Metamorphosis And The Stranger

Consequently, Meursault was put in jail and given a lawyer, but before given a lawyer he states how “I admitted I hadn’t hired an attorney and inquired whether it was really necessary to have one” which explains how indifferent this situation was to him (Camus 36). While if he felt any sadness the day Maman died, Meursault answers with “I probably did love Maman, but that didn’t mean anything” therefore upsetting his lawyer because his answer was too truthful (Camus 65). After that answer it was apparent that his lawyer was upset and even asks Meursault if “he held back his natural feeling” which Meursault said no too, making the lawyer seem disgusted with Monsieur Meursault. This little dispute made Meursault conclude that “I made him feel uncomfortable” which isn’t unusual with Meursault and his way of communicating with others (Camus 66). After Meursault’s trial for cold blooded murder, he is sentenced to an execution, and that is when he realizes he can finally

Monsieur Meursault is an emotionally detached, absurd, protagonist male character who exemplifies his own meaning of justice. Meursault demonstrates several emotionless, indifferent, nonchalant actions throughout this melancholic novel. He lives his life through his senses, rather than logical reasoning, which withdraws him from being apart of societal norms. The drinking and smoking at his mother's funeral, his response to the sun at the beach,

During the trial, conventional morality is satirized. The Public Prosecutor's convoluted logic equates Meursault's lack of emotion of his mother's death to symbolic matricide and even to actual parricide. As foolish and bizarre as this reasoning is perhaps there is a kernel of truth to it. Meursault has neither parents nor children. He is without a past that he cares about, nor

Meursault was introduced as a young man whom recently found out his mother, Maman, died. He was not the most emotional person, but he dealt with his feelings the best he knew how. Meursault lived his life on the verge of truth and honesty. He was honest within every aspect of life, from women to freedom. He was never certain about anything in life ,but one thing he was sure of, death was inevitable. After murdering an Arab, he was on trial in front of many people being interrogated with many questions about why he did what he did, but also to evaluate his psyche about the situation. Unlike others, Meursault did not hide from the truth and that is what others could not cope with. Living his life the way others were afraid to, Meursault was the outcast in his society.

Meursault in the novel is a person who views and describes much of what occurs around him. He is emotionally different to others around him even to his mother and his lover, Marie. He also refuses to follow the accepted moral order of society, “I said that I didn’t believe in God” (116). After Meursault kills the Arab,he goes to jail and is put on trial. However, the true focus of Meursault’s murder trial quickly slides away from the murder itself to the way Meursault believes in his attitudes and beliefs. Meursault’s lack of emotional grief at his mother’s funeral act for a serious challenge to the morals and beliefs of the society in which he lives.

Meursault fully accepts his fate and understands his situation. In a truly absurdist fashion he rationalizes his position where no meaning can be found. He was condemned by his society because he was seen as a stranger. In the beginning Meursault is listening for footsteps, thinking of escape, what he will do after and what he should have done before. However, talking to the priest aggravates him with the talk of God and divine justice, when it is human justice that condemns him. Meursault’s outburst of anger causes him to lose hope in living. Unlike the priest who seems so sure of everything but as a human he cannot, Meursault is sure of himself and in the truth, as he always has been. (He is sure in the truth that he is going to die) In this

At vigil, one of Maman’s friend starts crying. When Meursault sees this, he “wished [he] didn’t have to listen to her anymore. But [he] didn’t dare say anything” (10). Meursault’s grieving towards Maman is so little that he is distracted and irritated by a woman who is in mourning. In addition, he takes no response to calm the woman or to think back about Maman. This situation illustrates two of Meursault’s shortcomings: his lack of remorse, and the inability to take action following the little sentiment he has. Despite his insensitiveness throughout most of his life, he experiences change when he starts yelling at the chaplain. He notes that “something inside me snapped. I started yelling” (120). His howling towards the chaplain shows intense frustration as he makes the “cries of anger and cries of joy” (120). He recognizes that he is experiencing pure anger and joy, not a mild feeling of annoyance or satisfaction. This shift in his behavior shows that he is finally capable of having and expressing strong

Jean-Paul Sartre once said, “we do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are — that is the fact.” Everyday is another chance to feel free to change and create yourself. Existentialism is a complex philosophy emphasizing the absurdity of reality and the human responsibility to make choices and accept consequences. In The Stranger by Albert Camus and “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka both authors develop their characters and use novel progression through heat and change to present principles of Existentialism such as isolation and alienation. The characters in the stories both end up in a world of nothingness due to the actions that occur in their lives. Every individual is solely what they make of themselves and how they

Meursault has no reason for his actions, including his inability to feign remorse at his mother’s funeral, his insensitivity and killing the Arab. Meursault’s indifference to his life implies that one is born, one is going to die, and one will no longer have any importance if he previously had any importance at all. Meursault’s indifference to his life was highlighted when he tells the Chaplin that he didn’t need anybody’s help and says, “ I just didn’t have the time to interest myself in what didn’t interest me” (117). Meursault was offered soul cleansing, catharsis, through having faith in order to help him through the execution process. However, Meursault rejects the help and is dehumanized by the Chaplin when he implies that he doesn’t care about the value of his life and the world, because the world is meaningless and everyone eventually dies. The implication of indifference contributed to Meursault’s dehumanization by the

In The Stranger by Albert Camus. Meursault does not feel any great sadness over his mother's death, yet everyone in the novel seems to try to justify his actions. Why doesn’t Meursault feel any type of sadness or remorse for this mother's death? He seems to not have any kind of feelings or nothing for his mother's when she was alive if he did, he would not have been more remorseful for her death. Meursault acts as though he was not close to his mother's and like he didn’t want to attend her funeral. His friends also seem to back him up by defending him in saying reasons why he shows no feelings or sadness for his mother's death, they say “that’s his way of showing how he feels everyone shows how they feel in different ways”.

Kafka certainly starts the novella off strong by explaining the situation Gregor is randomly put into. The ridiculousness of the circumstance is enough to hook the reader into the story. Gregor is transformed into a giant insect, but dismisses it as him being tired. The first part is quite enjoyable as the reader has the suspense of his family and boss seeing Gregor’s new appearance and the humor of Gregor saying that he will be leaving for work soon while getting accustomed to his new body. The amount of work Gregor put into explaining that he will be leaving for work soon is ironic as well since the reader later finds out that his speech is incomprehensible to humans. However, one must wonder how Gregor planned to go to work as a giant insect to begin with. Even when he fully realized he actually transformed into a giant insect,

In the beginning of the novel, Meursault gets a telegram that says that his mother has died. When he attends his mother’s funeral, Meursault may be viewed as annoyed, or doesn't want to be there at all. “Then I felt like having a smoke. But I hesitated, because I didn’t know if I could do it in front of Maman right there. I thought about it; it didn’t matter” (Camus 8), this shows the reader that Meursault at some point did care about his mother, but gave up because he knew she was dead. Meursault at this point shows that he doesn’t care what people think about him, and that he would just continue living a normal life after this, nothing will change his perspective.

In several ways, both The Metamorphosis’ and the Stranger’s main characters have similar aspects. Although their similarities are very easy to spot, these two characters have significant differences that one can’t fail to notice. In addition to the similarities and differences between the characters, both stories introduce the philosophy known as existentialism.

Meursault is a way different from your average human. Through his actions, many can tell that he has some sort of antisocial personality disorder, since he shows no empathy towards his friends and family members. We can see multiple examples of this in the book. The first example is when he attends his mother's wake and funeral. He seems very disconnected from the situation at the time. When he says that he had the feeling that the others were there judging him, he is partially right. They were not there to judge him but rather to say their condolences. Even though they were doing that, they were judging him too. They did so because he didn’t seem to care, which he didn't because he couldn't feel the emotion that normal people would. They judged his lack of sadness, judged this “stranger” that sits before them without grief for his and their loss. Later in the story, during his trial, we see that he is very at ease while he is testifying his plea for murder. To the jury and the judge, he seems to have no remorse for his actions and feelings.

Meursault’s lack of emotion almost immediately contrasts him from the rest of society; when Meursault spends time with Marie the day after her mother’s funeral, Camus writes, “I told her Maman had died. She wanted to know how long ago, so I said, ‘Yesterday.’ She gave a little start but didn’t say anything” (20). In the context of the rest of society, Meursault’s unusual sentiments, or lack thereof, set him apart from those around him, leading to the isolation from society that he shares with the quintessential absurdist, who is also excluded from society. Later in the story, when Meursault is being questioned in court by a prosecutor, Camus writes, “He asked if I had felt sadness that day.