unusual situation. For example, the occurrences forced Lu Zhongzhen to decide that he was hungry enough for dinner even though it was barely 5:00 pm (Ailing 527-528). Such a drastic decision depicts the disruption of order contrary to human expectations. “Modernity and Modernism” contains the elements of realism because it discusses the events happening around the world from 1900 to 1945. The first paragraph discusses developments in transportation and technology, including railroads, airplanes, steamships, telegraphs, and the telephone (Modernity and Modernism 4). These magical events in a work of art depict the presence of supernatural elements. Breton’s “Manifestos of Surrealism” represents elements of the supernatural and absurdity (Breton 678). For example, the author details how some authors must identify with their character’s imagination to the extent that it becomes their lives.
In conclusion, the absurd, the real, the supernatural, and the unconscious are related. Even though humans inhabit them, they represent different experiences by people. Artists and writers have depicted these elements through stories, poems, dramas, drawings, and other works. Absurdity shows a conflict between human expectation and actual events, realism focuses on reality, and the supernatural is the powerful external force that ties everything together to create harmony in the universe. The unconscious facilitates the inheritance of culture and supernatural beliefs through the generations.
Works Cited
“Modernity and Modernism, 1900-1945.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature, edited by Puchner, Martin, et al., WW Norton, 2018, pp. 4-13.
Ailing, Zhang. “Sealed Off.” Love in a Fallen City, edited by Ailing, Zhang, Wenji, 1994, pp. 524-533.
Breton, André. “Manifestos of surrealism.” (1969).