Studying Self-Existence in The Foreigner of Arun Joshi

Abstract

Numerous story subjects are covered by Arun Joshi, including alienation and engagement, east-west encounter and compromise, existentialism and materialism, search and complacency, and existentialism and materialism. In his writings, he creates a mental image of the spiritual suffering experienced by his lone seekers. They are perplexed people wandering the Earth in quest of their ancestors and trying to understand why they are alive. The idea of quest serves as his main overarching topic, and the major emotional experience of Arun Joshi's writing is that of a crisis, according to a thorough analysis of his book The Foreigner. In The Foreigner, which is about Sindi Oberoi's transition from being cut off from the outside world to becoming immersed in it, the author depicts Sindi's anguish as a result of his seclusion and his alleged rootlessness. The novel's main theme is Sindi's transformation from an outsider to a part of the world. Since he was born in a distant nation, Sindi has always felt the need to maintain his separation from the rest of society. Although he is involved with several women at the same time, June is the one who compels him to confront his hypocrisy, cowardice, vanity, and stupidity. His feelings of alienation are exacerbated by the deaths of June and Babu, who also function as a peripetia for him. He decides to find out more about himself by going to India. Sindi experiences many hardships and difficulties on his path to enlightenment, but he feels his soul is being refreshed and cleaned at the end of his trip. He learns the significance of his presence in this world. He knows the detachment theory's true meaning: it does not advocate renunciation, but rather an effort driven by charity, as described in The Gita. The novel's tragic ending is an indictment of Sindi's alienation and his erroneous concept of detachment from his family and friends.