Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 - July 2, 1961) is one of the most widely read American novelist of the 19th century, whose works have been variously interpreted. His fiction was influenced by different sociological, political and psychological trends of the time. The adventures of his personal life inspired some of the fascinating stories in his fiction. A Farewell to Arms projects the concept of individual struggle in the face of stiff resistance. His protagonist helplessly strives to define his existence; he, however, miserably fails in his struggle for actualizing his existence. But ultimately, he learns the secret of a meaningful existence. This study traces these elements of existentialist philosophy and examines its influence on the art of Hemingway. Although his views are also influenced and modified by the trends of the time, the influence of existentialist philosophy is vividly visible in all his writings. The paper analyzes the major works of Hemingway, particularly his famous novel A Farewell to Arms, in the light of existentialism. It specifically focuses on the rise and fall of the hero and heroine in the novel when they try to define their existence in this free and void world.

The philosophical stance about the existence of being and the meaning of life has been a widely discussed subject among philosophers and critics. Existentialism says that a man can construct his own meaning of life by making judicious use of his awareness, free wills and personal responsibilities, but absurdism believes that there is no meaning of life out there. The focus of this study is to explore the absurdist and existential aspects in Kafka's fiction The Metamorphosis (1915) and The Trial (1925). This is qualitative comparative research, and the data which have been collected for this purpose is through purposive sampling techniques. In this study, Camus' theory of absurdism and theory of existentialism has been adopted as a theoretical framework. The study explores in what ways the traces of absurdism and existentialism are present in Kafka's fiction The Metamorphosis and The Trial. The findings show that characteristics of absurdism and existentialism are found in both the works of Kafka and are comparable with each other. For future recommendations, a comparative stylistic analysis of these selected novels can be carried out.

Adrienne Rich's poem "Diving into the Wreck" displays a symbolic journey towards self-discovery, identity, and history. The poem is usually interpreted through the feminist or poststructuralist approaches, nevertheless, this study claims that the poem's existential aspects have not been taken into consideration. By the application of Sartrean concepts of freedom, alienation, and the search for meaning to the text, the critical gap will be filled by this research. A qualitative methodology based on the textual analysis of language, form, and imagery is used, and the analysis sees the dive as an intense journey of self-discovery. The narrator’s striving to investigate the wreck corresponds with Sartre’s dictum that “existence precedes essence” and manifests the need to create one's own meaning in a neutral universe. This research further supports the scholarly readings of Rich's works by bringing to the fore its existential aspect.