Zorba the Greek

An existential journey

Influence on structure and philosophy

 Dante – Zorba as Virgil (Human Reason) – Lion (violence, sins against God), Wolf (carnal), Leopard (fraud) – “You are like a lion shall we say or a wolf”  Henri Bergson – élan vital: vital force of the human spirit – Asceticism is an insufficient is an insuffiecient way for

man to appreciate his humanity



Plato, Homer, Goethe, Neitzche, Cervantes, Darwin, et. al.

Dualities

 God vs. man, freedom vs. slavery, belief vs. agnosticism, etc.

 Sythesis-”waves of contradictory impuses”  Not Apollo vs. Dionysis: marriage

Hope

 Cretan Glance – Age-old elements seen with daily freshness and creativity – Doing the best with what you’ve got  Staring down the abyss – Hope for a life well lived if not for eternal salvation  Narrator searches for hope finds it loses it and finds it again (death of widow, last words of novel)

Women

 The ultimate duality – The ultimate synthesis – Woman as a sacred mystery: “not human,” “everlasting business,” “incomprehensible” – An earthly search for answers and God – Holy Virgin of Revenge

Buddha

 Apollonian antithesis-alternate path  Duality: “Each of us is God, Buddha said. Each of us knows al. We need only open our minds to hear our own wisdom”

Nature

 Influence of Darwin  Nature shows the miracle of God and earthly progress every day (Cretan Glance)  Cavafy comparison

Conclusion

 Existential exploration of the highest order which has been undermined by its own brilliant characterizations and entertainment value.