Finding Purpose in Life: Rachel Borgemenke and Greg Holben

Man’s Search for Meaning

Author: Viktor Frankl

Rachel Borgemenke and Greg Holben

Man’s Search for Meaning is written by a Jewish Holocaust survivor and psychologist, Viktor E. Frankl, and it gives a unique psychological perspective into the daily life of not just Viktor, but other prisoners during their wretched stay at various concentration camps. The novel begins with Viktor’s rationalization for writing this book. He confers about how there are three definite phases to a prisoner’s reaction to their life at a concentration camp that occur throughout their occupation. The first phase expresses how the prisoners are in complete shock once they arrive at the camps. They still cannot fathom that they are in this “hellish place”. The next stage elaborates that at a certain point the prisoners are not apathetic towards the death and suffering that is around them every day. They are totally emotionless to the tragedies that are in their vicinity. The last phase discloses the psychology of a prisoner right after their liberation from the concentration camps, acceptance of what has occurred. They struggle with the realization that they can go back to their old lives and it affects their daily mental processes.  

These three stages can be applied to any event that an individual sees as tragic. These stages can be seen in events as tragic as being a holocaust victim or, in a not as severe sense, getting a bad grade that we didn’t expect. When thinking about a test that we’ve failed, we first go into a state of shock. We couldn’t have done that terribly! Following this stage of shock is apathy and a state of emotionless because we do not know what will become of our grade and we don’t know what to do about it. However, after time has passed your senses come-to and the third stage has begun, your realization, or acceptance, that life will move on and you have learned to study harder next time. These tragic events are described by Viktor as challenges that set individuals up to realize the purpose behind each event. We go through these stages as a means to seek for our purpose in life and in his novel he describes his personal journey through the stages.

In the book, Viktor depicts his personal tragic story and each phase. Phase one began with his arrival at his first concentration camp, Auschwitz. He explains how he and his fellow prisoners at this point held onto the small glimmer of hope that they will be liberated at the last possible moment. He correlates this feeling to a phrase called “delusion of reprieve”.  This phrase can be explained when thinking of a man on death row acquiring a false belief that they will be reprieved seconds before their execution was supposed to commence. Next, Viktor recollects how after getting off the train right after arriving at Auschwitz, the women and men were shred of all of their clothes and belongings and divided into two lines, one for the women, and one for the men. Following the split, each person would advance to a SS guard who pointed either left or right depending upon the individual’s physique. If the person looked capable for work they went right, if they looked frail they went left towards the crematoriums, or “showers”. Following selection between the strong and weak the prisoners were sent to poorly constructed buildings contaminated with infectious diseases, including typhus. After each prisoner claimed their “place” within their new home their minds began whirling with ugly thoughts. Within these buildings men would lose themselves and eventually Viktor described their mental processes as that of animals. With their mental state declining prisoners began to think of better ways to die than starving or becoming infected in a concentration camp. Viktor conveys to the reader how every singly prisoner contemplated suicide at some point due to the hopelessness they felt on a daily basis.

Transitioning into the second phase of reaction, in which Viktor terms the apathetic stage, we begin by being told of how the prisoners become numb to the horrors that surrounded them. A prisoner would watch a gruesome beating by a Capo or a SS guard on a fellow prisoner and not have the slightest emotional reaction to the incident. It was always known that the Capos were power hungry and most aggressive toward the prisoners, yet, those who suffered in their apathetic state were unable to acknowledge the mistreatment. Viktor recalls a time that he worked in a small hospital located within the fences of Auschwitz that he would see patients pass from Typhus and not have the least bit of remorse for those patients. During this phase Viktor, however, befriended a prominent Capo within the concentration camp. Viktor would provide excellent psychological advice to the Capo. Following the author’s release from camp he stated that this relationship may have saved his life because the Capo assigned Viktor to easier jobs and provided him with other important things for survival. After that, he discloses to the reader how the food and water rations had been gradually decreasing as his internment grew longer. As a result, Viktor could see who was going to die next.

Following his time in Auschwitz, Viktor was shipped to a “rest camp” outside Dachau. Viktor felt extremely uneasy once he heard the news of his transfer, but became relieved upon his arrival that there was no “chimney” which put him at ease because he knew that he could not be gassed there. Once at the new concentration camp, Viktor comes to the realization that the prisoners do not have any complex thoughts anymore, just thoughts about survival. They have become numb. This sickens him deeply, but he understands why this happened. In addition, Viktor observed that a prisoner’s number was more important than their name. This demonstrated the type of disregard for life at the concentration camp. During his time at the “rest camp”, he as well as the other prisoners have the feeling that they will never be liberated from this “hellish place”. For that reason, he concludes that the prisoner’s morale is increasingly more suicidal, so he voices to the prisoners that they need to use psychotherapeutic techniques, such as thinking about the bright future these prisoners will have after liberation, to stay alive. This technique is known as logotherapy which is continuous theme throughout the book. The author describes this therapy as the will to find the meaning to life.

The purpose of Man’s Search for Meaning was not intended to show people how to find a purpose in their life, but more-so to tell about a man that overcame so much by taking life’s hardships not as negatives, but taking them on as challenges. Viktor wrote the novel in 9 days and was able to convey that by evaluating yourself in terms of the things you have accomplished and allow your reaction to shape who you become. By being aware of who you are, what you’ve done, and what you can do you can get that much closer to finding your own life’s purpose. Viktor considers there to be 3 sources of meaning that help us stay positive and face what he calls “Tragic Optimism”. He says that by doing something significant, work, caring for other, love, and having courage during difficult times we can conquer anything and each of these aspects can help us find our purpose.

During difficult times there are three parts to Tragic Optimism: pain, guilt, death. These aspects are different groups of what we must overcome to successful complete a life obstacle. In order to be successful, though, you must remain optimistic by reminding yourself why you are here. For instance, in the novel Viktor claims that man’s highest goal is to find love. Therefore, to help remain positive seek out the three sources of meaning and find what keeps you motivated. Despite the shape they were in upon liberation of the camps, Viktor and his fellow camp mates all had something keeping them alive besides food and water. They found their purpose.

In the shift to the third reaction phase, the psychology of a prisoner after his liberation, or acceptance of what has occurred. To further explain, it is the mindset following the end of whatever tragic event or challenge has occurred. In the book, the prisoners’ mindset begins with complete shock that they have been liberated. Then, he becomes disillusioned and bitter once they returned to their former life. This bitterness stems from their fellow townsmen who claim “[they] did not know about [the camps].” Prisoners were disillusioned because when they got back they usually had nothing that they had in the past, including their family members. The author himself had lost both a manuscript and his pregnant wife during his time at the concentration camp, the two very things that motivated his will to live. Each of us have our own will to live that stems from whatever we feel is most important to us. For some it may be a goal, others it may be their family. In that sense, our will to live is individual and can only be determined by oneself.

Viktor concludes his book by saying, “The crowning experience of all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear any more—except his god.” He essentially states that these prisoners have seen the worst that mankind produce so they need not to worry about anything except God now. In our own lives we can evaluate the experiences we have gone through and how we have overcome them. Those experience are what we learn from and help us grow and shape the person we are; however, it is not our life events or tragedies that shape who we are, but our reactions to them. We have control over who we become and the purpose of our lives.

“Interviews”

Juan (20), Loretta (22), Martina (21), Antonio (21)

-          Do you feel that you know what the meaning of your life is?

o   Juan- Yes, it is simple. He believe it is the pursuit of happiness.

o   Loretta- thinks that her purpose is to live each moment to its fullest

o   Martina- I do not. Feels that she’s too young and her “five-year” plans always seem to fall through, so she doesn’t feel that she has made to a point that she can determine her life’s meaning.

o   Antonio- No, because the meaning of life can be so different from person to person.

-          How did you figure out the meaning or, if you have not, how will you?

o   Juan- through his experiences of the catholic church and with the priest

o   Loretta- She has done, in her life, what she feels makes her happy because she feels that life is about being happy

o   Martina- Hopes to figure it out through family and career (teaching) and looks forward to have children later in life. She feels that these will give her a “purpose” in the world.

o   Antonio- He will keep doing things that will make him happy, prideful, and will help him find his meaning of life.

-          Can you think of an example in your own life when an experience shaped who you are?

o   Juan- one day he was fishing and fell off the dock, someone jumped in to save him. While underwater he saw all of his loved ones flash through his mind and he found this event humbling. It shared with him those who truly mattered to him

o   Loretta- there was a time in her life that she felt that nothing seemed to be going right until one moment she felt that everything was going to be ok and she just needed to be happy.

o   Martina- when house burnt down in 2010. Learned to appreciate more things because you expect things to be there all the time, you get in a routine, and then when it’s gone it opens your eyes to what could actually happen. Nothing is guaranteed.

o   Antonio- Traveling through Europe with his father as a little boy broadened his horizons and made his more accepting of others

-          Do you think that the majority of people know what the meaning of life is?

o   Juan- yes, because at a certain point through life and after certain experiences he believes that everyone will find it.

o   Loretta- Believes that everyone has their own view of what the meaning of life is

o   Martina- honestly no. People are not focused enough to think and search for their life’s true meaning. Plus, they do not take the time or don’t have the time to do so.

o   Antonio- No, because it is complex and difficult to understand and fully comprehend

 

12 Questions

What is logotherapy?

What are the 3 phases of Mental Reactions?

Who were more aggressive towards prisoners?

What does Viktor consider to be the 3 sources of meaning?

3 Things make up “Tragic Optimism”, what are they?

In terms of the prisoner’s mental processes, who does the author (Viktor) compare them to?

Man’s highest goal that they can aspire to is ______.

Which was the 1^st concentration camp he went to?

“Forces beyond your control can take your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation” p. X. Summarize what this quote means?

What 2 things motivated Viktor’s will to live while he was in the concentration camp?

How long did it take Frank to write Man’s Search for Meaning?
 

Survey:

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