An Interpretation Of Absurdity In Molloy From The Perspective Of Sartrean Existentialism

Samuel Beckett is one of the most original literary masters in the 20 th century and won The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969.As the pinnacle of his “experimental novel”,Molloy is a metaphysical exploration of the existence of absurdity and the essence of human beings.Absurdity is the core of this thesis.Based on the existentialism of French philosopher and writer Sartre,this thesis interprets the absurdity in Beckett's novel Molloy mainly from the perspectives of absurd factual states,absurd sense and absurd philosophical outlook to explore the significant meaning of absurdity in the novel.The part of absurd factual state part mainly studies the survival dilemma of the isolated individuals,the contradictions and conflicts among the alienated groups and the alienation of people in the irrational world.The part of absurd sense focuses on the absurd sense of language,symbols and narrative fracture.These absurd senses reflect the disorder and uncertainty of the world.The part of absurd philosophical outlook mainly starts from the “contingency”,and explores the digestion of time,the digestion of self and the contingency of the absurd existence of the human being and the world in the indifferent society.The research finds that the protagonists' choice to confine themselves after the failure of “seeking” is not a reflection of pessimistic consciousness but a reflection of adhering to “self-serving self” in the absurd world.The discussion on absurdity is helpful for readers to understand the epochal characteristics included in Molloy.