ernity before and after, and the littlespace I fill, and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of space of which I amignorant, and which knows me not, I am frightened, and am astonished at being hererather than there, why now rather than then {6}." In the 20th century, the novels of the Austrian Jewish writer Franz Kafka,such as The Trial and The Castle, present isolated men confronting vast, elusive,menacing bureaucracies{1}. Kafka's themes of anxiety, guilt, and solitude reflect theinfluence of Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky, and Nietzsche. The influence of Nietzsche isalso discernible in the novels of the French writers Andr Malraux and in the plays ofSartre. The work of the French writer Albert Camus is usually associated withexistentialism because of the prominence in it of such themes as the apparentabsurdity and futility of life, the indifference of the universe, and the necessity ofengagement in a just cause{1}. Existentialist themes are also reflected in the theaterof the absurd {1}, notably in the plays of Samuel Beckett and Eugne Ionesco. In theUnited States, the thought can be found in the novels of Walker Percy and JohnUpdike, and vainfluence of existentialism on literature has been more indirect anddiffuse, but traces of Kierkegaard's existentialist themes are apparent in the work ofsuch diverse writers as Mailer Norman , John Barth, and Arthur Miller{3}.Ever since the introduction of existentialism it has played a very important rolein the way people think. It may seem depressing and almost pointless at times, but that iswhat makes it so inturging. Existentalism can been seen in books, plays, and moviesalike. Some of the greatest minds in history were existentialist. ...
