Existentialism is the philosophical theory identifying a man as the only responsible person for his development. Many pieces of literature and cinematography masterpieces depict a man who dictates his life purpose and decisions by himself, highlighting man’s freedom in actions. Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Kelly’s Donnie Darko are two examples of existential crises connected with personal angst and constant struggles resulting in the deaths of two protagonists.
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis describes the story of a man who transforms into an insect from a human and experiences loneliness and detachment from his previous life, friends, and family. The writer contrasts two conditions of Gregor Samsa using the themes of responsibility and sacrifices to highlight the importance of existentialism. Although before becoming an insect, Gregor helps his parents because he genuinely believes it is his duty, he does not have a close relationship with them, and helping them is not his choice (Kafka, 1912). While existentialism emphasizes the importance of human relationships, Gregor does the opposite, resulting in alienation. The protagonist sacrifices his desires for corporate needs and choices, neglecting individual responsibility for his life. The character of the story even locks his doors to not interact with his parents as he always dreams of “getting up in peace without being disturbed.” (Kafka, 1912, p.6). When he becomes an insect, he faces the inability to confront the world and protect his existence. Even the decision to die is not his choice, as his parents refuse to feed him: “he was weak from hunger, which made it impossible for him to move (Kafka, 1912, p.60).” While existentialism focuses on personal choices, freedom, and relationships, Gregor experiences an existential crisis with lifelong selflessness and estrangement.
Another existentialist masterpiece is Richard Kelly’s film Donnie Darko, portraying the life of a mentally ill teenager who has a vision of Frank, a figure in a rabbit costume, when he sleepwalks. The role of Frank in causing Donnie’s existential crisis at an early age is significant as he imposes his on a teen with psychological problems his prophecy (Cardullo, 2017). Donnie’s ponderings about life, death, and freedom as the significant indicators of existentialism start shortly after the engine drops into his bed out of nowhere. Apart from the metaphysical reality of Frank, Grandma Death, with a unique character name signaling the rising crisis and loneliness experienced in old age, makes Donnie fear aging and ponder his destiny (Cardullo, 2017). Thus, Frank’s prediction about everyone’s death in 28 days, loneliness, and insignificance of human lives are three points of existentialism highlighted in Kelly’s film.
Although Kafka and Kelly illustrate two different stories, their characters share the same qualities. The angst experienced by both characters, Gregor and Donnie, meets the theory of existentialism. The story creators portray existential angst as the internal conflict about the irrationality of the outer world and the constant struggles to maintain existence. For example, throughout the novella, Gregor cannot build meaningful relationships with other humans, including his family and colleagues. He hates his job as his family forces him to be the only breadwinner, which results in his isolation at the house and the workplace (Kafka, 1912). He continues to work because he believes it is the only means of survival, which raises more angst.
The second character, Donnie, also has anxiety and hallucinations, possibly caused by medications. When he sleepwalks and listens to Frank’s prophecy, it causes even stronger angst about the future as he always asks about the world’s end and the scope of the disaster (Cardullo, 2017). Similarly to Gregor, Donnie has instructions from Frank, who dictates what to do. Nevertheless, Donnie is not dangerous since his actions, such as flooding the school or causing a fire at a house, do not harm anyone. It justifies how both characters have constant angst caused by the surrounding people in actual or metaphysical reality, resulting in an existential crisis.
The Metamorphosis and Donnie Darko differ in the final scenes concluding with the realism of existential crisis. The former focuses on the protagonist’s inability to save his individuum from the others, causing the death and his family’s happiness. Still, the latter has a different ending as the protagonist sacrifices his life but saves the lives of billions of people. Kafka decides to kill Gregor through his parents, who no longer care about him. Mr.Samsa says, “let’s give thanks to God for that,” highlighting that Gregor’s family is responsible for his death (Kafka, 1912, p.65). In contrast, Donnie decides to sacrifice his life on his own. Moreover, his decision returns the essential Artifact to its Universe and destroys the Tangent Universe without killing people (Cardullo, 2017). Despite the similarity in the deaths, Gregor and Donnie’s portrayal of selflessness differs in the final scenes.
To conclude, Kafka and Kelly portray the stories of two people with internal contradictions and struggles that help them to exist. Both question the reality and importance of human relationships while complying with the world. The Metamorphosis is ironic because a man who works tirelessly to support his family is neglected by his parents after transforming into a bug. Donnie Darko, however, explores the themes of destiny, loneliness, and bizarre fissions to eventually sacrifice his life for the sake of others.
References
Cardullo, P. (2017). Donnie Darko: Enigmatic & slyly funny existential classic. Gruesome Magazine. Web.
Kafka, F. (1912). The Metamorphosis (D. Wyllie, Trans.). E-Books Dictionary. Web.