EXISTENTIAL ALIENATION AND THE IDENTITY CRISIS IN BHUTTO’S THE RUNAWAYS

Abstract

This study analyze the theme of existential alienation and identity crisis in The Runaways (2019)by Fatima Bhutto in the light of the philosophical work of Jean-Paul Sartre, specifically Being and Nothingness (1943), and Existentialism Is a Humanism (1946).It argues that the protagonists of the text like Sunny, Monty and Layla embody Sartre’s notion that “existence precedes essence” by their identities not being determined by cultural or social factors but being rather formed through contingent decisions within displacement and moral ambiguity. Their social marginalization, cultural estrangement and even psychological fragmentation indicates a profound ontological insecurity which is central to Sartre’s existentialism. Moreover, the radicalization, emotional isolation and ideological seduction which the novel depicts, bring to life some major existential ideas like nothingness, bad faith, anguish, and the weight of freedom. All these factors underscore the conflict between self-creation and self-deception and finally, the instability of identity in a globalized modern world where there is spiritual dislocation.