Existentialist themes in the characters of Jean Paul Sartre's short stories

This study aims to reveal the reflections of fundamental concepts of existentialist philosophy in literary texts by examining the characters in Jean-Paul Sartre's short story collection Le Mur (The Wall, 1939) from an existentialist perspective. The research addresses how Sartre embodies philosophical concepts such as freedom, responsibility, alienation, nothingness, and the idea of death through the inner worlds of the characters. Within the scope of the study, the descriptive analysis method was employed, and the behaviors, thoughts, and psychological disintegration of the characters in the stories were evaluated from the perspectives of existential psychology and the sociology of literature. The findings indicate that in Sartre's stories, individual freedom is presented as both a possibility and a burden. Through characters such as Pablo Ibbieta, Eve, Hilbert, Lulu, and Fleurier, the internal conflicts, social pressures, and sense of responsibility that humans experience in the process of creating their own existence are scrutinized in detail. While carrying the weight of freedom in their struggle to exist through their own choices, Sartre's protagonists also demonstrate a tendency to escape from this freedom. In this respect, the study demonstrates how human psychology integrates with the philosophical plane in Sartre's literary output. Consequently, the thesis concludes that Sartre's characters must be examined not only at an individual level but also within a social context. The psychological depth of the characters in his works proves how deeply intertwined his philosophical thought is with fundamental questions regarding the human condition. The study aims to re-evaluate, on an existentialist foundation, the analyses Sartre's existentialism offers regarding human freedom, responsibility, and the search for meaning through literature. KEYWORDS: Alienation, Death Awareness, Existentialism, Freedom, Psychological Analysis, Responsibility.