An Existentialist Interpretation of Charles Mungoshi's Literary Works

This study makes an existentialist interpretation of Charles Mungoshi’s selected works of art. The stories, which were selected on the basis of their concerns, were subjected to content analysis which established that characters in the works exude general and all-pervasive feelings which leave them anxious and despairing, in conformity with existentialism, where human beings are said to be free to make decisions in an indifferent world and the decisions they make are not without stress, anxiety and anguish. But their dilemma is that they have to accept responsibility for the choices they make and those that they do not make. Characters attempt to assert their individual philosophies but are vulnerable to the absurd world. The project also unearths the gloomy side of life in Mungoshi’s works which in turn mirrors the uncertainty shrouding man’s search for peace and tranquility in a world dominated by imperialism and autocracy, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Euro-Asia.