There
are divergent scholarly views in regards to the meaning of life. The play, “God”, by Woody Allen and Leo Tolstoy's “Death of Ivan llych” both brings out
different aspects to the understanding of life. This essay compares and
contrasts the meaning of life messages from these works and explores the
possible critique that would emerge from philosophers Nozick and Schmidtz on
these messages.
The
Authors’ Views on the Meaning of Life
Woody
Allen looks at life’s meaning as being formless and only getting a meaning from
the people living it. As demonstrated in the play, God, it is not easy to determine what is real and what is fictional
in this life[1].
While reaching an end (dying) is guaranteed, the life before this point
requires that one determines the plot, which translates to one establishing the
meaning to their life. In the search of the meaning of life, Allen advocates
for people trying not to base their lives on the moral standards set by the
society but rather leaving their own way.
In the conceptualization of the play within
the play for instance, the writer and the girl from the audience contemplate
having a quickie on stage[2].
While such an act may against the true nature of humans, the author justifies
it by noting how true nature or reality cannot be explicitly proven. This means
that the meaning of life differs and can only be defined from the view of a
specific individual rather than the entire humanity.
Death of Ivan llych further analyzes the
issue of where life is meaningful or meaningless. The main character, llych,
questioned his life during his final days on earth. Based on the choices he had
made, he doubts whether his life has been worth living. Although towards the
end, llych comes to a conclusion, it is not clearly stated. It is for this
reason not easy to decipher the character’s take on the meaning of his life.
All in all, the events of the character bring out the author’s take on life
quite clearly; by virtue of being alive, our lives are worthwhile. Llych’s life
was worth living too since he had lived it.
The
Authors’ Agreement and Differences
Allen
and Tolstoy appear to be in agreement as to the uniqueness of the meaning of
life to an individual. Interesting, both works appear to advance the notion of
leaving a life and then finding the meaning towards the end. In the play, the
writer and the actor are toying with the idea of writing a play by starting
from the end, and the working backwards. Similarly, in the story, Llych
struggles with finding a meaning to his life in his final days. Perhaps the
message passed is leaving a life without caring about its meaning until towards
the end.
While
the character’s (writer and actor) in Allen’s play are struggling with giving
their creation a life by establishing a plot, Tolstoy’s character has already
lived a life and questions the meaningfulness of his life based on the society’s
expectations and relations with others.
How
our Philosophers (Robert Nozick, David Schmidtz) Would Critique Allen's and
Tolstoy's Messages
Based
on his understanding of the meaning of life, Schmidtz would probably support
the message brought out in Allen’s play. The fact that Allen asserts that life
is formless and only assumes the course outlined by a person (writer) means the
two scholars share the views that meaning of life is neither permanent nor
always serious. Schmidtz would however find fault on Allen’s insistence of
finding a meaningful life (a winning plot)[3].
According to Schmidtz, it is upon an individual to choose a meaning for their
lives[4].
In regards to Tolstoy's message on life, Schmidtz would find it rather shallow
especially on the aspect of aligning deep meaning to life. Schmidtz would for
instance fail to understand the character’s action towards his death having
lived a “simple” and “ordinary”[5]
life which according to Schmidtz could either be meaningless or meaningful[6].
Nozick would take particular interests in Tolstoy's
work. The idea of using death as a tool for searching for the meaning of life
would resonate well with Nozick’s arguments. Nozick views the meaning of life
as being determined by the relations than one has with other[7].
He would for this differ with Allen’s views of life’s meaning being determined
by an individual.
Conclusion
Persuaded by the Messages
Based on the two readings, it
appears that the true meaning of life lies within a person. The message being
brought out is that individual persons live their lives in their own unique
way, and whether the life itself is worthwhile or not, depends on the values
held dearly by that individual person. While some people may look at wealth and
health as the ultimate meaning to life, other may consider relationships,
faith, children as the ultimate legacies in life. In conclusion, the message is
brought out is that a person decides the meaning of life as illustrated in the
play where everything is a creation of the writer. Similarly, llych, realizes
that it is only him who could determine whether his life has been worthwhile.
Works Cited
Allen, Woody. “God: A Comedy in One Act”. 1975. Print.
Nozick,
Robert. “Anarchy, State and Utopia”. New York: Basic Books, 1974.
Print.
Schmidtz,
David. “The Meaning of Life”. Print.
Tolstoy, Leo. (Translated by Louise and Aylmer
Maude). “Death of Ivan llych”.
