Lightness vs. Weight: Kundera's Persuasive Argument in The Unbearable Lightness of Being Rasheed Mehrinfar 12th Grade

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is as much of a philosophical work as it is a fictional story, not following a typical plotline. The novel includes multiple interwoven plotlines surrounding different characters with the same events being narrated many times from different characters’ points of view. Due to the non-chronological and non-linear nature of the work, it cannot be broken into plot-driven stages. Rather, the work may be viewed as an extended three-part persuasive essay of sorts with the author, Milan Kundera, attempting to prove his philosophy of “Lightness vs. Weight”. Following the three-part persuasive essay model, the author first explains the fundamental idea behind his philosophy and definesthe terms to be used in his essay, then moves on to discuss his stance and other scholars viewpoints and once this is established, he hones the argument with fictional characters that he has interjected himself into to control their actions and validate his point. Part One and Two act as an “introductory” segment for the three-part essay, putting the reader on equal footing as the author in preparation for his argument while establishing his stance on the “Lightness vs. Weight” conflict.

Kundera claims that eternal return...