Jim Morrison And Susan Sontag Essay Research

Jim Morrison And Susan Sontag Essay, Research Paper

Jim Morrison is the lead vocalist of the authoritative stone and axial rotation set & # 8220 ; The Doors & # 8221 ; . Jim

Morrison non merely was the lead singer in the celebrated 1960ss set, he was besides the author of most

but non all of The Doors vocals and the writer of many verse forms. Susan Sontag is an

accomplished writer. Some of Susan Sontag & # 8217 ; s works include essays, reappraisals, redacting, novels

and short narratives. Although at first Jim Morrison and Susan Sontag appear to hold nil or

really small in common, both because of Jim Morrison & # 8217 ; s chief influence coming from writer

Friedrich Nietzsche, who believed in existential philosophy ( a organic structure of ethical idea focus oning about the

singularity and isolation of single experiences in a universe indifferent or even hostile to

adult male, sing human being as unaccountable, and stressing adult male & # 8217 ; s freedom of pick

and duty for the effects of his Acts of the Apostless ) , and Susan Sontag & # 8217 ; s Hagiographas following a

manner of existential philosophy, both Jim Morrison and Susan Sontag & # 8217 ; s works focus invariably on associating

the message of puting incrimination on oneself in order to obtain a more perfect psyche.

Born James Douglas Morrison on December 8 1843 in Melbourne Florida to parents

Steve and Clara Morrison ( Hopkins, Sugerman 5 ) . A few months after the birth of Jim Morrison,

Jim & # 8217 ; s father Steve and his mine bed were sent away to contend in World War Two. For the following three

old ages Jim & # 8217 ; s female parent Clara, was forced to raise Jim with merely the aid of sympathising relations

who believed in thoughts such as & # 8220 ; Children should be seen and non heard & # 8230 ; Ignore something

unpleasant and it will travel off & # 8230 ; & # 8220 ; ( Hopkins, Sugerman 5 ) . This changeless bombardment of negativeness

may hold been one of the first factors taking to Jim & # 8217 ; s beliefs in existential philosophy. The manner in

which the negativeness lead to Jim & # 8217 ; s belief is that through the changeless onslaught, Jim began to experience as

if he were responsible for all of the bad lucks happening in the household. This feelings that Jim had,

showed his first marks of going an existential philosopher, because feelings of duty are one of

the common features of many existentialist writers, instrumentalists and creative persons.

A 2nd event in Jim Morrison & # 8217 ; s life, that may hold been a ground for Jim going a

existential philosopher occurred while Steve Morrison, Jim & # 8217 ; s male parent, was driving through New Mexico when

& # 8220 ; They [ The Morrison Family ] came upon an upset truck, and saw injured and deceasing Pueblo

American indians lying where they had been thrown on the asphalt & # 8221 ; ( Hopkins, Sugerman 6 ) . After seeing

the Indians, Jim felt an impulse to hold Steve Morrison pull over and try to assist the death

American indians but, Steve did non portion the same feelings with Jim and continued to drive by stating & # 8220 ; It

was a dream Jimmy, it didn & # 8217 ; t truly go on, it was a dream & # 8221 ; ( Hopkins, Sugerman 6 ) . This scene

was considered to be one of the most influential in Jim Morrison & # 8217 ; s life as the narrative of the Pueblo

Indians is invariably referred to in many of the vocals written by Jim. One of the vocals, where

Jim uses the Indian mention, is Dawn & # 8217 ; s Highway where Jim says & # 8220 ; Indians scattered on morning & # 8217 ; s

main road shed blooding / Ghosts crowd the immature kid & # 8217 ; s fragile eggshell mind./ Indian, Indian what did

you die for? / Indian says, nil at all. & # 8221 ; ( Morrison 4 ) . The deceasing Pueblo Indians helped to

make the experiential side of Jim Morrison because in his head he felt as if he were responsible

for the deceases of the Indians, one time once more puting incrimination on himself, a cardinal function in existential philosophy.

Although events played a big function in Jim & # 8217 ; s journey towards existential philosophy, writer

Friedrich Nietzsche who is frequently considered to be one of the few sires of existential philosophy

played an every bit if non more of import function in the journey. Nietzsche played a big function in Jim

going an existential philosopher because & # 8220 ; Dennis and Jim would sit discoursing Nietzsche for hours,

reasoning on occasion but by and large holding ardently, reading long transitions from the

philosopher & # 8217 ; s works aloud to each other & # 8221 ; ( Hopkins, Sugerman 45 ) . Through these readings Jim

learned about Nietzsche doctrines including the ideal of The Superman and how to go

an existential philosopher.

By the clip Jim Morrison turned 23 he had become an existential philosopher and it was because

of his psychological positions of the universe that inspired Jim & # 8217 ; s wordss in his verse form and music. The

foremost of illustration of Jim affecting existential philosophy in his wordss comes from the vocal & # 8220 ; An American

Prayer & # 8221 ; where Jim says & # 8220 ; Grant us one more hr to/ execute our art/ and hone our lives & # 8221 ; .

When Jim mentions the old lines, he is doing a mention to inquiring God for & # 8220 ; one more

hr & # 8221 ; and in this hr Jim plans to & # 8220 ; hone our lives & # 8221 ; , in these lines it can be assumed that Jim

has realiz

erectile dysfunction he is non unflawed, which is acknowledging guilt, and that the lone manner to hone his psyche

is by acknowledging his wickednesss, or puting incrimination on himself. Another vocal where existential philosophy radiances

in Jim & # 8217 ; s works is in the verse form & # 8220 ; Dawn & # 8217 ; s Highway & # 8221 ; . In & # 8220 ; Dawn & # 8217 ; s Highway & # 8221 ; Jim rants & # 8220 ; Indian, Indian

what did you decease for? / Indian says, nil at all. & # 8221 ; These wordss refer back to one of Jim

Morrison & # 8217 ; s earlier life experienced where Jim sees the upset truck of Pueblo Indians. As

stated earlier it was known that Jim felt as if it was his mistake for the decease of the Indians because

his male parent refused to draw over and allow Jim out in order to assist the Indians. The ideas that Jim

experienced as a consequence of the accidents are a good representation of existential philosophy because

one time once more Jim is puting guilt on himself.

Jim & # 8217 ; s experiential words are shown one time once more in the vocal & # 8220 ; The Hitchhiker & # 8221 ; . The vocal

& # 8220 ; The Hitchhiker & # 8221 ; is a vocal about a adult male, assumed to be Jim, who has merely killed a adult male and is

stating his narrative to a alien & # 8220 ; Hey, listen, adult male, I truly got a problem/ I don & # 8217 ; t cognize how to state

you, / but, ah, I killed somebody. & # 8221 ; Jim subsequently goes on to state how he is non fearful of being caught

& # 8220 ; It & # 8217 ; s no large trade, ya know, / I don & # 8217 ; t think anybody will happen out about it. & # 8221 ; . Although Jim seams to be

confident about acquiring off with his offense, he still feels a demand to fault himself. As a consequence of

this confession Jim has expressed his experiential side because of his realisation of guilt and his

demand for faulting himself so he can accomplish a more perfect psyche.

Merely as Jim Morrison was an existentialist author, so was Susan Sontag. Susan Sontag

was born on January 16 1933 in New York City, Susan Sontag was the oldest girl in her

Polish Jewish household. Susan Sontag was an writer of many novels, short-stories and screen

dramas ( American Writers 451 ) . Susan was, like Jim Morrison, raised by his aunts, uncles and

other relations. The ground for why Susan was raised by her relations is because when she was

immature her male parent was on changeless trips to the East and her female parent would travel along with her

male parent on the trips. When Susan was merely six old ages old, her male parent died on one of his pelt trading

trips in the China. As a consequence of the decease of her male parent and the absence of her female parent Susan

was frequently considered to be & # 8220 ; a psychologically abandoned kid & # 8221 ; ( Sontag ) . As Susan Sontag & # 8217 ; s life

continued she became more stray than when she was a child and frequently found her merely flight

from society in books. As a consequence of her isolation and absence of parents Susan started her

journey towards going an existentialist manner writer.

Sontag & # 8217 ; s experiential manner is frequently present in much of her work, one such illustration come

from an essay she wrote in 1966 & # 8220 ; The white race is the malignant neoplastic disease of human history ; it is the white

race and it entirely & # 8212 ; its political orientations and innovations & # 8212 ; which eradicates independent civilisations

wherever it spreads, which has upset the ecological balance of the planet, which now threatens

the really being of life itself & # 8221 ; ( What & # 8217 ; s Happening In America, Sontag ) . The quotation mark from & # 8220 ; What & # 8217 ; s

Happening In America & # 8221 ; shows how Susan is taking the position of existential philosophy to an extreme by

non merely faulting herself, but by faulting her full race for the threaten of life.

Sontag one time once more displays her experiential manner when she writes & # 8220 ; The human head

possesses now, about a 2nd nature, a position on its ain accomplishments that fatally

undermines their value and their claim to truth & # 8221 ; ( Thinking Against Oneself: Contemplations on

Cioran, Sontag ) . In this 2nd quotation mark Sontag displays her feelings about the demand for puting

incrimination on yourself in order to better on your psyche. The rubric of the work & # 8220 ; Thinking Against

Oneself: Contemplations on Cioran & # 8221 ; besides reflects her positions by saying the demand to put incrimination on

oneself.

Susan Sontag and Jim Morrison both show a similar form in there authorship, both of the

writers invariably write about the demand for ego incrimination in order to determine a better psyche.

Although both Sontag and Morrison tell the same thought there ways of showing the thoughts are

different. Jim Morrison would frequently fault merely himself and so do an effort to decide his

errors, while Susan Sontag would fault full groups which she was involved in such as the

white race but, she unlike Jim frequently did non compose about her ways to decide the issues. Susan

and Jim portion one other similarity, both were raised by relations and non by there parents. As a

consequence of the ego trust both learned to believe that they were responsible for most events

around them. Therefor because of the similar life styles and raising Jim Morrison and Susan

Sontag can both be considered likewise through existential philosophy.