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Existentialism As Reflected In The Imagery Of William Styron's Work, Sally Yates Wood

Master's Theses

In Lie Down in Darkness, The Long March and Set This House on Fire. William Styron studies the modern condition of man and his world. Styron describes this situation according to an existential definition of existence. The world of his novels is depicted as a lonely and bleak realm where man finds no external means of support. As a result of these conditions, man flounders aimlessly. The reason for this erratic behavior is that man relies too heavily on finding guidance from the outside world. Styron contends that man will continue to stumble so miserably, until he realizes that he …