Existentialism in the Selected Creative Works of Adam Reta
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2010-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Adam Reta, who has been writing for the last quarter of the century, has published
a novel and three collections of short stories and novellas. Nevertheless, the critical
attention given to his works was very insignificant. The author’s relationship with
existentialism, however, is much stronger and conspicuous. Thus, the study aims
at discussing the tenets of existentialism found in the creative works of Adam
Reta, which eventually gear up to elucidate his overall existentialist philosophical
thinking as the term existentialism applies to a bunch of philosophers, whose
philosophical views reveal their differences rather than their similarities. To this
end, the philosophy of existentialism and its concepts are employed to analyze the
selected works of the author; his novel, Giracha Kachiloch, and six other narratives
from his anthologies. The researcher has also employed descriptive and textual
criticisms as methods. From the analyses and interpretations made, the writer of
this study found out that the characteristic tenets of existentialism are shared by
Adam Reta; but with his own differences in relation to the philosophy of the
proponents of existentialism. Absurdity, alienation, freedom of choice and
responsibility, authenticity and inauthenticity, death and repetition are among the
major ones. Thus, Adam Reta is found to be a literary existentialist, who achieves
in turning his philosophical ideas into symbols and myths, which greatly add up
to the aesthetic value of his works.
Description
Keywords
Works of Adam Reta