1. Introduction
1.1. Define existential authenticity
1.1.1. Explain importance and how it affects personal meaning and the destiny of being unhappy
1.2. Introduce text
1.2.1. The Boat written by Alistair Macleod explores…
1.3. Thesis Statement
1.3.1. When individuals live in a way that is existentially inauthentic, they live without a sense of personal meaning and will therefore never be happy with their life.
2. The son's dilemma
2.1. Mom wants him to be a fisherman
2.2. He wants to be a scholar
2.3. Dad's POV
2.3.1. His dad doesn’t want him to make the same mistake he did; living a life that isn’t your own
2.4. Explain why he THINKS he can't have both
2.4.1. He wishes they were not mutually exclusive
3. His choice to be a fisherman
3.1. It is an inauthentic, and therefore meaningless, choice
3.1.1. He chooses to be a fisherman to please his mom but also because he thinks following in his dad’s footsteps is somehow brave.
3.1.2. He can’t see himself as his own person, only as an object for other people and is left in an impossible position for who to please meaning living for himself he won’t even see as an option.
3.2. It makes him unhappy
3.2.1. The repetition of And, And, And shows his life is monotonous and without meaning, he is just going through the motions of one thing after another.
3.3. So?
3.3.1. He is not happy because being a fisherman is not his choice, and therefore not meaningful.
4. His chocie to be a scholar
4.1. Dad's death
4.1.1. His dad’s suicide was meant to be a sacrifice in order to give his son a chance to be authentic but because the son can’t see himself as a person, only an object, he interprets it as his dad compelling him to be a scholar.
4.2. He is still not happy
4.2.1. We see that his dad’s spirit and influence over him is very much still there. Instead of breaking free from inauthenticity, he turns back to it in a different form. While he does end up doing what he wanted, he can’t be happy doing it because it is not authentic because he feels he is forced to by his father’s sacrifice.
4.3. So?
4.3.1. This is why authenticity is so important. The one thing he is ever shown to like of his own accord is corrupted because it has lost all meaning cause he’s not doing for him anymore, he does it for his dad. This is why at the beginning (and the end) of the story he is so unhappy.
5. Conclusion
5.1. Restate thesis statement
5.1.1. Reword
5.2. Fatal flaw
5.2.1. What’s his fatal flaw that causes him to be unhappy? He can’t live for himself because he sees himself as an object to live for other people; he refuses to be authentic. Why does a lack of authenticity make him unhappy? Because authenticity is what makes your choices and actions meaningful.
5.3. All in all?
5.3.1. You’re happy doing something because you did it for you, but the son can’t have that because he does everything, even the only thing he ever actually liked on his own, for other people. Why is existential authenticity important then? Because without it you’ll have a meaningless life and be miserable.