An Existentialist Study Of Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness

After the Second World War,all the western countries suffered from trauma of warfare.In the meantime,people's psychological world was challenged by unprecedented spiritual crisis despite the fast development of capitalism.In addition,the Great Depression of America in 1930 s put people in complete despair and made them helpless for their life and future.As a representative of Age of Anxiety,Richard Yates profoundly exposed the absurdity and spiritual wasteland of American society in Eleven Kinds of Loneliness,which mirrored the social status at that time.Existentialism is one of the most significant philosophies in the twenties century.Jean Paul Sartre,Martin Heidegger,Albert Camus and other existentialists offered new concepts and new research perspectives to the philosophy of existentialism,and accelerated the development of the existentialist movement.The three main concepts of existentialism include: “existence precedes essence”;“the world is absurd and life is meaningless” and free choice.The purpose of this philosophy is to unveil the absurdity of world and nihility of life.Also,existentialism emphasizes people's free choice,which provides methods for people's self-salvation and offers people hope amid this absurdity and despair.This thesis,based on the three main concepts of existentialism,analyzes the existentialist thoughts in Eleven Kinds of Loneliness and demonstrates the absurdity,alienation and free choice in Yates' book.The thesis has four major parts.The first chapter introduces author Richard Yates and his book Eleven Kinds of Loneliness.The second chapter introduces the major existentialists and their important thoughts.The third chapter analyzes three short stories in Eleven Kinds of Loneliness from the perspective of existentialism and probes deeper into Richard Yates' existentialist tendency.The fourth part concludes the main arguments in this thesis.Eleven Kinds of Loneliness displays the existence conditions and spiritual crisis of people in the Age of Anxiety,highlights the twisted American society and the nihility of human existence.Besides,the existentialist heroes in Yates' book maintain their morality and dignity,striving to find a genuine life in this absurdity,which inspires people to reflect on their own behaviors and life.