The Introspective Search Of Religion An Existentialist Interpretation Of The Moviegoer

Walker Percy is a20thcentury American writer. In the year of1962the glintinglaurel of the National Book Award for Fiction was proffered to Percy’s novel TheMoviegoer for its far-reaching philosophical and social repercussion. The wholefiction is more than a saga of the despaired protagonist, an archetypical post-waryoung man, who is on existential search for the eternal meaning of human beings. Thisresearch attempts to interpret this novel through the perspective of Kierkegaard’sexistentialism, especially his theory of three stages of life. Following the protagonistBinx Bolling’s existential search in aesthetic, ethical and religious stages, this thesis isintended to reveal the religious salvation of Binx. Through the detailed analysis of thecause of despair for Binx, the research indicates that except for the familial, social andcultural influence, the fundamental reason for Binx’s despair is the absence of God inhis mind, which is also the cause for his existential search. With the personal religiousintention of Binx in the novel, the appearance of religious symbols at the end of thenovel indicates his conversion to God. Therefore, the research shows the religioussalvation of a despaired post-war young man, which has universal meaning for thespecific era.