The Rebel by Albert Camus

Would it be true that capital punishment saves lives? Edward Koch, in his article “Death and Justice” believes it does. Koch, using common techniques to influence his audience, suggests that killers should be handled within this tried and avenged form of punishment. Koch opens his article by quoting convicted murderers Robert Lee Willie and Joseph Carl Shaw, both in the last moments of their lives pleading for the justice system to put a stop to the endless cycle of killing. Using simple logic, Koch argues that the sudden changing of the killers’ moral character is not a result of remorse for the victims, but rather an attempt to save their own lives from the killing hands of the justice system. Koch effectively uses these quotes to suggest to the reader that a killer might have thought twice about his/her own actions if the death sentence were a belief.

In the short story "The Guest" by Albert Camus, Daru's predicament goes hand in hand with France's difficulties and Camus' self-appreciation. In the short story “The Guest” we are introduced to see Daru’s concern to attend the political situation in the French North

“We demand of a deterrent not whether it is just but whether it will deter. We demand of a cure not whether it is just but whether it succeeds. Thus when we cease to consider what the criminal deserves and consider only what will cure him or deter others, we have tacitly removed him from the sphere of justice altogether; instead of a person, a subject of rights, we now have a mere object, a patient, a ‘case’.” C.S. Lewis

For a society that is greatly influenced by Crime Scene Investigation, Criminal Minds and Bones, a confession of the offender is seen as an ultimate checkmate of the case because it implies the guilt of the confessor. Thus, a confession, especially the ones with detailed account and perfect representation of emotions (Leo, 2008), outweighs the evidences of innocence and stirs the case against the accused (Kassin & Wrightsman, 1985). People believe that they are open-minded about the possibility of false confession but in reality, the public, law enforcers and justice officials have biases that often infer guilt to the suspect instead of investigating for the truth, which leads to wrongful conviction. According to Leo and Drizin (2004), false confession is the primary cause of law miscarriage (Leo and Drizzin, 2004). False confessors lived many years in jail before being exonerated while others remain imprisoned (Leo and Drizzin, 2004).

Camus published “L'Etranger” or “The Stranger” during World War II, and it became one of his most discussed works in Europe (Rhein). The popularity of Camus’ work can be attributed to the overall feelings in Europe brought by the havoc of war that had left the lands marred. Many people throughout Europe were hurt by the war and began to question the point of life amidst such destruction. This resonates with the modern audience as well because “The Stranger” continues to play on themes that can be seen in the horrifying occurrences that fill the media today (Rhein). Many atrocities allow a modern audience to relate to the events of WWII, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Haitian earthquake, which leave many questioning

The American Revolution may be one of the most impactful and famous (at least to Americans) events in history, leading to the creation of the world’s current superpower. It is no wonder that the event has inspired many artists, resulting in many pieces of work on the topic even centuries after the event. The book Rise to Rebellion, by Jeff Shaara, is one of those pieces, portraying the events leading to the revolution through the eyes of key people from both sides of the war. Unlike many novels about the revolution, Rise to Rebellion, does not deliberately take a side or attempt to criticize any faction. Furthermore, Shaara has no message or main idea the his audience can take from the book. Instead, the main focus of the book is to “[allow]

As readers, we see how the analysis of conflictive themes has been taking over literature scenarios. When reading between the lines of certain books we can perceive themes such as conformity and rebellion. Mostly these themes can be seen in writings from times of social upheaval. According to The Oxford Dictionary, the word conformity means “behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards”, while rebellion means “the action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention.” These terms create a constant battle among societies. A certain amount of conformity needs to exist in life in order to avoid disorder. This is the reason society has laws, rules and expectations. Literature represents life, and these themes can be found at the root of many literary works. Conformity can also be considered as silence. This silence is based on the restrictions of real feelings and thoughts in some literary pieces. During the sixteenth century, the emphasis on conformity was at its height. Works of literature from this time period have often reflected a fascination and frustration with this particular characteristic. People do not want to be restricted in terms of expressing opinions and developing certain activities. When facing oppression, denial of their freedom, they rebel, and that contributes to the part of the process of change in society. Not all kinds of rebellions are rationally fundamental, but when they are, it can transform society for the

To judge is to irreparably arbitrate; the judged seldom find recourse if an error lies in the judge’s logic. In criminal proceedings, the courts judge alleged criminals and deliver verdicts. A frequently encountered issue is determining guilt. Critics of the de facto court system cite moral culpability as an ideal that the courts fail to attain. Priding its moral superiority, the United States surprisingly lacks some of the basic rights to justice afforded to others elsewhere. America purports to have a duty to serve justice, yet the justice system provides little leeway to those whose crimes are not their fault. This notion of unfulfilled justice appears in In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. When Dick and Perry commit murder, the circumstances are such that Perry cannot be entirely accountable for the actions he took. Perry bears no responsibility for the crimes he committed; storied psychological illnesses and pitfalls compromised his sense of right and wrong, rendering him incapable of intervening in his planned crime with Dick.

Our current ideology on crime and justice dates back to thousands of years back. This paper will compare and contrast our system and sense of crime and justice with the society Malinowski describes in “The Law in Breach and the Restoration of Order”. In our modern era, it is acceptable to think Hammurabi code is ideal to pursue crime and justice or Cesare Beccaria’s approach towards the pursue of justice is best for the society. To each to its own when it comes to this based on their own values. But regardless of how extreme, or mild our societies thought can be to sought after justice for crimes, the ultimate purpose of all of it to teach a lesson to the individual who committed the crime and to others.

With rebellion comes a need for independence, we need act like ourselves no matter what society thinks. I define rebellion as a fight for individualism and the action of going against society. Shakespeare and Kesey show the themes in their novels just waiting to be picked up the reader. In “One Flew Over the

Many of the stories that have been told for centuries, or have recently been created, incorporate the story of a young innocent character who embarks on a journey and becomes a hero, known as The Hero’s Journey; a series of steps that all heroes follow. This journey not only shows the main character becoming a hero but also shows the hero move along a path similar to that of adolescence, the path between childhood and maturity. The Hero’s Journey was created by a man by the name of Joseph Campbell. He wrote a book called The Hero with One Thousand Faces, a novel containing a variety of stories that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey. One famous creation that follows The Hero’s Journey is the science fiction

In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault the protagonist, becomes drawn into a “senseless” murder that has to face the absurdity of life and because of his actions, Meursault is presented as a danger due to his lack of “morality” to society. Meursault who is not able to take control of his life but respond to what life offers him believes in the simplicity of life. He tries to understand the living through logic and objectivity, which ultimately turns futile, as he himself cannot maintain proper control over his thoughts and emotions. From the interactions between Marie, to the murder of the Arab, and the meeting with the Chaplain, Meursault overcomes his indifferent views to form an opinion about what life really means. The central theme presented by Camus is how the threat of mortality becomes a catalyst for understanding the significance of life.

This essay will be comparing the competing ideologies of two key thinkers in criminology; Cesare

This paper is on the Classical School theory that emerged in the eighteenth century; two writes of this period were Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. Among the major ideas that descend from this theory are the concepts of humans as free-willed, rational beings, utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number), civil rights and due process of law, rules of evidence and testimony, determinate sentencing, and deterrence. The writes during this period examined not only human nature but also social conditions as well. The Classical School, gave us a humanistic conception of how law and criminal justice system should be constructed. Law was to protect the rights of both society and individual, and its chief purpose was to deter criminal behavior, the law emphasized moral responsibility and the duty of citizens to consider full the consequences of behavior before they acted. This thinking required humans possessing free will and a rations nature.

Albert Camus was a French-Algerian writer, who made an enterprising contribution to a wide range of issues in moral philosophy. Camus was a moralist as well as a political theoretician and stood in high public esteem not only in France but also all over Europe after World War Ⅱ. Albert Camus spent a dismal childhood with poverty and bereavement of his father’s death. In his school years, Camus became an avid reader, developing a lifelong interest in literature as well as profoundly opened his eyes to philosophy. Therefore, Camus principally dealt with philosophy themes in his work. In this short biography of Albert Camus, we will explore his philosophy of absurdism and its effect on Camus’s morality. Besides, the reader will be examining Camus’s influences on existentialism.