A Casebook on Existentialism

This book, along with about a dozen other "Literary Casebooks," was a college level textbook in the mid 1960's. At that time, 'Existentialism,' which had come into its own shortly after World War II, was still very much in vogue. According to the author, William Spanos of Harpur (sic) College, it had "become 'the' perspective from which the sensitive and concerned modern man look(ed) at the world." He further stated that some understanding of the "existential attitude" was necessary for one to understand the then current general direction of both literature and theology. I think that both have changed directions somewhat in the intervening 35+ years and that late 20th and early 21st century literature and theology, as most of us are exposed to them, have become more simplistic and rely less on philosophic thinking than at the time this text was written. It is my opinion that much of value has been lost as less and less independent thinking has been demanded of the contemporary reader.That being said, there is still a great deal of value to be gained from this book. Spanos begins with the 'Introduction' which traces the roots of existential thinking from its roots in ancient Greek mythology through early Judaic and Christian teachings, and on to its current (1965) place in literature and philosophic thinking.The first section of the book is devoted to 'Literature' and takes the form of short stories and exerpts from novels by nine authors. There are a few surprises here. In addition to authors everyone associates with existential thinking such as Sartre, Kafka, and Camus, we find works by more traditional writers such as Hemingway and Auden. These last two, along with earlier authors such as Dostoevsky and Unamuno wrote novels and stories from their own perspectives that sometimes fell into the existential mold.The second section is devoted to 'Commentary and Criticism' and consists of seven essays, some of which are general in nature, and some of which are 'Criticisms' of works included in the first section. Two, which I found particularly interesting, were Kenneth Rahv's discussion of Dostoevsky's "Legend of the Grand Inquisitor," and Stanley Cooperman's discussion of Kafka's "A Country Doctor."The third section, 'Philosophy and Theology,' consists of a dozen narratives including Sartre's well known essay on Existentialism.What Spanos has done so well with this book is to lead the student into an understanding of Existentialism by starting with stories that seem to be "mere" reading for pleasure, then following up with with commentaries which, among other things, begin to explain why these initial readings fit into the philosophy of existentialism. Finally, in the third section, he presents the meat of the text, essays about Existentialism and its philosophical and theological implications.At the end of the book there are a number of suggested topics for student writing exercises. By attemptin