In Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Kundera depicts a society almost devoid of human connections. Kundera uses the characters Tomas, Sabina, Franz and Tereza to explore the inability of human beings to become attached to others, consciously or unconsciously. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Tomas' tendency to place his own priorities above others makes him incapable of fully understanding and expounding altruism what love and connection requires. He fears commitment because of the responsibilities it inevitably brings. The idea of ​​acting solely for the good of others repels him, as demonstrated by his inability to maintain relationships in any form, whether with women or with family like his son. He claims his inability to “live alongside a woman and could only be fully himself as a bachelor” (Kundera, 10). Tomas' ideal life is one where he could indulge in the sin of selfishness and live without the influence of others affecting his decisions. He is unwilling to compromise and shows that he honors his own desires above those of others. He is also unable to sleep in the presence of others, demonstrating an innate sense of discomfort when having to consider the presence and emotions of others. Love then becomes a burden that would compromise the pure selfishness of one's life. However, Tomas seems to free himself from his flaw once he falls in love with Tereza. Tomas explains his new love through the idea of ​​compassion, where he experiences emotional telepathy with Tereza and feels the sensations she feels, whether pleasure or pain. Through compassion, Tomas is able to become one with Tereza on an emotional level. By relieving her pain, Tomas also relieves hers, providing a solution to her selfish tendencies. Kundera situates his novel in a duality of opposites; lightness and weight, light and darkness, heat and cold. Selfishness and compassion therefore become another set of opposites, as compassion is able to diminish selfish desires and encourage the compromise essential to being able to experience love. Kundera uses Franz to explore an alienation that occurs due to an inclination to live in fantasy. of his dreams and his inability to understand his interactions. Franz emerges as a dreamer who often favors the ideal rather than the truth. He demonstrates his alienation within his own mindset through his failed relationships with his wife and Sabina. Franz was only capable of a logical understanding of human language, but not of the semantics behind it. He sheltered his wife emotionally “for twenty years” because “he had seen his mother – a poor and weak creature who needed his protection – in his wife… because of a misunderstanding! » (Kundera, 118). Franz lived a lie for twenty years based on poor communication; Without truth and communication, human beings cannot experience love and connection. A combination of his preference for the unreal and his lack of human understanding also caused him to unconsciously sabotage his relationship with Sabina. He lived in “darkness [which] was pure, perfect, unthinking, visionless…for [Sabina], darkness did not mean infinity; for her it meant disagreement with what she saw… refusal to see” (Kundera, 95). Franz relished the unlimited freedom of his daydreams. He depended too much on it to escape life; to the extent that it ultimately dominated the reality of his life. Darkness is perfect because it is without vision, itcan imagine whatever his heart desires. However, as he dwells in the unreal, he is unable to maintain his relationships and interactions because he does not understand what elements are necessary to maintain them. He could not understand that his desire to live a fantasy had cost him his relationship with Sabina, who was repelled by fantasy as well as the rejection of reality. Franz is only capable of a facade of human connection, but in reality he is alienated due to his inability to understand interactions. Sabina, one of the most extreme characters portrayed by Kundera, seemingly lives and revels in her completely emotional alienation. His detached nature is a manifestation of his disgust for society, either for society's repressive influences or for the human weakness that falls victim to it. She demonstrates a clear disregard for human weakness through her intolerance towards Franz. Franz cedes power to those he loves and will never give them orders, which “seems grotesque” to him (Kundera, 112). Franz demonstrates the human weakness of giving in to the ways of society, an idea she hates. She thrives on betrayals for the freedom and lightness that it gives her. She refuses to allow society to control her decisions or impulses. His ideals are revealed in his lifestyle and state of mind. She strictly maintains that love must be private: “Sabina did not suffer at all from having to keep her love a secret. On the contrary, only by doing this can she live in truth” (Kundera, 113). Once his affairs become public, outside influence now affects his decisions. Sabina understands well this destructive power that society holds. She could only live freely and indulge in her own thoughts without the presence of others, which could lead her to unconsciously change her behavior to fit the norm. However, by viewing society's presence as a burden, she ultimately admits a hidden respect for what others think of her. This is reinforced by her idolization of the bowler hat, which embodies not only her family's past, but also her lovemaking with Tomas. She attempts to recreate this fleeting moment on several occasions (like her meetings with Franz); however, she is continually disappointed in her sole search for an eternal return. Sabina also demonstrates pure affection and connection for Tomas, one of the only men to ever understand her. She tries to express her strong affection, but is only able to say: "'You don't know how happy I am to be with you,' that was all her reserved nature allowed her to say." express” (Kundera, 98 years old). . Sabina is so consumed by her irresistible desire to escape the effects of society that she doesn't realize that she ultimately finds herself trapped by her unrealistic mindset. She sees love as weakness and a surrender of power, and chooses instead to be frivolous and promiscuous. However, her fear of society and commitment has paralyzed her actions and she cannot express her affection for Tomas. Sabina, one of the most complicated and extreme characters created by Kundera, demonstrates that an absolute intolerance of human weakness, emotions and love causes subconscious alienation through entrapment in her inability to break the ranks of one's own expectations. we are freed from the inevitable alienation, even the most romantic of the characters, Tereza. During her ten-year relationship with Tomas, during which she gave up her own wants and needs in order to please Tomas, Tereza is ultimately still partially alienated. Tomas will never provide pure love and devotion, unlike Karenin. Tereza admits that..