Depravity In Absurdity: A Study Of Young Skins From The Perspective Of Existentialism

Existentialism emerged from the philosophical puzzle about the essence of human beings and the whole universe,flourished in the 20 th century and is recognized as the harbinger of Postmodernism.As the most renowned existentialist around the world,Jean-Paul Sartre has enjoyed great popularity and acknowledgment in philosophy and literature study.His principal existentialist propositions such as “existence precedes essence”,“world is absurd,life is miserable”,“choice freedom” and “hell is other people” have been widely welcomed and recognized in the mature period of Existentialist development.Instead of instilling negative conception,Sartre aims to explain the source of humans' sufferings and the essence of humans' existence.Young Skins is a collection of short stories by the contemporary young Irish writer Colin Barrett.Having won the 2014 Guardian First Book Award and the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award,this book is renowned for its sharp and striking depiction of a small town in Ireland and the local young people's pains.With well-crafted characterization and ups and downs designed in plot line,Barrett shows the plights of young Irish people in a secluded town and their struggles for the significance of their existence.The present study is a two dimensional analysis of existentialist ideas in the book.First,by analyzing the characters' predicament and the environment,the thesis holds that the author attempts to establish an absurd world where violence and crime prevails and order collapses from the macro and micro perspectives.This part lays the foundation to explain their failures to establish orders and the primary cause of their tragic endings.Second,by analyzing the choices of two types the characters have made,the thesis argues that young locals are deprived of the freedom to make choices,which leads to the alienation in relationships.Immersed in spiritual sufferings,they gradually deviate from their original goals and pursue a descending road.The conclusion the present thesis draws is as follows: in Young Skins,the young characters are forced to live in the absurd world and they lack the agency to make free choices.Ultimately,they are psychologically overwhelmed to march towards depravity in the end.The stories unravel the spiritual confusion of young people.In order to solve the puzzles and figure out the true essence of each individual,it is of great significanceto recognize the absurdity of environment,muster courage to break away from hell and strive for mental freedom.