Man's Search for Meaning Essay

Essay by blak_smurfHigh School, 12th gradeA-, January 2005

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In this world there are certain unpleasant things that human beings have to go through, one of those things is suffering. People encounter suffering every single day of their lives, even though sometimes they may not notice it. Suffering varies in extremity. Anything from stubbing your toe to something as major as losing a loved one all constitutes as suffering. A popular theory is that suffering is necessary in the everyday lives of human beings, and that it adds value to their lives. One of the reasons suffering is significant is because it has the ability to bring out strength and endurance in people. Suffering also teaches people how to appreciate the good things in life. Another thought is that there can be happiness in suffering.

Suffering is necessary in everyday life is because it has the ability to bring out strength and endurance in people. The book Man's Search for Meaning is about Viktor Frankl and how he endured through the concentration camps of the Second World War, and the main theme of the book is how much suffering human beings can endure.

The horrors of the camp can hardly be described in words, but Frankl painted a good picture when he said: "I was roused one night by/ a fellow prisoner, who threw himself/ about in his sleep, obviously having a horrible nightmare. Since I had always been especially sorry for/ people who suffered from fearful dreams or deliria, I/ wanted to wake the poor man. Suddenly I drew back/ the hand which was ready to shake him, frightened at/ the thing I was about to do. At that moment I became/ intensely conscious of the fact that no dream, no matter how horrible, could be as bad as the reality of/ the camp which surrounded us, and...