Author

Peter Patten

Date of Award

6-1998

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

Supervisor

Alan Bishop

Language

English

Abstract

Samuel Beckett's novel, Watt. represents one of the most significant attempts of a twentieth-century writer to find an artistic form. that can "express the inexpressible" and "enclose nothingness in words." It is a profoundly philosophical novel, examining the existential crisis of meaning confronting modem man and embodying in its form the chaos that Beckett sees as the ultimate reality. This thesis examines the major philosophical and religious themes that are central to Watt, the relationship between the novel's content and form, and explores some of the parallels between Beckett's worldview and that of Taoist philosophy.

McMaster University Library