Spirit And The Meat Split The Sad Duo

The joke was the first novel by Milan Kundera. This novel writing earned him a worldwide reputation. As his debut, this novel had seminal meaning. Among Kundera’s work, the joke showed its precious stability and continuity. On one hand, the joke inherited the connotation of his poem. On the other hand, it had a great impact on his subsequent novel, not only on the content, but also on their form. The joke laid out the characteristics for his later literary works from the aspects of content and form. Therefore, the joke owned a great academic research value.This paper tried to discuss the issues about "spirit and flesh" in the joke, and focus on the connotation and extension of the spirit and the flesh. Kundera wanted to express a serious and sad theme by depicted Elena, Ludwik, Lucy etc.This paper consisted of three parts:introduction, text and conclusion. The text discussed by three aspects. First of all, it tried to define the concept of spirit and flesh, and finded the opening research of that relationship. In this chapter, the first section discussed the essence of spirit and flesh and its historical evolution. It pointed out that in the western world, the first philosopher of Miletus school——Tyrus began to think about this question. Since Tyrus started to think seriously about the human spirit and flesh problem, people carried out in-depth discussion on this issue. Later philosophers, theologians, neurologists, psychologists, writers, biologists and chemists all discussed about the spirit and flesh from different points of view. After it, Greek culture and Hebrew civilization all respectively launched to this question. Then, this thesis discussed the logical starting point of Kundera’s spirit and flesh problem, and pointed out that the logic starting point of Kundla thought is the philosophy of Platon. In the unbearable lightness of life, Kundera’s definition of love is directly inherited the definition of love of Platon. In Symposium, Aristophanes defined love as the pursuit of the other part of himself. In the second section, it discussed the spirit and flesh as literary issues. The third day, after the joke is defined as a love story, the theme about the spirit and flesh surfaced. It pointed out that the joke is not tried to show the absurd and ridiculous of life, but to show the fragile soul and absurdity of fate under the special historical environment.The split of spirit and flesh theme were being highlighted by Ludwik’s past and present life. The second chapter was about the "spirit and flesh" in the exile. First of all, it discussed Ludwik who has been deprived of the pursuit of the spirit. In the beginning, Kundera didn’t directly deploy the expansion of the narrative, but showed the reader a process from past to present. Then, from the two aspects about the metaphor of ship and Ludwik’s so-called face, the inconsistency is inevitably highlighted. Lucy was in sharp contrast to Ludwik. The second section, this thesis discussed Lucy who was deprived of the desires of flesh. Lucy’s image showed up by Ludwic’s memories and Cozka’s narration. Finally, Ludwic, Lucy, even Yaroslav who already escaped from the historical stage, all couldn’t keep away from its own fate. The expression on the other half of the pursuit was a process, and this process showed that this half and the other half was not consistent, which was reduced to an inconsistency in Ludwic and Lucy’s story. In the pursuit of consistency, harmony was not obtained. Instead, the inconsistency between spirit and flesh was amplified.The third chapter was about the return period of "spirit and flesh". Firstly,it discussed the regression of two individuals, Ludwic and Lucy. These two returns were not the same meaning. Lucy’s return was the return of a soul, but Ludwic’s return was not. The character of Elena, as a tool type of figure, appeared in the text. It’s also meaningful. In the end, this thesis summarized that Kundera tried to face the ultimate paradox by mocking, skeptical attitude in a novelist position. He tried to maintain human dignity by revealing the paradox.