Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Mike Kundera's characters in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" are subjected to the two major influences of the historical context of the novel and the existentialist philosophy as expressed especially by Heidegger in his "Being and Time". The author points out that the technique used in the book by the narrator to describe the mental states of his characters follows a precise format. The paper also describes each of the four major characters and to what degree they reflect the lightness of being.

Outline:
Characters Exponents of the Author's Real Life Experience
Historical Context
Communist Czechoslovakia
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Philosophical Theme; Existentialism
Character: Tomas
Free Individual
Character: Tereza
Opposite of Her Husband: Highly Idealistic
Character: Sabina
Highly Individualistic and Independent, Rebellious And Unconventional
Character: Franz
Very Passionate; Believes In Love and Politics
The Four Characters Reconstruct Milan Kundera's Life Experience
The Characters Choose Exile over Communism

From the Paper:

"Sabina is Tomas' lover, an artist who rebels against the ugliness of the surrounding world, and her oppressive father through her paintings and lifestyle choices. She is the extreme instance of the lightness of being. In fact, her love affair with Tomas is based upon this very lightness of being that they share. Their affair has nothing in common with a traditional romance as they are not traditional characters. Nevertheless, she looks for heaviness, which is why she falls in love with Franz, a university professor and at the same time, the extreme instance of heaviness."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Doctorow, E.L. "Four Characters Under Two Tyrannies." <http://www.kundera.de/english/Bibliography/The_Unbearable_Lightness_of_Be/the_unbearable_lightness_of_be.html>
• Kimbrell, Gregory. "Existential Investigation: The Unbearable Lightness of Being and History". Chrestomathy: Annual Review of Undergraduate Research at the College of CharlestonVolume 1 (2002). 66-82<www.cofc.edu/chrestomathy/vol1/kimbrell.pdf>
• Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. New York: Perennial Classics, 1999.
• Pichova, Hana. "The Narrator in Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being." The Slavic and East European Journal 36.2. (1992). 217-226.
• Van Hecke, Roel. "Mind reading in Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being." <http://www.arts.kuleuven.be/literary_studies/doctoraatsonderzoek_doctoreren_MNM/PGS_2005/Roel_Van_Hecke.pdf.>

Visitors who viewed this Book Review also liked these:

• Analytical Essay # 9918 : "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
• Book Review # 107337 : "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
• Book Review # 103330 : "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: