Zorba the Greek
I. Introduction
A. Kazantzakis and Z
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Nikos Kazantzakis in his novel Zorba the Greek was influenced by the philosophy of the German Friedrich Nietzsche. Kazantzakis had translated Nietzsche into Greek and was very familiar with his works and his philosophy. As presented by Kazantzakis, the Nietzschean philosophy is modified by its juxtaposition with traditional Greek concerns derived from mythology. The novel came from the later portion of the author's life as he continued to explore the spiritual plight of mankind in his fiction. It is from these later years that his most important and popular works derive, notably Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. He focused in these years on a traditional Greek issue, the Apollonian-Dionysian dichotomy. In Zorba the Greek, this is evident as the author presents two characters who come from opposite poles in this conflict, the figure of Zorba being the sensualist, Dionysian figure, while the "boss" is one who shows Apollonian traits of reserve and restraint. Zorba and the boss learn from one another but emerge essentially unchanged in their orientations. Another influence found in this work is that of Nietzsche, as noted, and here the idea of Zorba as incipient ubermensch emerges. Kazantzakis in his autobiography makes reference to the most important influences in his life, though he does indicate as well that he has done most of it himself: Very few people, living or dead, have aided my struggle. If however, I wished to designate which people
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te. culturally, Nietzsche believes it has degenerated in his own time. In his conception of the Superman, he will describe the being who is able to command the Will to Power and whose very existence is possible only because of the Will to Power of preceding generations. It is not possible for the will to cease to will, for that would mean that life had ceased, but it is possible for the will to degenerate from lack of use. The will continues, but it refuses to seek power and grow and so becomes decadent.
This idea of the will to power is combined in Kazantzakis with the Greek dedication to life itself, to finding ways of living life to the full, and Nietzsche himself made this same distinction when he wrote about culture in The Birth of Tragedy. Nietzsche as a young man viewed the purpose of the philosopher as the physician of a culture, identifying and curing its ills. Nietzsche makes a comparison between historical knowledge about past cultures and culture itself. He sees true culture as a unity of the forces of life with the love of form and beauty. Nietzsche considers life as terrible and tragic, but he also views it as transmuted through art, the work of creative genius. Nietzsche discovers the proper role of art i
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Approximate Word count = 1578
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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