The Absurd and the Search for Meaning: Exploring Existentialism in Hanif Kureishi’s The Nothing

Abstract

This study aims to analyze Hanif Kureishi's novel The Nothing with the perspective of the theory of Exisatentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre. Existentialism has different connotations but it focuses on the individual's existence and the role of that existence. Existentialists accept that the nature of existence is defined by our relationship to others and things in the world. It also explores Sartre's existentialism that is evident in the choice of actions and free will in the selected text. The novel The Nothing by Kureishi depicts the concept of nothingness that refers to the absence and the lack of existence. This study has investigated the ideas of nothingness and absurdity entwined in the novel. Textual analysis of the novel analyses the existentialist struggles within the text through the characters and the narrative structure of the novel. The dialogues spoken by the protagonist Waldo shows his absurd condition. This study has been conducted by using a qualitative method to observe the text of the novel through the lens of existentialist philosophy. The research exhibits the absurd and stressed life of Waldo. His thoughts, language, need for love, revenge in mind, helplessness and mortality explore the element of absurdity. Zee’s attraction towards Eddie by abandoning his husband and Waldo's actions to keep an eye on his wife and her lover portrays the existentialist struggles of the characters of Kureishi's novel.