Garth St. Omer's Existential Parlance

Purpose of the Study: Garth St. Omer, a contemporary Caribbean author of novellas, develops many themes in his fiction that maybe found in fictional and philosophical writings by Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and other French existentialists. \ud This study ;s an attempt to trace and delineate some of \ud the themes, motifs, and aesthetic techniques common to \ud both St. Omer and the French existentialists. \ud Procedure: In this investigation, a close reading of the works of Garth St. Omer, Albert Camus, and other French Existentialists, has been conducted. In addition, criticism of St. Omer's works and volumes devoted to genre and style have been consulted. A final assimilation, comparison, and integration of these texts has been carried out in an attempt to construct an itinerary of St. Omer's thought. \ud Findings: The particular novella genre developed by Garth St. Omer, as well as his concentrated prose, sets his writings apart from those of the French existentialists. The aesthetic techniques combined with the philosophical themes implicit in his stories give rise to types of alienation and existential experience unique to St. Omer's characters. \ud Conclusions: The parallels that exist between the writings of St. Omer and the French existentialists cannot be relegated to mimesis. For a deep reading of St. Omer's fiction shows that his themes are not variations of Camus's and Sartre's themes (as some critics argue), but rather extensions of a vision that St. Omer and these other artists shared; the central hypothesis being that Garth St. Omer is as independent of Camus and Sartre as he is indebted to them