1 SUMMARIZATION OF VIKTOR FRANKLS MANS SEARCH FOR MEANING

Summarization of Viktor Frankls Mans Search for Meaning Tenina Jenkins Georgia State University

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Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, was captured by German officers and transported to various concentration camps within Germany. In his book Mans Search for Meaning (1985), Frankl takes the unique approach of describing the mental stages of camp inmates from a psychological point of view while also recounting his personal experiences. He noticed that all prisoners go through three mental stages while living within the camp. Frankl talks of the first stage being the reaction of the captives after their admission to the camp, he then describes their reaction once a daily routine was established, and finally the third stage was their reaction following liberation. During this terrible time in his life, Frankl discovered that there were two types of prisoners: those that gave up on life and those who were determined to live. He also developed an approach to psychotherapy called logotherapy, which was recognized as the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy. The goal of logotherapy was to help individuals discover their meaning in life, which results in the person overcoming their mental or emotional condition. Frankl describes in this book why logotherapy was essential in the survival of inmates. He supports his idea by explaining that prisoners who found meaning in their suffering, and knew that they had an assignment to complete were more likely to live through the horrors of camp. Others fell into what Frankl termed the existential vacuum. The fall into the existential vacuum occurs when an individual doubts that their life has any meaning, and as a result they lose the will to live. After his release from the concentration camp, he continued to use logotherapy to help people discover their meaning in life and this technique also aided in relieving anxiety, phobias, and obsessive compulsive conditions. Mans Search for Meaning was interesting and well written. I thought Viktor Frankl made very important points in the beginning of the book. I could tell immediately that he had a high respect for prisoners who endured the hardships of camp life. People are familiar with and

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have heard stories of the survivors of these death camps. Frankl made sure that readers were also mindful of the unidentified prisoners who lost their lives and those who lived to tell of their experiences in the concentration camps. I thought this was a good work because he made it clear that this book was not intended to make readers feel sorry for the inmates, nor was it to depict the inmates as weak individuals. Although what these men and women went through was gruesome, I felt as if Frankl wanted us to know that they worked hard, were strong, and fought to stay alive for as long as possible. The book was also a good work because he took the unique approach of describing the behaviors and mental reactions of the prisoners from an objective point of view, and only told stories of his experiences in order to make a point clear. For example, Frankl talked about prisoners suppressing their emotions as part of the second stage of their mental reaction. He recalled when he was in a hut with prisoners who suffered from typhus and were delirious. As an individual lay their dead prisoner after prisoner would take that persons food, shoes, and coat. Frankl explained how he felt indifferent and did not bother stopping the prisoners. He just watched them as they took items from their dead comrade (Frankl, 1985, p. 41) I liked reading this novel because I was able to fully understand and experience what life was like for a concentration camp prisoner. Other books that I have read or heard of also explained how the prisoners were treated and the methods used to kill them, but I was left wondering how they survived each day. Frankl explained different ways he and his comrades escaped the reality of their life. One of the ways that they escaped was attending and participating in shows that were held within the camp. Camp officers, workers, and inmates read poems, sang songs, and told jokes. If a prisoner entertained in the show or applauded the other participants he was given two ladles of soup instead of just one. Frankl also talked of how

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thoughts of loved ones, enjoying natures beauty, and some prisoners deep rooted spirituality were all things that enabled them to survive the camp lifestyle (Frankl, 1985, p. 55-61). As Frankl began discussing the third stage of the prisoners mental reaction, I anticipated him describing them being filled with joy and running out of the camp cheering. I was highly surprised and confused at first because the day of their liberation the inmates just walked out off the camp grounds. There was no cheering or tears of happiness. Frankl described how the prisoners realized that they had lost the ability to be happy as a result of their constant physical and mental abuse. He also compared liberation to depersonalization by describing how the inmates could not believe that they were really free. There were many times when they would imagine one detail after another how and when their day of release would happen only to be reminded of their present reality (Frankl, 1985, p. 41). I started to have a clearer understanding of why the prisoners were indifferent when they were released. They dreamed for years of that day, and when it finally arrived the prisoners could not accept they were free in fear that they had gotten their hopes up again. I always thought that after their release prisoners were happy and anxious to return home. When Frankl described how bitterness and disillusionment could set in as the prisoner returned to his former life, I was quite surprised. He explained that inmates became bitter when they continually wondered why they had gone through so much suffering. Some were also bitter because they discovered that people in their home town did not know of their capture and stay in the camps, and other town people were nonchalant about their experience. Disillusionment could also set in as the prisoner returned to his former life. After their mental pressures of being in the camp were relieved, some inmates thought that the worst of life was over with and everything from that point forward would get better. Prisoners felt disillusionment because they

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thought that they had experienced the ultimate suffering which was being an inmate in a concentration camp. These prisoners soon learned that they could still suffer and even suffer worse (Frankl, 1985, p. 113). I believe this is the reason why Frankl said that the inmates would be in need of continued spiritual care. My initial reaction to the book was absolute shock when Frankl described the treatment of the prisoners. As he discussed the mental reactions of the inmates as well as his experiences I felt sadness, and by the end of the story I was on the verge of tears. There is one event in the book that is etched in my memory. I was shocked when Frankl talked about how much pleasure his comrades would get in exchanging food recipes and discussing what dishes they would cook that day if they were free. As I continue reading, I understood more clearly why the conversation of food was so pleasurable. The men were given watered down soup and a small piece of bread every day. Watery jam, poor quality sausage, and a small slice of margarine were given to them as extras but this was not enough to eat considering the hard labor that they were required to complete. I was very sad when Frankl described how their bodies were wasting away, and a lot of people from his hut died as a result of the malnourishment. He explained further that they did not take pleasure in talking about food for the sake of imaging its taste, but they talked about food in order to relieve their desire for it (Frankl, 1985, p. 49). One of the main discoveries that Frankl made while being a prisoner is why certain individuals were able to survive camp life while others gave up and were nonchalant about dying. He noticed that prisoners who knew that they had an assignment to complete were more likely to fight to stay alive. The discovery led to the development of logotherapy, which focuses on the meaning of human existence and aiding patients in finding their meaning in life. The

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work of Viktor Frankl also inspired humanistic psychologists such as Carl Rogers, and assisted in developing themes such as self-concept, self-actualization, and self-transcendence. According to Myers (2013), self concept is all the thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, Who am I (p. 525)? Carl Rogers explained that if a person has a negative self-concept then they will be dissatisfied and unhappy. Frankl talked of how some patients fell into what he termed the existential vacuum. The existential vacuum is when a person feels as if their life does not have meaning, which results in that individuals loss of interest in life and lack of initiative. The person will furthermore try to fulfill the lack of meaninglessness with the need to acquire power, money, or sexual pleasure (Frankl, 1985, p. 129). Individuals who fall into this vacuum also have a misguided meaning and suffer from depression and are aggressive. Frankl talked about man being responsible for realizing his meaning in life by achieving self-actualization. A person is able to find their meaning by being open to discovering the world. He termed this the self-transcendence of human existence. Frankl explained how a person discovers their meaning by being directed to something or someone other than self. When the individual forgets about themselves and focuses their attention on giving to a cause or loving another person is when self-actualization is reached (Frankl, 1985, p. 133). Frankls concepts of self-transcendence and self-actualization were supported by research conducted by Abraham Maslow. Abraham Maslow developed these two themes by studying people who led productive lives. He found that those adults who were loving, caring, were not self centered, and interested in solving problems were more likely become self-actualizing adults (Myers, 2013, p. 524).

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Viktor Frankls development of logotherapy made a remarkable contribution to psychology. Not only did he show that the driving force of a person is to find their meaning, but he also noted that meaning can also be found within suffering. Through his experiences in the concentration camp he was able to develop an approach of psychotherapy that was used to treat phobias, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive conditions (Frankl, 1985, p. 146-150). There was an experience that Frankl talked about in his book that I could also relate to. He talked about a day when he walked for miles through flower filled meadows, and saw a lark flying in the sky. It was at that moment when Frankl realized that he was free to go wherever he pleased like the lark. He fell on his knees and kept repeating I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and He answered me in the freedom of space (Frankl, 1985, p. 41). After reading that sentence, I cried because I identified with the exact feeling of Frankl. I had a very tumultuous marriage with Vincent. He was never home, so for the majority of our marriage I was by myself. The days that Vincent was home he was in our spare bedroom with the woman that he was cheating with. I remember one day leaning against the wall and asking God to help me. I did not think that I could endure one more day in my marriage, and continue to witness him cheating in front of my face. We eventually separated and divorced. When I returned from my vacation in Georgia I looked into our spare room. I remembered feeling relieved because all of his belonging s were gone and my nightmare had ended. Yes, my marriage was over but as I looked into that spare bedroom I realized that I was free from my marriage and my prayers had been answered.

8 SUMMARIZATION OF VIKTOR FRANKLS MANS SEARCH FOR MEANING References Frankl, V. E. (1985). Mans Search for Meaning. New York, New York: First Washing Square Press. Myers, D. G. (2013). Psychology (10th ed.). New York, New York: Worth Publishers.