Updated for 6-27-16: Man's Search for Meaning: Lesson: Student Refutes Frankl, Pronoun Errors, Mixed Structure

Essay Options for Final Paper on Man's Search for Meaning:

Option One

In a 1,400-word essay, defend, support, or refute the argument that Man’s Search for Meaning gives us a cogent, appropriate and insightful analysis for evaluating Nikolai’s moral dissolution in the Chekhov short story “Gooseberries.”

Option Two:

In a 1,400-word essay, defend, support, or complicate the argument that the determinism evident in the 1999 Alexander Payne film Election is a compelling refutation of Frankl's notion that we are free to find meaning as a cure for our despair and self-destruction. Recommended Research Link for Alternative Option: http://sensesofcinema.com/2012/feature-articles/chance-and-choice-biology-and-theology-in-alexander-paynes-election/

Option Three

In a 1,400-word essay, defend, support, or complicate the argument that even though Frankl’s philosophy is informed by his religious faith, one need not be religious to embrace Frankl’s precepts and principles. You can concede that Frankl’s book is “religious” but not in the narrow sense of the word. Rather, it is universally religious. On the other hand, some will argue that the theistic religion that informs Frankl’s philosophy is too narrow to accommodate secular and atheist thinkers. Take a position and explain. You may want to consult Elizabeth Anderson’s “If God Is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?”

Option Four

In a 1,400-word essay, defend, support, or complicate the argument that Groundhog Day character Phil Connors’ spiritual malaise and eventual spiritual transformation can be analyzed through the lens of the principles in Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.

Option Five:

Defend, refute, or complicate the argument that Man’s Search for Meaning is the greatest anti-self-help self-help book ever written.

Consider these distinguishing qualities of traditional self-help books:

1. They deny suffering as the central feature of human existence
2. They play into reader’s narcissistic fantasy of being special and at the center of the universe.
3. They promise easy solutions based on gimmicks intended to look like “insights.”
4. They promise easy solutions using common sense dressed up in jargon and pretentious language.
5. They tend to condescend to the reader, treating him like a child. There is an infantile, dumbed-down quality to them.
6. They make false promises about happiness and self-fulfillment.
7. They make being a selfish self-centered lout acceptable and “noble.”
8. They place selfish self-interest and self-indulgence over responsibility to oneself and others.

Option Six:

Develop a thesis that shows how Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning explains the major thematic points in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. You need 5 sources for your final paper.  

Option Seven:

Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that the Coen brothers' A Serious Man complements the themes in Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning.  

Your guidelines for your Final Research Paper are as follows: 

This research paper should present a thesis that is specific, manageable, provable, and contestable—in other words, the thesis should offer a clear position, stand, or opinion that will be proven with research.   

You should analyze and prove your thesis using examples and quotes from a variety of sources.   

You need to research and cite from at least five sources.  You must use at least 3 different types of sources.     

At least one source must be from an ECC library database.    

At least one source must be a book, anthology or textbook.    

At least one source must be from a credible website, appropriate for academic use.  

The paper should not over-rely on one main source for most of the information. Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them. 

This paper will be approximately 5-7 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  This means at least 5 full pages of text.  The Works Cited page does NOT count towards length requirement.     

You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.   

You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.  

You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Your paper must be logically organized and focused.  

 

 

Blue Book Exam for Wednesday, July 6

Analyze the manner in which the fable Death in Tehran explains the entire book Man's Search for Meaning. Your thesis should have 4 mapping components, and your essay must have 4 supporting body paragraphs. 

First Option

Defend, support, or refute the argument that Man’s Search for Meaning gives us a cogent, appropriate and insightful analysis for evaluating Nikolai’s moral dissolution in the Chekhov short story “Gooseberries.”

Some Things to Consider for Your Essay

Comparing Man's Search for Meaning and "Gooseberries," consider the following:

One. Nikolai has no ideal other than being a false god. His own self was his "ideal," which is no ideal at all.

Two. He has no higher purpose other than to find comfort and hedonism (pleasure seeking). 

Three. He avoids conflict and stress, the very thing Frankl says fulfills us when they result from a life of meaning.

Four. By hiding from life, Nikolai is like the servant in the story Death in Tehran. 

Sample Thesis for Option One

Nikolai's foolish life is like a cautionary tale that embodies all the things Viktor Frankl warns us about in mankind's false meaning quests. These foolish pursuits include _____________, ______________, _____________, and _________________. 

Outline for Option One

Paragraph 1: Summarize the short story.

Paragraph 2: Summarize Frankl's book.

Paragraph 3: Develop your thesis.

Paragraphs 4-10: Supporting paragraphs

Paragraph 11: Restate thesis in dramatic form.

Second Option:

Defend, support, or complicate the argument that the determinism evident in the 1999 Alexander Payne film Election is a compelling refutation of Frankl's notion that we are free to find meaning as a cure for our despair and self-destruction. Recommended Research Link for Alternative Option: http://sensesofcinema.com/2012/feature-articles/chance-and-choice-biology-and-theology-in-alexander-paynes-election/

 

Sample Thesis That Shows How Election is a Refutation of Man's Search for Meaning

The characters in Alexander Payne's masterpiece Election (1999) refute Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning in compelling ways. For one, the characters lack the self-awareness to make the kind of choices or show the type of "freedom" that Frankl says we must utilize to find meaning. For two, the characters' earnest attempts to find meaning and structure in their lives prove to backfire and send them down a rabbit hole of moral dissolution and self-destruction suggesting that our most zealous efforts for meaning are contaminated by the unsavory impulses of the unconscious. For three, Tracy Flick's "meaning" and structure proves to be no meaning at all but rather unbridled ambition. Fourth, the movie's symbolism argues for a world governed by determinism through the environment and hard-wiring rather than a world populated by people who can make legitimate choices. Fifth, the movie's very title Election shows the ambiguity of choice: We "elect" to do things while at the same time life elects to place people in their place in the world's soulless machine. 

For paragraph 1, summarize Frankl's book.

For paragraph2, summarize the movie Election. 

For paragraph 3, write a thesis that presents your argument about meaning as you pit the book against the movie.

Paragraphs 4-10 should support your thesis.

Paragraph 11 will be your conclusion, a dramatic restatement of your thesis. 

Resource:

You may use the short story, "Critical Thinking," I wrote about the conversation I had with a student on this subject. 

Third Option

Defend, support, or complicate the argument that even though Frankl’s philosophy is informed by his religious faith, one need not be religious to embrace Frankl’s precepts and principles. You can concede that Frankl’s book is “religious” but not in the narrow sense of the word. Rather, it is universally religious. On the other hand, some will argue that the theistic religion that informs Frankl’s philosophy is too narrow to accommodate secular and atheist thinkers. Take a position and explain. You may want to consult Elizabeth Anderson’s “If God Is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?”

Sample Thesis of Student Who Opposes Frankl on Grounds That Frankl Is Religious

Frankl believes in God (he is a theist), and the philosophy that informs his book Man's Search for Meaning is based on Frankl's theism. Take away religious faith and all the precepts of Frankl's book come crashing down like a deck of cards. A close look at the book from an atheist's point of view reveals that the book is full of faith-based aphorisms and homilies that cannot be believed unless one is religious. The notion of meaning is false since no one can prove there is any meaning at all. We have adapted to cooperate with one another and have evolved morality, but these developments do not point to any meaning or any God. Frankl's heroism is not the result of his choice to have the right attitude toward his suffering but rather the result of his hard-wiring and environment. Lots of decent people would not have performed so heroically in Frankl's circumstances, and they should not be ashamed if they are more selfish when faced with such excruciating circumstances. My third point is that if everyone were like Viktor Frankl, a goody two shoes, the world would be a boring place. Many of our most famous comedians who preach cynicism, hopelessness, misanthropy, and life's essential meaninglessness, provide us with therapeutic laughter precisely because they have never found "meaning" or the pious attitude toward life that Frankl would impose on the rest of us. Finally, since the "meaning" of one person with one religious faith collides with the "meaning" of a person who practices a different religious faith, we can conclude that "meaning" is an illusion based on a person's delusion belief in God. Looking at the evidence, we are forced to conclude that Man's Search for Meaning is simply a mouthpiece for religious dogma and does nothing to convince me or anyone that "meaning" exists. 

Fourth Option

Defend, support, or complicate the argument that Groundhog Day character Phil Connors’ spiritual malaise and eventual spiritual transformation can be analyzed through the lens of the principles in Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.

Thesis Sample:

Through the lens of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, Groundhog Day's universal themes of damnation and salvation become crystal clear. We see that Phil Connors is without meaning a damned man doomed to live in an eternal loop of nothingness and despair. We see that without hope for a meaningful existence, Connors surrenders to his beastly impulses of cynicism and petulant childishness, resulting in his disconnection from himself and the human race. We see that Connors must be redeemed by love, one of the three ways humans find meaning, according to Frankl. Finally, we see that it is only the primary drive for meaning that, like the logotherapy used by Viktor Frankl, can provide the therapy and healing Connors' shrunken soul needs. 

For paragraph 1, summarize Frankl's book.

For paragraph2, summarize the movie Groundhog Day. 

For paragraph 3, write a thesis that presents your argument about meaning as you pit the book against the movie.

Paragraphs 4-10 should support your thesis.

Paragraph 11 will be your conclusion, a dramatic restatement of your thesis. 

Fifth Option:

Defend, refute, or complicate the argument that Man’s Search for Meaning is the greatest anti-self-help self-help book ever written.

Consider these distinguishing qualities of traditional self-help books:

1. They deny suffering as the central feature of human existence
2. They play into reader’s narcissistic fantasy of being special and at the center of the universe.
3. They promise easy solutions based on gimmicks intended to look like “insights.”
4. They promise easy solutions using common sense dressed up in jargon and pretentious language.
5. They tend to condescend to the reader, treating him like a child. There is an infantile, dumbed-down quality to them.
6. They make false promises about happiness and self-fulfillment.
7. They make being a selfish self-centered lout acceptable and “noble.”
8. They place selfish self-interest and self-indulgence over responsibility to oneself and others.

Your guidelines for your Final Research Paper are as follows: 

This research paper should present a thesis that is specific, manageable, provable, and contestable—in other words, the thesis should offer a clear position, stand, or opinion that will be proven with research.   

You should analyze and prove your thesis using examples and quotes from a variety of sources.   

You need to research and cite from at least five sources.  You must use at least 3 different types of sources.     

At least one source must be from an ECC library database.    

At least one source must be a book, anthology or textbook.    

At least one source must be from a credible website, appropriate for academic use.  

The paper should not over-rely on one main source for most of the information. Rather, it should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them. 

This paper will be approximately 5-7 pages in length, not including the Works Cited page, which is also required.  This means at least 5 full pages of text.  The Works Cited page does NOT count towards length requirement.     

You must use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.   

You must integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.  

You must sustain your argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Your paper must be logically organized and focused.   

One. What is the central purpose of Frankl’s book? (ix)

We must embrace Nietzsche’s adage: “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.”

With a life purpose, we can march ahead in spite of our suffering and insurmountable obstacles.

In contrast, without a purpose, we will slog and languish through life and suffer emptiness and depression, which we will try to feebly overcome by medicating ourselves with phony relationships, social media, addiction, consumerism, etc.

Without a purpose, we will be butterflies pinned to a wall, our legs helplessly flailing.

Without purpose, we will suffer from ennui, a state of perpetual boredom with life that leaves us sluggish, numb, and depressed.

Without purpose, we will suffer from the spiritual disease of acedia, the lethargy and fatigue that results from living in a fog of no meaning and purpose.

Frankl observed in the concentration camps two kinds of prisoners, those with a purpose and those without.

Those without a purpose were the first to give up on life. Many of us have given up on life and we don’t even know it.

We’re closed in by the despair from having given up on life. We die a slow death. We are trapped and closed in by our hopeless condition.

To give up on life is to be oppressed by our own despair. We are our own oppressor and enemy. We are the cause of our oppression and confinement. Frankl will make a reference to this condition later in the book. The Hebrew word for this imprisonment, this “tightness and being closed in,” is called mitzrayim. Finding purpose and meaning is the way out of our mitzrayim, our confinement.

The prisoners who had given up on life died more quickly. We read in the Foreword by Harold Kushner that, “They died less from lack of food or medicine than from lack of hope, lack of something to live for.”

Frankl had a purpose. He needed to survive the concentration camps, so he could teach the world the lessons he learned about the importance of finding meaning. Teaching the world the importance of meaning became his meaning.

Frankl identifies three areas where we find meaning, as we read in Kushner’s Foreword:

Work, “doing something significant”

Love, “caring for another person”

Courage in difficult times: Suffering requires courage. “Suffering in and of itself is meaningless; we give our suffering meaning by the way in which we respond to it”: with or without courage.

The attitude we cultivate toward suffering determines what kind of person we are. Frankl writes that a person “may remain brave, dignified and unselfish, or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal.”

Few people choose to be brave and dignified, but according to Frankl, the difficulty of the task that not absolve any of us the responsibility to choose a path of meaning. In other words, the road to hell is wide and the road to heaven is narrow. It’s “easy” to live a meaningless life. Most people lead meaningless lives of “quiet despair.”

But a meaningless life is in truth not “easy” because it results in a despair that eats away at us.

Two. How does Frankl’s idea of meaning conflict with the world’s idea of human beings’ primary motivation?

 

Kushner writes, “Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure, as Freud believed, or a quest for power, as Alfred Adler taught, but a quest for meaning.”

Conventional notions of success, based on the acquiring of pleasure and power, obscure the fact that life’s primary drive is to find meaning, which is the only ticket out of our personal hell of emptiness and despair.

Frankl’s book is a refutation against a world that promotes this conventional idea of “success.”

Pleasure is doomed to fail because of the hedonic treadmill: We acclimate to pleasure so that we always become numb to it.

Power is doomed to corrupt and make us evil: We will feel compelled to control and manipulate others as feeble compensation for the emptiness and despair that informs our meaningless existence.

Three. For Harold Kushner, what is the book’s most “enduring insight”?

Kushner writes: “Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you will feel and do about what happens to you.”

Most of us define our wellbeing on our materialistic station in life: our things, our comforts, our routines, our reliance on family, and our good health.

But in the blink of an eye, anything can happen that will strip us all these things that we assumed gave us a foundation in life.

Frankl came from a loving family and suddenly the Nazis plucked him and his family members from their loving environment into the hell of the concentration camps.

The Nazis stripped Frankl of everything, but one thing Frankl would not give them was the dignity of his soul.

Some of Frankl’s fellow prisoners, after the liberation, lived like angry animals with the attitude that, “The world let this hell happen to me, so screw the world. I will go on a rampage!”

By embracing this bitter attitude, these prisoners lost their souls and became their worst enemies.

Frankl says we have the freedom to choose the attitude we will have in the face of suffering. We are accountable for having a noble and courageous attitude in the face of this suffering.

Four. What implicit moral condemnation of the American news reporters does Frankl give in his Preface?

The reporters always start interviewing Frankl by talking about how his book is this amazing best-selling success. By doing so, they miss the point: The book points to a terrible fact: “ an expression of misery of our time: if hundreds of thousands of people reach out for a book whose very title promises to deal with the question of a meaning to life, it must be a question that burns under their fingernails.”

The reporters shouldn’t be so intoxicated by the book’s “success”; rather, they should focus on the public’s hunger for meaning, and why this hunger is such a chronic problem.

Frankl disdains society’s ambition for best-selling books and “success.” He never wanted any fame for writing his book. Originally, he was going to write it anonymously but decided for credibility’s sake to put his name on it.

He is against success. He writes, “Again and again I . . . admonish my students both in Europe and in America: ‘Don’t aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.’ For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause great than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run—in the long run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.”

The irony is that people who seek happiness the most are the least happy and that people who seek not happiness but meaning are the most fulfilled (true definition of happiness).

Seeking happiness for its own sake is an infantile, childish impulse; therefore, it is doomed to fail from the start.

Five. What “three phases of the inmate’s mental reactions to camp life become apparent”?

Phase 1: Shock

The first phase is shock, which can be a sort of disbelief we feel as we’re still processing the information.

Sometimes this state of shock and denial was accompanied by a “delusion of reprieve,” the belief that none of this was happening and that everything would be okay.

Such a delusion was perhaps necessary in a hell where 90 percent of the prisoners were selected for immediate death in the “bath” house.

In this hell, fellow prisoners pointed to the smoke and said, “That’s where your friend is, floating up to Heaven.”

The new prisoners were in too much shock to believe in this: Either you would die, or have everything, including your wedding ring, taken away. Even all their head and body hair would be shaved off and the hair would be used for industrial use.

Frankl is deluded into thinking he will be able to hold on to his manuscript, his “life’s work.”

The shock is slowly accompanied by a dark sense of humor and a “cold curiosity” for the horrors of this remarkable hell on earth. “How bad can things get? Is there a bottom on human depravity and evil or is there no bottom at all?”

During this first phase, everyone is tempted to commit suicide, to run into the wire, for a brief time.

To keep the will to live during this suicidal phase, a prisoner explains that one must keep shaved and “stand and walk smartly.” Letting oneself go is the first step in giving up on life.

We read, as Frankl quotes Doris Lessing, that an “abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.”

Phase 2: Apathy

The second phase of this “abnormal reaction” was apathy, in which the prisoner “achieved a kind of emotional death.”

He needed to deaden the tortures of being separated by his loved ones.

Being surrounded by filth and excrement added to his disgust, which translated into apathy.

He becomes hardened by the suffering he sees around him. This is an adaptation, a “necessary protective shell.”

The only time Frankl felt any emotion during the apathy stage was when the guards insulted his humanity with their blows and humiliations. Indignation was the result of an insult, and it would not be accepted under any conditions (25).

As the apathy continues, some prisoners will experience the “intensification of their inner life.” As an example, Frankl has a transcendent experience in which he feels his wife’s loving presence, which becomes a source of strength to him (37-38).

Humor was also learned to keep the prisoners from going completely crazy in their hell (44).

Phase 3: Depersonalization

Being reduced to an animal fighting tooth and claw for survival could strip a man of his dignity and his soul.

We read that, “If the man in the concentration camp did not struggle against this [attack on his fundamental humanity] in a last effort to save his self-respect, he lost the feeling of being an individual, a being with a mind, with inner freedom and personal value. He thought of himself then as only a part of an enormous mass of people; his existence descended to the level of animal life” (50).

Six. How does Death in Tehran explain the manner in which we are too often our worst enemy?

A rich and mighty Persian once walked in his garden with one of his servants. The servant cried that he had just encountered Death, who had threatened him. He begged his master to give him his fastest horse so that he could make haste and flee to Teheran, which he could reach that same evening. The master consented and the servant galloped off on the horse. On returning to his house the master himself met Death, and questioned him, “Why did you terrify and threaten my servant?” “I did not threaten him; I only showed surprise in still finding him here when I planned to meet him tonight in Teheran,” said Death.

Often our fear accelerates us to the very fate we wish to escape from. For example, time and time again Frankl refused to take the easy way out when offered “easier” camps and these “easier” camps raged with famine and even cannibalism (56).

Staying loyal to his commitment to his patients in the camp gave Frankl an “inward peace” he would not have experienced had he acted in self-interest.

Frankl’s book makes us ask what really is self-interest in the context of self-interested altruism, knowing the benefits we gain from helping others (59).

Seven. What radical claim about free will does Frankl make in the context of the depersonalization that occurred at the concentration camps?

On page 65, we read

 In attempting this psychological presentation and a psychopathological explanation of the typical characteristics of a concentration camp inmate, I may give the impression that the human being is completely and unavoidably influenced by his surroundings. (In this case the surroundings being the unique structure of camp life, which forced the prisoner to conform his conduct to a certain set pattern.) But what about human liberty? Is there no spiritual freedom in regard to behavior and reaction to any given surroundings? Is that theory true which would have us believe that man is no more than a product of many conditional and environmental factors — be they of a biological, psychological or sociological nature? Is man but an accidental product of these? Most important, do the prisoners' reactions to the singular world of the concentration camp prove that man cannot escape the influences of his surroundings? Does man have no choice of action in the face of such circumstances?

We can answer these questions from experience as well as on principle. The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.

We who lived, in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate.

Seen from this point of view, the mental reactions of the inmates of a concentration camp must seem more to us than the mere expression of certain physical and sociological conditions. Even though conditions such as lack of sleep, insufficient food and various mental stresses may suggest that the inmates were bound to react in certain ways, in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him — mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevski said once, "There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom — which cannot be taken away — that makes life meaningful and purposeful.

An active life serves the purpose of giving man the opportunity to realize values in creative work, while a passive life of enjoyment affords him the opportunity to obtain fulfillment in experiencing beauty, art, or nature. But there is also purpose in that life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man's attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces. A creative life and a life of enjoyment are banned to him. But not only creativeness and enjoyment are meaningful. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.

The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.

Eight. What makes choosing the good life of sacrifice and meaning so difficult?

We read that even though we are motivated and think about living a good life, we quickly forget our resolutions. As we read:

Those of us who saw the film called Resurrection — taken from a book by Tolstoy — years ago, may have had similar thoughts. Here were great destinies and great men. For us, at that time, there was no great fate; there was no chance to achieve such greatness. After the picture we went to the nearest cafe, and over a cup of coffee and a sandwich we forgot the strange metaphysical thoughts which for one moment had crossed our minds. But when we ourselves were confronted with a great destiny and faced with the decision of meeting it with equal spiritual greatness, by then we had forgotten our youthful resolutions of long ago, and we failed.

Perhaps there came a day for some of us when we saw the same film again, or a similar one. But by then other pictures may have simultaneously unrolled before one's inner eye; pictures of people who attained much more in their lives than a sentimental film could show. Some details of a particular man's inner greatness may have come to one's mind, like the story of the young woman whose death I witnessed in a concentration camp. It is a simple story. There is little to tell and it may sound as if I had invented it; but to me it seems like a poem.

This young woman knew that she would die in the next few days. But when I talked to her she was cheerful in spite of this knowledge. "I am grateful that fate has hit me so hard," she told me. "In my former life I was spoiled and did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously." Pointing through the window of the hut, she said, "This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness." Through that window she could see just one branch of a chestnut tree, and on the branch were two blossoms. "I often talk to this tree," she said to me. I was startled and didn't quite know how to take her words. Was she delirious? Did she have occasional hallucinations? Anxiously I asked her if the tree replied. "Yes." What did it say to her? She answered, "It said to me, 'I am here — I am here — I am life, eternal life.'" ...

that while the surroundings are overwhelming, there still exists “human liberty” and “spiritual freedom.” Frankl writes, “The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.”

Nine. How did the “intensification” of Frankl’s inner life help him transcend his suffering?

We stumbled on in the darkness, over big stones and through large puddles, along the one road leading from the camp. The accompanying guards kept shouting at us and driving us with the butts of their rifles. Anyone with very sore feet supported himself on his neighbor's arm. Hardly a word was spoken; the icy wind did not encourage talk. Hiding his mouth behind his upturned collar, the man marching next to me whispered suddenly: "If our wives could see us now! I do hope they are better off in their camps and don't know what is happening to us."

That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind. And as we stumbled on for miles, slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another up and onward, nothing was said, but we both knew: each of us was thinking of his wife. Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look. Real or not, her look was then more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.

A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth — that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way — an honorable way — in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment. For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory."

In front of me a man stumbled and those following him fell on top of him. The guard rushed over and used his whip on them all. Thus my thoughts were interrupted for a few minutes. But soon my soul found its way back from the prisoner's existence to another world, and I resumed talk with my loved one: I asked her questions, and she answered; she questioned me in return, and I answered.

"Stop!" We had arrived at our work site. Everybody rushed into the dark hut in the hope of getting a fairly decent tool. Each prisoner got a spade or a pickaxe.

"Can't you hurry up, you pigs?" Soon we had resumed the previous day's positions in the ditch. The frozen ground cracked under the point of the pickaxes, and sparks flew. The men were silent, their brains numb.

My mind still clung to the image of my wife. A thought crossed my mind: I didn't even know if she were still alive. I knew only one thing — which I have learned well by now: Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.

I did not know whether my wife was alive, and I had no means of finding out (during all my prison life there was no outgoing or incoming mail); but at that moment it ceased to matter. There was no need for me to know; nothing could touch the strength of my love, my thoughts, and the image of my beloved. Had I known then that my wife was dead, I think that I would still have given myself, undisturbed by that knowledge, to the contemplation of her image, and that my mental conversation with her would have been just as vivid and just as satisfying. "Set me like a seal upon thy heart, love is as strong as death."

Ten. Frankl’s central thesis is also at the heart of one of mankind’s greatest controversies. Explain (Review of Question #7).

... In attempting this psychological presentation and a psychopathological explanation of the typical characteristics of a concentration camp inmate, I may give the impression that the human being is completely and unavoidably influenced by his surroundings. (In this case the surroundings being the unique structure of camp life, which forced the prisoner to conform his conduct to a certain set pattern.) But what about human liberty? Is there no spiritual freedom in regard to behavior and reaction to any given surroundings? Is that theory true which would have us believe that man is no more than a product of many conditional and environmental factors — be they of a biological, psychological or sociological nature? Is man but an accidental product of these? Most important, do the prisoners' reactions to the singular world of the concentration camp prove that man cannot escape the influences of his surroundings? Does man have no choice of action in the face of such circumstances?

We can answer these questions from experience as well as on principle. The experiences of camp life show that man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.

We who lived, in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate.

Seen from this point of view, the mental reactions of the inmates of a concentration camp must seem more to us than the mere expression of certain physical and sociological conditions. Even though conditions such as lack of sleep, insufficient food and various mental stresses may suggest that the inmates were bound to react in certain ways, in the final analysis it becomes clear that the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him — mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevski said once, "There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings." These words frequently came to my mind after I became acquainted with those martyrs whose behavior in camp, whose suffering and death, bore witness to the fact that the last inner freedom cannot be lost. It can be said that they were worthy of their sufferings; the way they bore their suffering was a genuine inner achievement. It is this spiritual freedom — which cannot be taken away — that makes life meaningful and purposeful.

An active life serves the purpose of giving man the opportunity to realize values in creative work, while a passive life of enjoyment affords him the opportunity to obtain fulfillment in experiencing beauty, art, or nature. But there is also purpose in that life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man's attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces. A creative life and a life of enjoyment are banned to him. But not only creativeness and enjoyment are meaningful. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.

The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.

Do not think that these considerations are unworldly and too far removed from real life. It is true that only a few people are capable of reaching such high moral standards. Of the prisoners only a few kept their full inner liberty and obtained those values which their suffering afforded, but even one such example is sufficient proof that man's inner strength may raise him above his outward fate. Such men are not only in concentration camps. Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own suffering.

Take the fate of the sick — especially those who are incurable. I once read a letter written by a young invalid, in which he told a friend that he had just found out he would not live for long, that even an operation would be of no help. He wrote further that he remembered a film he had seen in which a man was portrayed who waited for death in a courageous and dignified way. The boy had thought it a great accomplishment to meet death so well. Now — he wrote — fate was offering him a similar chance.

Eleven. What is the link between suffering and meaning?

An active life serves the purpose of giving man the opportunity to realize values in creative work, while a passive life of enjoyment affords him the opportunity to obtain fulfillment in experiencing beauty, art, or nature. But there is also purpose in that life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man's attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces. A creative life and a life of enjoyment are banned to him. But not only creativeness and enjoyment are meaningful. If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.

The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity — even under the most difficult circumstances — to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.

Do not think that these considerations are unworldly and too far removed from real life. It is true that only a few people are capable of reaching such high moral standards. Of the prisoners only a few kept their full inner liberty and obtained those values which their suffering afforded, but even one such example is sufficient proof that man's inner strength may raise him above his outward fate. Such men are not only in concentration camps. Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own suffering.

Short Story Resource

Here's a short story that you can use as a resource. It's about a student who challenges Viktor Frankl and his professor:

 

Pronoun Errors 

Vague Pronoun Reference

Possible reference to more than one word

Transmitting radio signals by satellite is a way of overcoming the problem of scarce airwaves and limiting how they are used.

In the original sentence, they could refer to the signals or to the airwaves.

Reference implied but not stated

The company prohibited smoking, which many employees resented.

What does which refer to? The editing clarifies what employees resented.

A pronoun should refer clearly to the word or words it replaces (called the antecedent) elsewhere in the sentence or in a previous sentence. If more than one word could be the antecedent, or if no specific antecedent is present, edit to make the meaning clear.

Lack of pronoun/antecedent agreement

Every student must provide their own uniform.

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in gender (male or female) and in number (singular or plural). Many indefinite pronouns, such as everyone and each, are always singular. When a singular antecedent can refer to a man or woman, either rewrite the sentence to make the antecedent plural or to eliminate the pronoun, or use his or her, he or she, and so on. When antecedents are joined by or or nor, the pronoun must agree with the closer antecedent. A collection noun such as team can be either singular or plural, depending on whether the members are seen as a group or individuals.

Incorrect pronoun case

Determine whether the pronoun is being used as a subject, or an object, or a possessive in the sentence, and select the pronoun form to match.

Incorrect:

Castro's communist principles inevitably led to an ideological conflict between he and President Kennedy.

Correct:

Castro's communist principles inevitably led to an ideological conflict between him and President Kennedy.

Incorrect:

Because strict constructionists recommend fidelity to the Constitution as written, no one objects more than them to judicial reinterpretation.

Correct:

Because strict constructionists recommend fidelity to the Constitution as written, no one objects more than they [do] to judicial reinterpretation. 

Rewrite each sentence below so that you’ve corrected the pronoun errors. 

One. Between you and I, there are too many all-you-can-eat buffets mushrooming over southern California because a person thinks they’re getting a good deal when we can eat endless plates food for a mere ten dollars.

Two. When children grow up eating at buffets, they expand their bellies and sometimes you find you cannot get “full” no matter how much we eat. 

Three. As thousands of children gorged on pastrami at HomeTown Buffet, you could tell we would have to address the needs of a lot of sick children. 

Four. Although I like the idea of eating all I want, you can sense that there is danger in this unlimited eating mentality that can escort us down the path of gluttony and predispose you to diabetes. 

Five. When a customer feels he’s getting all the food they want, you know we can increase your business. 

Six. If a student studies the correct MLA format, you can expect academic success. 

Seven. It’s not easy for instructors to keep their students’ attention for a three-hour lecture. He or she must mix up the class-time with lecture, discussion, and in-class exercises. 

Eight. It is good for a student to read the assigned text at least three times. When they do, they develop better reading comprehension. 

Nine. The instructor gave the essays back to Bob and I.

Ten. We must find meaning to overcome the existential vacuum. Otherwise, you will descend into a rabbit hold of despair and they will find themselves behaving in all manners of self-destruction.

  

 

 

  

McMahon Grammar Lesson: Mixed Structure

Mixed construction is when the sentence parts do not fit in terms of grammar or logic.

Once you establish a grammatical unit or pattern, you have to be consistent.

Example 1: The prepositional phrase followed by a verb

Faulty

For most people who suffer from learned helplessness double their risk of unemployment and living below the poverty line.

Corrected

For most people who suffer from learned helplessness, they find they will be twice as likely to face unemployment and poverty.

Faulty

In Ha Jin’s masterful short story collection renders the effects of learned helplessness.

Corrected

In Ha Jin’s masterful short story collection, we see the effects of learned helplessness.

Faulty

Depending on our method of travel and our destination determines how many suitcases we are allowed to pack.

Corrected

The number of suitcases we can pack is determined by our method of travel and our destination.

Mixed Structure 2: Using a verb after a dependent clause

Faulty

When Jeff Henderson is promoted to head chef without warning is very exciting.

Corrected

Being promoted to head chef without warning is very exciting for Jeff Henderson.

Mixed Structure 3: Mixing a subordinate conjunction with a coordinating conjunction

 

Faulty

Although Jeff Henderson is a man of great genius and intellect, but he misused his talents.

Corrected

Although Jeff Henderson is a man of great genius and intellect, he misused his talents.

Faulty

Even though Ellen heard French spoken all her life, yet she could not write it.

Corrected

Even though Ellen heard French spoken all her life, she could not write it.

Mixed Structure 4: The construction is so confusing you must to throw it away and start all over

 

Faulty

In the prison no-snitch code Jeff Henderson learns to recognize variations of the code rather than by its real application in which he learns to arrive at a more realistic view of the snitch code’s true nature.

Corrected

In prison Jeff Henderson discovered that the no-snitch code doesn’t really exist.

Faulty

Recurring bouts of depression among the avalanche survivors set a record for number patients admitted into mental hospitals.

Corrected

Recurring bouts of depression among avalanche survivors resulted in a large number of them being admitted into mental hospitals.

Mixed Structure 5: Faulty Predication: The subject and the predicate should make sense together.

Faulty

We decided that Jeff Henderson’s best interests would not be well served staying in prison.

Corrected

We decided that Jeff Henderson would not be well served staying in prison.

Faulty

Using a gas mask is a precaution now worn by firemen.

Corrected

Firemen wear gas masks as a precaution against smoke inhalation.

Faulty

Early diagnosis of prostrate cancer is often curable.

Corrected

Early diagnosis of prostrate cancer is essential for successful treatment.

Mixed Structure 6: Faulty Apposition: The appositive and the noun to which it refers should be logically equivalent

 

Faulty

The gourmet chef, a very lucrative field, requires at least 10,000 hours of practice.

Corrected

Gourmet cooking, a very lucrative field, requires at least 10,000 hours of practice.

Mixed Structure 7: Incorrect use of the “is when,” “is where,” and “is because” construction

 

College instructors discourage “is when,” “is where,” and most commonly “is because” constructions because they violate logic.

Faulty

Bipolar disorder is when people suffer dangerous mood swings.

Corrected

Bipolar disorder is often recognized by dangerous mood swings.

Faulty

A torn rotator cuff is where you feel this intense pain in your shoulder that won’t go away.

Corrected

A torn rotator cuff will cause chronic pain in your shoulder.

Faulty

The reason I write so many comma splices is because the complete sentences feel logically related to each other.

Corrected

I write so many comma splices because the complete sentences feel logically related to each other.

Faulty

The reason I ate the whole pizza is because my family was a half hour late from coming home to the park and I couldn’t wait any longer.

Corrected

I ate the entire pizza because I’m a glutton.

In-class exercise: Write a sample of the seven mixed structure types and show a corrected version of it:

One. Verb after a prepositional phrase

Two. Verb after a dependent clause

Three. Mixing a subordinating conjunction (Whenever, when, although, though, to name some) with a coordinate conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Four. The sentence is so confusing you have to start over.

Five. Faulty predication

Six: Faulty apposition

Seven. Incorrect use of the “is when,” “is where,” and “is because” construction