From existentialism to nihilism as represented in Joseph's Bengal tiger at the Baghdad zoo

Abstract EN

Rajiv Josesh contemporary American playwright.

His play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was premiered in May 2009 at Kirk Douglas Theatre, Califomia, The play sheds tight on looting crimes committed by American soldiers In Baghdad 2003 after American invasion of Iraq.

It puts into focus an important period in American literature which focuses on the aftermath of events and the war on tenorismL It examines human beings' perception of the world and others dunng hard times.

The aim of this paper is to analyze Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger a' rhe Baghdad Zoo in the light of Jean Paul Sartre's existential concepts.

focusing on characters• eventual nihilist attitude, giving up morals and values.

The play tries to put into focus war bewilderment which encourages the characters to search for salvation in an absurd world.

drawing attention to the effect of the war on Iraqis and American soldiers' lives.

and suggesting that human world is as cruel as animal world.