The Search for Identity in Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Sartre's No Exit: A Study from the Perspective of Absurdity

النقروز, أمجد عبد الله (2017) The Search for Identity in Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Sartre's No Exit: A Study from the Perspective of Absurdity. Masters thesis, جامعة الشرق الاوسط.

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Abstract

This thesis explores Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author and Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit from the perspective of absurdity alongside the existentialist philosophy. In terms of Pirandello's play, it exclusively focuses on the investigation of reality and illusion as a major theme as well as the interpretation of the characters' being nameless in the play. Whereas in Sartre's play, it tackles the effect of other on self in addition to the interpretation of the characters' tendency toward punishment and torture. After an analytical discussion, the results indicate that Pirandello employs reality and illusion as a manner of making a well-built influence on the spectators by depicting seemingly realistic actions merged with illusory ones. The characters in Pirandello's play appear nameless as an indication of the incompleteness of their identity. As for Sartre's play, the effect of other on self is portrayed as a sort of tormenting the residents of Sartre's hellish room, and showing the inevitability of others on the existence of self. Moreover, the discussion finds out different reasons for the characters' tendencies towards punishment, the most notable of which are their realization of having been sinful in real life, and the lack of faith. References 57 VIII Finally, the study indicates that the search of identity in the two sampled plays entails a method and a process and the characters have a loss of identity, attributed to social, religious, cultural, psychological and national variables. Key Words: Pirandello, Sartre, absurdity, existentialism, reality and illusion, the effect of other on self.

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