Kundera’s Manifestation of Human Alienation - Literature Essay Samples

In Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Kundera depicts a society almost devoid of human connection. Kundera utilizes the characters Tomas, Sabina, Franz, and Tereza to explore the inability for human beings to allow themselves to attach to others, either consciously or subconsciously. Tomas’s tendency to place his own priorities above others renders him unable to fully comprehend and exhibit the selflessness that love and connection requires. He fears commitment for the responsibility it inevitably brings. The thought of acting purely for the good of others repulses him, as demonstrated by his inability to sustain relationships of any form, whether with women, or family such as his son. He claims an inability to â€Å"live side by side with any woman, and could be fully himself only as a bachelor† (Kundera, 10). Tomas’s ideal life is one where he could indulge in the sin of selfishness and live without the influence of others affecting his d ecisions. He is unwilling to compromise, exhibiting that he honors his own desires above those of others. He is also unable to sleep in the presence of others, demonstrating the innate sense of discomfort once he has to allot for the presence and emotions of others. Love then becomes a burden that would compromise the pure selfishness of his life. However, Tomas seems to free himself of his flaw once he falls in love with Tereza. Tomas explains his newfound love through the idea of compassion, where he experiences emotionally telepathy with Tereza and feels the sensations she feels, whether it is pleasure or pain. Through compassion, Tomas is able to emotionally become one with Tereza. Through alleviating her pain, Tomas alleviates his own as well, providing a solution to his selfish tendencies. Kundera sets up his novel in a duality of opposites; lightness and weight, light and darkness, warmth and cold. Selfishness and compassion therefore becomes another set of opposites, as comp assion is capable of diminishing selfish desires and encouraging the compromise that is essential to be able to experience love. Kundera uses Franz to explore an alienation that occurs due to an inclination to live within the fantasy of his dreams and inability to understand his interactions. Franz is established as a dreamer who often opts for the ideal rather than truth. He demonstrates his alienation within his own mindset by his failed relationships with his wife and Sabina. Franz was capable only of a logical understanding of human language, but not the semantics that underlies it. He sheltered his wife emotionally â€Å"for twenty years† because â€Å"he had seen his mother- a poor, weak creature who need his protection- in his wife†¦ because of a misunderstanding!† (Kundera, 118). Franz lived a lie based on miscommunication for twenty years; without truth and communication, human beings cannot experience love and connection. A combination of his preferen ce for the unreal and lack of human understanding led him to subconsciously sabotage his relationship with Sabina as well. He lived in the â€Å"darkness [that] was pure, perfect, thoughtless, visionless†¦ for [Sabina], darkness did not mean infinity; for her, it meant a disagreement with what she saw†¦ the refusal to see† (Kundera, 95). Franz relished in the boundless freedom of his daydreams. He depended upon it too heavily as an escape from life; to the extent it eventually overpowered the reality of his life. Darkness is perfect because it is visionless, he can imagine whatever his heart desires. However, as he dwells in the unreal, he is unable to sustain his relationships and interactions because he does not understand what elements are required to sustain them. He could not comprehend that his desire to live a fantasy cost him his relationship with Sabina, who was repulsed by fantasy as the rejection of the real. Franz is capable of only a faà §ade of human connection, but in reality is alienated due to his inability to understand interactions. Sabina, one of the most extreme characters depicted by Kundera, lives and seemingly revels in her completely emotional alienation. Her detached nature is a manifestation of her disgust with society, either with the repressive influences of society or the human weakness that fall victim to it. She demonstrates obvious disdain for human weakness through her intolerance for Franz. Franz surrenders power to the ones he love, and would never order them around, which â€Å"struck her as grotesque† (Kundera, 112). Franz demonstrates the human weakness that surrenders to the ways of society, an idea she detests. She thrives upon betrayals for the freedom and lightness it provides her. She refuses to allow society to control her decisions or impulses. Her ideals are revealed in her lifestyle and mindset. She strictly maintains that love must be private: â€Å"Sabina did not suffer in the least fr om having to keep her love secret. On the contrary, only be doing so could she live in truth† (Kundera, 113). Once her affairs become public, there is now an outside influence affecting her decisions. Sabina well understands this power of destruction society holds. She could only live freely and indulge in her own thoughts without the presence of others that might lead her to subconsciously alter her behavior to accommodate for the norm. However, by considering the presence of society a burden, she ultimately admits a hidden regard for what others think of her. This is reinforced by her idolization of the bowler hat, which not only embodies the past of her family, but also the lovemaking with Tomas. She attempts to recreate that fleeting moment on multiple occasions (such as her encounters with Franz); however, she is continually disappointed in her sole search for eternal return. Sabina also demonstrates a pure affection and connection for Tomas, one of the only men who ever understood her. She attempts to vocalize her strong affection, but instead is only capable of uttering, â€Å"’you don’t know how happy I am to be with you’, that was the most her reserved nature allowed her to express† (Kundera, 98). Sabina is so consumed by her overwhelming desire to escape the effects of society that she does not realize she is ultimately entrapping herself by her unrealistic mindset. She regards love as weakness and a surrender of power, and chooses instead to exercise lightness and promiscuity. However, her fear of society and commitment has paralyzed her actions that she cannot express her affection for Tomas. Sabina, one of the most complicated and extremes characters Kundera creates, demonstrates that an absolute intolerance for human weakness, emotions, and love causes a subconscious alienation through a self-entrapment in her inability to break rank of her own expectations. Kundera demonstrates that no one is free of the inevit able alienation, even the most romantic of characters, Tereza. Through her ten year relationship with Tomas, where she relinquished her own desires and needs in order to please Tomas, Tereza is still partially alienated in the end. Tomas will never provide the pure love and devotion, as contrasted by Karenin. Tereza admits Karenin provided a â€Å"better love† because: It is a completely selfless love†¦ Perhaps all the questions we ask of love, to measure, test, probe, and save it, have the additional effect of cutting it short. Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved†¦ we demand something from our partner instead of delivering ourselves up to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company (Kundera, 297). Human alienation is inevitable in today’s society since we have lost sight and understanding of the true purity of love. The insecurities people experience (manifested in attempts to measure and test love) only act as a negative reminder that love is vulnerable to destruction. Kundera exposes the detached nature of human society through the interactions and confessions of Tomas, Franz, Sabina, and Tereza. The alienation of society is a result of selfishness, miscommunication, and fear. People become entrapped within an absolute pursuit for human individuality, freedom, and the illusion of perfection that they disregard the true source of happiness, love and human connection. However, despite the social criticism, Kundera exemplifies through the psyches of his characters that human nature is fragile, and people are ultimately attempting to protect themselves from the pain that accompanies love. Kundera showcases the unfortunate truth that the purity of society has decayed to the extent that each individual must honor his or her own desires above all else. Selfishness permeates, overpowers, and tarnishes the purity and goodness that existed in society, and force individuals to place themselves as t he top priority in order to avoid the pain inflicted by others.

2017 Five-year Top Performing Direct Plans Q2

Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of direct-sold 529 plans. Direct-sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared both one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. We selected portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven asset-allocation categories. The "performance score" determines the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which direct 529 plan might be right for you. Here are our 529 performance rankings as of June 30, 2017 for Direct-sold 529 plans. Five-year performance ranking (click here for one-year performance table and three-year performance table, and ten-year performance table): Rank State Plan Performance score 1 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Savings Plan 23.15 Enroll Now 2 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 27.93 3 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 28.92 Plan Details 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 28.94 5 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 29.39 6 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 34.94 Enroll Now 7 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 37.36 Plan Details 8 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan 37.37 Plan Details 9 Maryland Maryland 529 -- College Investment Plan 38.34 Plan Details 10 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 39.95 Enroll Now 11 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) 42.12 Plan Details 12 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 43.48 Plan Details 13 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 43.65 Plan Details 14 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 44.84 Enroll Now 15 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 44.85 Enroll Now 16 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 44.89 Enroll Now 17 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 45.11 Enroll Now 18 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 45.15 Enroll Now 19 Virginia Invest529 45.26 Enroll Now 20 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 46.17 21 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 46.28 Plan Details 22 Louisiana START Saving Program 46.66 Plan Details 23 Iowa College Savings Iowa 47.19 Enroll Now 24 Nevada SSGA Upromise 529 Plan 47.46 Plan Details 25 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan 48.49 Enroll Now 26 Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan 48.73 Enroll Now 27 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 49.90 28 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 50.16 Enroll Now 29 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 50.73 Plan Details 30 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 52.69 Plan Details 31 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program 53.20 Enroll Now 32 North Carolina National College Savings Program 53.71 Enroll Now 33 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 54.83 Enroll Now 34 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 55.05 Plan Details 35 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 56.19 Plan Details 36 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 56.23 Plan Details 37 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 56.95 Plan Details 38 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 60.06 Plan Details 39 West Virginia SMART529 Select 60.81 Plan Details 40 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 60.94 Plan Details 41 Alabama CollegeCounts 529 Fund 68.14 Enroll Now 42 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 68.38 Enroll Now 43 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 68.60 Plan Details 44 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 69.86 Plan Details 45 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 71.64 Plan Details - District of Columbia DC College Savings Plan NA Enroll Now - Georgia Path2College 529 Plan NA Enroll Now - Illinois Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program NA Enroll Now - Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program NA Plan Details - Montana Achieve Montana NA Plan Details - North Dakota College SAVE (Direct) NA Enroll Now - Rhode Island CollegeBound Saver (Direct-sold) NA Enroll Now - Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program NA Plan Details - Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan NA Plan Details - Wisconsin Edvest NA Plan Details NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least one portfolio with sufficiently-long performance in a minimum of four asset allocation categories under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com plan composite rankings are derived using the plans' relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset-allocation categories used are: 100 percent equity, 80 percent equity, 60 percent equity, 40 percent equity, 20 percent equity, 100 percent fixed and 100 percent short term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers, please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Saving For College, LLC shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For broker-sold plan rankings, click here. Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of direct-sold 529 plans. Direct-sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared both one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. We selected portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven asset-allocation categories. The "performance score" determines the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which direct 529 plan might be right for you. Here are our 529 performance rankings as of June 30, 2017 for Direct-sold 529 plans. Five-year performance ranking (click here for one-year performance table and three-year performance table, and ten-year performance table): Rank State Plan Performance score 1 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Savings Plan 23.15 Enroll Now 2 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 27.93 3 California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan 28.92 Plan Details 4 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 28.94 5 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 29.39 6 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 34.94 Enroll Now 7 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 37.36 Plan Details 8 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan 37.37 Plan Details 9 Maryland Maryland 529 -- College Investment Plan 38.34 Plan Details 10 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 39.95 Enroll Now 11 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) 42.12 Plan Details 12 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 43.48 Plan Details 13 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 43.65 Plan Details 14 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 44.84 Enroll Now 15 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 44.85 Enroll Now 16 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 44.89 Enroll Now 17 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 45.11 Enroll Now 18 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 45.15 Enroll Now 19 Virginia Invest529 45.26 Enroll Now 20 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 46.17 21 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 46.28 Plan Details 22 Louisiana START Saving Program 46.66 Plan Details 23 Iowa College Savings Iowa 47.19 Enroll Now 24 Nevada SSGA Upromise 529 Plan 47.46 Plan Details 25 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan 48.49 Enroll Now 26 Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan 48.73 Enroll Now 27 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 49.90 28 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 50.16 Enroll Now 29 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 50.73 Plan Details 30 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 52.69 Plan Details 31 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program 53.20 Enroll Now 32 North Carolina National College Savings Program 53.71 Enroll Now 33 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 54.83 Enroll Now 34 Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan 55.05 Plan Details 35 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 56.19 Plan Details 36 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 56.23 Plan Details 37 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 56.95 Plan Details 38 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 60.06 Plan Details 39 West Virginia SMART529 Select 60.81 Plan Details 40 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 60.94 Plan Details 41 Alabama CollegeCounts 529 Fund 68.14 Enroll Now 42 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 68.38 Enroll Now 43 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 68.60 Plan Details 44 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 69.86 Plan Details 45 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 71.64 Plan Details - District of Columbia DC College Savings Plan NA Enroll Now - Georgia Path2College 529 Plan NA Enroll Now - Illinois Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program NA Enroll Now - Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program NA Plan Details - Montana Achieve Montana NA Plan Details - North Dakota College SAVE (Direct) NA Enroll Now - Rhode Island CollegeBound Saver (Direct-sold) NA Enroll Now - Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program NA Plan Details - Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan NA Plan Details - Wisconsin Edvest NA Plan Details NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least one portfolio with sufficiently-long performance in a minimum of four asset allocation categories under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com plan composite rankings are derived using the plans' relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset-allocation categories used are: 100 percent equity, 80 percent equity, 60 percent equity, 40 percent equity, 20 percent equity, 100 percent fixed and 100 percent short term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers, please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Saving For College, LLC shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For broker-sold plan rankings, click here.