THE FEATURES OF ERNESTO SABATO′S NOVEL “THE TUNNEL” WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF LATIN AMERICAN EXISTENTIALISM

Abstract

The paper presents the features of Ernesto Sabato′s novel “The Tunnel” within the framework of Latin American Existentialism. Ernesto Sabato is an Argentine writer, painter and physicist. Ernesto Sabato won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature and became very influential in the literary world throughout Latin America. Sabato’s oeuvre includes three novels: “The Tunnel” (1948), “On Heroes and Tombs” (1961) and “Abaddón the Exterminator” (1974). The “Tunel” is a psychological novel about a painter, Juan Pablo Castel, and his obsession with a woman. The story’s title refers to the symbol for Castel’s emotional and physical isolation from society, which becomes increasingly apparent as Castel proceeds to tell from his jail cell the series of events that enabled him to murder the only person capable of understanding him.