Watakushi Shosetsu by Osamu Dazai and the nihilistic-existentialist antisociality of the alter ego

Abstract

This article examines No Longer Human (2018) by Osamu Dazai through the lens of the existentialist antisociality present in the construction of his literary alter ego. The study proposes an analysis of how Dazai uses the novel as a reflection of his own existential condition, exploring the alienation and psychological suffering of his protagonist as manifestations of a desire for disconnection from society. Through an existentialist perspective, the work reveals a profound critique of the inability to communicate and the frustration of finding purpose within social conventions, echoing the ideas of Nietzsche, Sartre, Schopenhauer, and Camus on the individual, freedom, and existential suffering. The relationship between author and character is investigated, highlighting the dichotomy between identity and alter ego, and how this separation underscores the internal struggle of the modern subject against social norms and expectations. The article seeks to understand how antisociality, as both a philosophical and literary condition, becomes a reflection of the psychological and existential tensions faced by Dazai, and how these tensions resonate with post-war Japanese literature.