This thesis is aimed at studying the influence of Existentialism on Kenzaburo Oe’s and Chart Kopchitti's literary works, and to analyze the difference between the two authors' concepts of Existentialism. The study reveals that both Oe’s and Chart’s works present the search for authentic existence by rejecting inauthentic existence, which can be considered as self-deception. With the same controlling theme of existentialism and the divergences in the treatment of the theme, the works of each writer can be divided into 3 stages: In the first phase of Oe’s works, the writer perceives existence as the condition of being “confined,” “denied exit,” and “walled in." เท the second period, authentic existence in Oe’s view lies in one’s ability to choose according to one’s own will whereas in the last stage, existence is seen as being in each individual’s responsibility. On the other hand, Chart's perception of existentialism does not appear very clearly in his works of the first stage. His works of the second period, however, fully follow “mainstream” western existentialists in presenting existentialist ideals. At the later phase, Chart’s existentialism has developed into a unique concept which can be called “Buddhist existentialism." The result of the research shows that Oe’s and Chart Kopchitti's works present the theme of the search for authentic existence, or the search for the escape from the world of deception. However, the two writers deal with this theme differently: while Oe’s characters create authentic existence by their own actions, authentic existence in Chart's characters can be seen in their being acted upon.
