The Odyssey and The Flute in the light of Existentialism-Hell is Other People
The Odyssey and The Flute in the light of Existentialism
The most powerful existentialism in Europe as seen from
the 1930s to the mid-20th century is generally emphasized by its interpretation
of the parallel to human existence in the world, with its importance and
complexity. For the primary purpose, that existence is defined by the
philosophical principle of the philosophical system, humans, citizens, people,
relatives, cousins, males, elderly, and groups of individuals in general due to
expression. Absolute or infinite object, therefore, there is enmity to many
kinds of idealism, such as people who emphasize consciousness, emotion, reason,
thought, or exaggeration. Second, it is contrary to any philosophy that sees a
particular and absolute reality in individuals, which must be addressed whether
it is aware of or thinks about its elements.The Odyssey and The Flute in the light of Existentialism-Hell is Other People
This is contrary to any objective or scientific because those perspectives emphasize the unrefined reality of external reality. Third, existentialist philosophy is contrary to any necessity, the reason for this is that a person is accustomed to the possibilities he can choose and he plans for himself. Finally, in the case of the fourth objective, existential philosophy is the result of any philosophical theory (I know it exists only) or any philosophical idealism (objects of data, mood), i.e., the existence of different kinds. The relationship between human beings and the existence of the institutions is permanently and permanently expanded so, so to speak, a violation.
Jean-Paul Sartre
was born on June 21, 1905, and died on April 15, 1980. He was a French thinker,
playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, autobiographies, and
critic. He was one of the leading figures in existentialist philosophy and one
of the leading figures in French philosophy and 20th-century communism. His
major contribution to twentieth-century thought is his philosophical theory, a
co-component of ideas that explain human freedom and responsibility within the
framework of human poetry. That is, he developed a philosophy that perfectly
integrated his social, political, religious, and philosophical forms. According
to Sartre, the strategy of philosophy is the analysis of existential psychology
that is, the analysis of the “basic plan” of human existence. Existential
psychiatry seeks to improve the rules of experimental psychiatry by
constructing their world as a “real choice” that prevents the contraction of
sexual desire or primitive psychological motivation.
Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes personal
existence, freedom, and choice. Man defines the meaning of his life and tries
to make rational decisions despite being in an irrational universe.
Sartre’s Existentialism describes themes of the theory
and talks about existence precedesness, absolute individuality, and freedom of
humans. Moreover, he talks about the subjectivity of a person and being hell
for others, the responsibility of human choices, anxiety, despair, and the self
and bad faith. (Webber, 2009)
Here it intends to explore one of the key concepts of
existentialism “Hell is other people” in Usman Ali’s plays: The
Odyssey (2016) and The Flute (2017). The
characters of Usman Ali’s plays are reason to take away subjectivity and
objectify others thus creating hell. The researcher is using Jean Paul Sartre’s
French existentialism to analyze Usman Ali’s plays.
Existentialism is a French philosophy that was
introduced at the end of the nineteenth century and purely deals with the
different aspects of human existence such as death, anxiety, angst,
subjectivity, sexual commitment, freedom, responsibility, and mostly the
meaning of the existence of human in the world. (Priest, 2001: 10)
Usman Ali was born in Mandi Bahauddin in 1978. Usman Ali
has completed his M. Phil. from the University of Punjab in English Literature.
Usman Ali did his research on Derek Walcott and his thesis entitled The
function and process of Filtration in Derek Walcott. Usman Ali wrote five
plays: The Guilt (2014), The Last Metaphor (2014), The
Odyssey (2016), The Breath (2017), and The
Flute (2017). He is currently associated with the University Of
Sargodha and performing his duties as Head of the English department. (Ali,
2014)
Usman Ali in his play The Odyssey describes the miserable
situation of a family who is suffering because of the social injustice around
them. The major character of the play Odysseus is off to the north to fight
against enemies for two years. The wife of Odysseus Penelope and son Telemachus
is home and facing different societal problems. Three men have raped Telemachus
and his soul, as well as body, is suffering. He declared himself to be a
patient of HIV because of the other's awful acts toward him. Penelope on the
other hand is pregnant with an illegitimate child and seems unable to control
her carnal desires. Telemachus is angry with his father as he was not here to
save him from the ruthless men. Penelope is annoyed with Odysseus because he
blamed Telemechus for seeing women satisfy his sexual need. Odysseus is upset
because Penelope did not take care of Telemachus and was involved in the
illegitimate affair. The air has a bad smell throughout the play and everyone
is blaming others for the reason. Police have declared Telemachus a terrorist
and find out that a bad smell is coming from the basement. The basement is
taken on rent by Balli. He is keeping the dead bodies of those who died from
heat stroke in Karachi. Everyone around is scared and confused about what to
do. They all encircled the neem tree and start to walk around, shouting Ali
Moula as if waiting for their Godot to come.
Usman Ali, his play The Flute narrates
a story of a lower-class family in a village in Punjab. The play is a mirror of
the class and caste-based society of Pakistan. A family is suffering from the
brutal tournament of the higher class people. Orpheus is a meerasi
(entertainer), who plays different kinds of musical instruments and sings at
weddings. Everyone disgraces him including his wife as she wants him to leave
the village so that he could earn money and respect. Orpheus considers himself
an artist but people have no respect for him. Hades, Orpheus, and Randia abuse
each other and think that others are the reason they are suffering. Naggi holds
respect in society and comes to Orpheus home claiming that both Orpheus and
Hades are under a dark spell. He tries to burn their clothes, but it did not
catch the fire. It seems that Orpheus gets offended by Naggi’s act and
threatens him to leave his house. Orpheus is about to do his last trick. He
starts addressing the audience while Randia and Hades start to kiss each other
at the back. The play ends with a wild speech by Orpheus in which he unveils
the typical societal demands and injustice.
#The-Flute
#Existentialism
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