Existentialism in Crime and Punishment and The Invisible ManThe works of Dostoevsky and Ellison are both obvious existentialist novels, but they exist on two different levels of existentialism. In Invisible Man the invisible narrator must deal with the enemy of a chaotic and prejudiced world that surrounds him. In contrast, Roskolnokov, in Crime and Punishment, is his own enemy and struggles with his two separate identities. One who feels superior to ordinary men and the other who is kind, caring and sensitive towards those around him. Existentialists are responsible for their own actions and destiny. As the outside world influences their lives, these characters inevitably choose their own destinies; which are all quite different. The Invisible Man is a novel that transports the reader through a vortex of surrealism. The narrator finds himself on a twisting rollercoaster of events, which further confuses his opinion of himself. Like Crime and Punishment, The Invisible Man is a novel that takes the main character through events that define the character's form of being. The narrator is pulled into many different identities and by making each one false he gets closer to his true self. Almost simultaneously he becomes a preacher and has an affair with a married woman. Falsifying these identities brings him one step closer to finding himself. The reaction the narrator has to different events also establishes his position in life, his destiny. Many times in The Invisible Man the narrator suffers undeserved punishment and continues his life. When Dr. Bledsoe finds out about him and Mr. Norton's little trip, even though the narrator doesn't know it yet, he is corrected by being expelled from college. Wh...... middle of paper...... has through the love of Sonia and the love of Christ. By confessing his crime and serving his sentence he is ultimately redeemed. Existentialism is evident in the lives of the characters. Each of them goes through trials and struggles to find their true self. The Invisible Man didn't like what he found and decided to become a hermit. Roskolnikov found himself through Christianity and the love of another person. And in doing so she became a better person. Each of these works addresses existentialism in different aspects and each is a search for the true self. Works cited: Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and punishment. Tr. The Coulson. WW-Norton & Company. New York-London, 1989. Ellison, Ralph. The invisible man. Vintage International Edition, New York. 1990.O'Malley, Robert. New essays on the invisible man. Cambridge University Press, New York. 1988.