Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima

The grotesque and existential concerns are rarely studied alongside each other in the field of literature. History has it that the grotesque has always been associated with aspects which denote negative connotations such as deformity, death, violence or monstrosity. Meanwhile, existentialists str...

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Main Author:	Seach, Jin Beng
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2022
Subjects:	Grotesque in literature
Online Access:	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/99639/1/SEACH%20JIN%20BENG%20-%20IR.pdf
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id	my-upm-ir.99639
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spelling	my-upm-ir.996392023-04-04T07:18:26Z Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima 2022-01 Seach, Jin Beng The grotesque and existential concerns are rarely studied alongside each other in the field of literature. History has it that the grotesque has always been associated with aspects which denote negative connotations such as deformity, death, violence or monstrosity. Meanwhile, existentialists struggle to seek the meaning of life in a world filled with pessimism. The present study concentrates on the grotesque as a mode of representation and a literary tool for fictional characters to react to existential concerns. The grotesque will be analysed alongside four ultimate existential concerns of life, as pointed out by Irvin Yalom: death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness. Textual analysis of four selected texts by Victorian author, Oscar Wilde and Post-war Japanese author Yukio Mishima namely The Canterville Ghost (1891), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1892), Confessions of a Mask (1949) and Forbidden Colours (1951) will be conducted to portray the flexibility of the grotesque as an alternative for the characters in reacting to existential concerns. Grotesque elements including misogyny, pederasty, excess and extravagance, carnivalesque, the grotesque body and narcissism will be studied alongside Yalom’s existential concerns. This will then show how the male protagonists are able to justify their sense of existence by reacting to existential concerns through grotesque-inclined reactions. The findings of this study reveal that the male protagonists from the selected texts have all undergone changes in reacting to existential concerns through their grotesque-inclined reactions. Finally, it also suggests that the grotesque can go beyond its general derogatory meaning and conventional function as a literary tool. It is because it has the ability to serve as an alternative reaction for certain individuals in confronting their existential concerns. Grotesque in literature 2022-01 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/99639/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/99639/1/SEACH%20JIN%20BENG%20-%20IR.pdf text en public doctoral Universiti Putra Malaysia Grotesque in literature Termizi, Arbaayah
institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection	PSAS Institutional Repository
language	English
advisor	Termizi, Arbaayah
topic	Grotesque in literature
spellingShingle	Grotesque in literature Seach, Jin Beng Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima
description	The grotesque and existential concerns are rarely studied alongside each other in the field of literature. History has it that the grotesque has always been associated with aspects which denote negative connotations such as deformity, death, violence or monstrosity. Meanwhile, existentialists struggle to seek the meaning of life in a world filled with pessimism. The present study concentrates on the grotesque as a mode of representation and a literary tool for fictional characters to react to existential concerns. The grotesque will be analysed alongside four ultimate existential concerns of life, as pointed out by Irvin Yalom: death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness. Textual analysis of four selected texts by Victorian author, Oscar Wilde and Post-war Japanese author Yukio Mishima namely The Canterville Ghost (1891), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1892), Confessions of a Mask (1949) and Forbidden Colours (1951) will be conducted to portray the flexibility of the grotesque as an alternative for the characters in reacting to existential concerns. Grotesque elements including misogyny, pederasty, excess and extravagance, carnivalesque, the grotesque body and narcissism will be studied alongside Yalom’s existential concerns. This will then show how the male protagonists are able to justify their sense of existence by reacting to existential concerns through grotesque-inclined reactions. The findings of this study reveal that the male protagonists from the selected texts have all undergone changes in reacting to existential concerns through their grotesque-inclined reactions. Finally, it also suggests that the grotesque can go beyond its general derogatory meaning and conventional function as a literary tool. It is because it has the ability to serve as an alternative reaction for certain individuals in confronting their existential concerns.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Seach, Jin Beng
author_facet	Seach, Jin Beng
author_sort	Seach, Jin Beng
title	Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima
title_short	Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima
title_full	Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima
title_fullStr	Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima
title_full_unstemmed	Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima
title_sort	negotiating irvin yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of oscar wilde and yukio mishima
granting_institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
publishDate	2022
url	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/99639/1/SEACH%20JIN%20BENG%20-%20IR.pdf
_version_	1776100350345871360

Negotiating Irvin Yalom’s existential concerns through the grotesque in selected works of Oscar Wilde and Yukio Mishima

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