A Call For A Revolution In An Absurd World

Richard Yates is one of the most famous American writers of the early twentiethcentury and is the most popular writer of that time. One feature shared by his novelsis that the stories of his novels are true and natural because most of his novels arebased on his personal life experience. Revolutionary road possesses a stronginfluence among his many works. The novel describes struggle and divergence ofApril and Frank in an absurd world. April dies on the way of searching for authenticbeing while Frank loses his identity and becomes a mediocre person in the crowd.The novel demonstrates the writer’s thought of reality of human existence and thewriter’s call of revolutionary spirit. So far, researches of this work are several andmost of them are trying to interpret this novel in the light of feminism. Theexistentialist thoughts of this novel have been ignored. Most comments on this novelare focusing on the boring suburb life and the marriage. Actually it’s an indictment ofAmerican life at1950s. Richard Yates accused American of blindly searching forconformity and betrayal of revolutionary spirit. Ignoring what they really need,people do what others do and become mediocre, losing their characteristics.Therefore Yates embodied the revolutionary spirit in the protagonist April Wheeler.April Wheeler and Frank Wheeler who think they are different from others have beeninevitably suffered from alienation, anxiety and self-deception. But at the end ofRevolutionary Road they have made different choices and faced followingconsequences.Alienation, anxiety, self-deception and authentic being are importantexistentialist theories. In an absurd world, a human being is inevitably suffering fromalienation and anxiety. In one’s search of authentic being he may fall intoself-deception if he cannot realize the reality. April and Frank both suffer alienationand anxiety in the absurd world and both lived in their self-deception as othercharacters in the novel. But at the end of the novel this couple has made different choices. April realizes her self-deception and voluntarily searches for her authenticbeing. Frank also realizes his self-deception but he refuses to change, then hedissolved his identity.Revolutionary Road reveals that Richard Yates has been influenced byexistentialist thoughts. He even mentioned Sartre once in the story. The mainstructure of this thesis will use Sartre’s existentialist ideas of absurd world, alienation,anxiety, self-deception and searching for authentic being.The introduction chapter gives a brief introduction to the writer’s life and hisRevolutionary Road, followed by the literature review and possibility of reading thisnovel in the light of existentialism.The main part of the thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter analyzesthe social context of America and the absurd world in the Revolutionary Road. At1950s American had suffered severe cultural crisis which triggered spirit crisis.Society had strangled individualism and advocated mediocrity. Being frustrated bysocial reality, people turned to family for solace. The author had criticized thecultural and spirit crisis then pointing out that family is not a comfort place forpeople hiding from reality.The second chapter examines the alienation and anxiety suffered by theprotagonists. The protagonists are alienated from their born families, peers andcommunities. Their anxiety is brought by free choices and correspondingresponsibilities.The last chapter analyzes the protagonists’ self-deceptions and their differentchoices. Frank’s self-deceptions reflect in three aspects: first, his self perception;second, his love towards his children; third, his attitude towards his job. April’sself-deceptions reflect in her self perception and her sense of victimhood. In the end,Frank chooses to give in to the absurd world and lost his identity while April choosesto fight for her freedom and achieves her authentic being. At last, the thesis willdiscuss the suggestive meaning of April’s death and point out existentialism help us to get a better understanding of this novel. Revolutionary Road reveals Yates’srealization and criticism on the American spirit crisis. This novel is his call for arevolution in the absurd world.