Also Sprach Zarathustra (novel)

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"And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh."

Also Sprach Zarathustra is the Magnum Opus of Friedrich Nietzsche. It's known to be one of the most important philosophical works from the 19th century and the foundation for Existentialism. It's originally written in Gratuitous German in the 19th century, and was highly controversial from the beginning. It opposed Christianity, Good and Evil, and the purpose of humans and what they are ought to do when they exist.

One might be forgiven for not realising it's also a novel. Although the book uses a almost-but-not-quite Author Avatar to explain Nietzsche's thoughts, there is actually a plot and a narrative. The book starts with a hermit philosopher called Zarathustra that leaves the wilderness to tell the people of the Übermensch and the Death of God. This message didn't arrive so well and Zarathustra decides to play it a little more tactical, forming a small group of followers around him. Ultimately, he left them to return to the mountain, where he finaly meed the first breed of Übermensch.

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This following tropes find their origin in Also Sprach Zarathustra:

• Also Sprach Zarathustra
• Eternal Recurrence
• God Is Dead
• He Who Fights Monsters
• Nietzsche Wannabe
• Ubermensch

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Tropes:

• All of the Other Reindeer: The people laugh and insult Zarathustra for his revelation and wisdom.
• Appease the Volcano God: Subverted, as Zarathustra goes to the volcano, has a chat with him and leaves.
• An Aesop: Originally subverted because the book does not specificity promotes a certain lifestyle and most actions and standpoints have no mentioned consequences.
  • Family-Unfriendly Aesop: Nietzche being what he is, there are of course multiple interpretations to the entire work.
• Be Yourself/Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life: A major theme in his philosophy and this book.
• Black Speech: The original work in German has some part that sound pretty evil to the untrained or uncaring ear. The topics don't help much either.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Some parts of the book feature no background, setting or even other characters then Zarathustra.
• Complete Monster: The State
• Determinator: Convinced of the rise of the Übermensch, Zarathustra does not give in.
• Excuse Plot
• Hermit Guru: Zarathustra
• Individuality Is Illegal: Critiziced by Zarathustra, because Übermenschen should not bow to such villain morality.
• Lawful Neutral: An uncommon choice of antagonist, as Zarathustra tries to save the small man from his love for small virtues, while the small man ignores the true virtues of life.
• Moral Dissonance: After 100 years of Flanderization, Abuse and social changes, some people object to the world views from Nietzsche.
• No Woman's Land: There are no woman in the entire story, they are on the other hand mentioned, in not such polite wordings.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Nietzche is often described as the Darker and Edgier philosopher.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Zarathustra does not think very highly of his fellow humans.
• The State: The State is the biggest monster of all monsters. It's speaks cold lies that crawl out of his mouth. The state lies in all spoken languages, and whatever he possesses, he stole it. The state bites with stolen teeth.
• What Is Evil?: An important topic of the story.

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