From an existential vacuum to a tragic optimism: the search for meaning and presence of God in modern literature

From an Existential Vacuum to a Tragic Optimism: The Search for Meaning and the Presence of God in Modern Literature employs a new theoretical approach to critical analysis: Victor Frankl+ås logotherapy (from the Greek +¦logos+Â for word or reason and often related to divine wisdom), a unique form of existentialism.

On the basis of his observations of the power of human endurance and transcendence ++ the discovery of meaning even in the midst of harrowing circumstances ++ Frankl diagnoses the malaise of the current age as an +¦existential vacuum,+Â a sense of meaninglessness.

He suggests that a panacea for this malaise may be found in creativity, love, and moral choice ++ even when faced with suffering or death.

He affirms that human beings may transcend this vacuum, discover meaning ++ or even ultimate meaning to be found in Ultimate Being, or God ++ and live with a sense of +¦tragic optimism.+Â - - This book observes both the current age+ås +¦existential vacuum+Â ++ a malaise of emptiness and meaninglessness ++ and its longing for meaning and God as reflected in three genres: poetry, novel, and fantasy.

Part I, +¦Reflections of God in the Poetic Vision,+Â addresses +¦tragic optimism+Â ++ hope when there seems to be no reason for hope ++ in poems by William Butler Yeats, T.

S. Eliot, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Part II, +¦American Angst: Emptiness and Possibility in John Steinbeck+ås Major Novels,+Â presents a study of Steinbeck+ås The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and The Winter of Our Discontent ++ novels that together form a uniquely American epic trilogy.

Together these novels tell the story of a nation+ås avarice, corruption, and betrayal offset by magnanimity, heroism, and hospitality.

Set against the backdrop of Frankl+ås ways of finding meaning and fulfillment ++ all obliquely implying the felt presence of God ++ the characters are representative Every Americans, in whose lives are reflected a nation+ås worst vices and best hopes.

Part III, +¦A Tragic Optimism: The Triumph of Good in the Fantasy Worlds of Tolkien, Lewis, and Rowling,+Â defines fantasy and science fiction as mirrors with which to view reality.

J. R. R. Tolkien+ås The Lord of the Rings, C. S. Lewis+ås That Hideous Strength, and J. K. Rowling+ås Harry Potter series are considered in the light of Frankl+ås logotherapy ++ providing paths to meaning and the ultimate meaning to be found in God.

In a postmodern, fragmented age, these works affirm a continuing vision of God (often through His felt absence) and, also, a most human yearning for meaning even when there seems to be none ++ providing, as Frankl maintains, +¦a tragic optimism.+Â - - -