Self as Other in Walker Percy's The Second Coming

Walker Percy, who describes in his novels the modern malaise of the twentieth century that causes an undefinable anxiety for the individual, examines what it means for the individual to exist. The problematization of the individuals' sense of self, who question the meaning of life, forms the focal point in Percy's novels. The author discusses the individual's self-alienation and his/her life in a never-ending, desperate journey on the path towards meaning. However, the author departs from the tenets of Soren Kierkegaard's views here and takes a stance closer to Martin Heidegger's point of view. Percy not only problematizes the "existence" and "selfhood" concepts but questions his relation with language as well. In this respect, the journey of the modern individual towards meaning is examined at the intersection of language, selfhood and existence in this study.