On the existential elements in Kafka with respect to existentialism

This thesis is designed to approach Franz Kafka from a philosophical and therefore holistic perspective. Kafka's works are generally examined in context of the concept of "alienation", as a result, a limited perspective is given to him. Could it be more productive to evaluate Kafka's works in terms of Philosophy of Existence and concepts that are the mainstay of existentialism? When we approach Kafka's life and works from a holistic point of view, could Kafka's works carry more existential elements than the concept of "alienation" which is one of the concepts of existentialism? Kafka's concept of "alienation" discussed with limited perspectives is the problem that this study hopes to solve. Therefore, the field of study that the subject of this thesis focus on is Philosophy of Existence. From a philosophical point of view, when approached with a philosophical point of view to Kafka, not only the concept of "alienation", but also many concepts - being, time, nothingness, death, ejection, solitude / loneliness, betweenness, oppressive, anxiety, fear, choice, being the essence of existentialism, freedom, absurdity, hope that are the essence of existentialism, are manifested in the works of Kafka, albeit implicitly. Although it is not right to make Kafka exactly correspond to with his works, it is not possible to think of him completely apart from his own works. In his works, it is seen that Kafka is in an effort with the characters who are trying to find themselves and looking for the meaning of life where they were sent. While Pascal, Kierkegaard and Heidegger put this effort into an integrated philosophical system, Kafka makes this effort through literature. In this study, first the concept of "being" and therefore "nothingness" will be examined together with other concepts that are visible in the light of these concepts. In this context, it is going to be tried to understand "human" which includes all of these concepts in its own existence structure. Because, as Levinas puts it, "human existence is such that it understands being". The works of the philosophers who put forward decisive ideas about the subject such as Pascal, Kierkegaard and Heidegger will be included in this examination and comprehension process. Then, it will be revealed how all other concepts appearing in the interest of being and nothingness appear in the existential sense in Kafka. Determinations of how existential elements in Kafka are expressed will be questioned based on his masterpieces, stories and letters, and will be studied based on existentialism.