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Analysis of the stranger by albert camus
Essays on camus the stranger
Essays on camus the stranger
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Conformity in Camus' The Stranger (The Outsider)
Camus' novel The Stranger presents the character of Meursault who, after killing an Arab, is sentenced to death. This conflict portrays the stark contrast between the morals of society and Meursault's evident lack of them; he is condemned to death, less for the Arab's murder, than for refusing to conform to society's standards.
Meursault is an anomaly in society; he cannot relate directly to others because he does not live as they do. Meursault is simplistic, even detached; he speaks of his mother's death without regret for her loss, merely stating: "Maman died today." He goes on to mention that perhaps it was yesterday - he is not sure which. He cannot abide by the same moral confines as the rest of the world because he does not grasp them; he is largely indifferent to events occurring around him. Meursault's entire being is sensuous, yet unemotional. He derives a certain level of pleasure from eating and drinking, smoking cigarettes, sitting on his balcony to watch passersby. He likes to wash his hands, especially at work in the morning, when the roller towel is dry. He likes sex. When Marie leaves, he lies in bed and tries to get the salty smell of her hair from the pillow. Yet all these things are tactile; Meursault derives physical satisfaction from them, but there is no emotion attached.
This is in direct contrast to society, whose strict guidelines focusing on right and wrong depend on the individual's sense of these concepts. Meursault is perfectly capable of analyzing the situation, but not of responding to it as society wishes him to. Life or death, and anything in between, makes no difference to him. The nurse at his mother's funeral had warned him that if h...
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...re is no inherent meaning in life - its entire value lies in living itself. Meursault feels he has been happy, and longs to live. When he must die, he wants a crowd to greet him "with cries of hate"; they are screaming because they want life and the world to have meaning; they need this because that is what their entire existence is built upon. As the magistrate asked of Meursault, "Do you want my life to be meaningless?" Meursault understands how estranged the individual truly is from society. Until the conclusion, he was a stranger to himself as well as to the rest of the world. In the end, he opens himself "to the gentle indifference of the world," and "finding it so much like myself, - like a brother really," feels he has been happy, and is again. Society finds this unacceptable, and by refusing to conform to its face-value standards, Meursault must die.
The reality in which Meursault inhabits describes a realistic world in all its accounts, from themes as natural as death to petty jealousy and the judicial system which corresponds perfectly with the first sentence of t...
5. Rediker, Marcus. 2004. Villains of all nations: Atlantic pirates in the golden age. London [u.a.]: Verso.
Meursault is a fairly average individual who is distinctive more in his apathy and passive pessimism than in anything else. He rarely talks because he generally has nothing to say, and he does what is requested of him because he feels that resisting commands is more of a bother than it is worth. Meursault never did anything notable or distinctive in his life: a fact which makes the events of the book all the more intriguing.
Little is known about the infamous Blackbeard's early life; in fact, the first documentations of him are not recorded until the early 1700s, long after his childhood. Yet with so little knowledge of him, he is arguably regarded as the most notorious pirate in history due to his fearsome personality, distinguished look, daring acts of piracy, and stalwart death.
Jones, Taylor. "General George S Patton." General George S Patton. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
Kelley’s (1998) analysis of forgiveness explains that there are three ways that individuals forgive: directly, indirectly, and conditionally. Direct forgiveness, i.e. “I forgive you,” is most often employed within a direct discussion about the transgression at hand. Indirect forgiveness occurs when the forgiver acts in such a way that implies forgiveness without explicitly sta...
Albert Camus states that “In our society any man who doesn’t cry at his mother’s funeral is liable to be condemned to death” (Camus, 18). In the book The Outsider, Meursault defies local convention by not showing the sadness that is expected of him at his mother’s funeral. Ultimately, his life is dependant on this very decision of whether or not to show emotion. In the society that Meursault lives in, one is expected to conform to their standards and social norms. Anyone who deviates from these norms is considered an outcast and destined to die at the hands of society. Meursault was expected to show outwards signs of grief whether it was real or not. Even if the grief is artificial, most people will play to the audience and show signs of grief to minimize the risk of losing their life. Meursault’s was conflicted between following society’s rules and being true to himself. The nurse at his mother's funeral warned him that “if yougo slowly, you risk getting sun-stroke. But if you go too fast, you perspire and then in the church you catch a chill. She was right. There was no way out” (Camus, 22). The nurse’s admonition is consistent with his internal struggle. To Meursault, walking too fast is similar to conforming to society and walking too slow means following his own path. There is no middle ground to the situation, no happy median and no suitable compromise. Meursault faces the challenge of whether or not to conform on three main levels; physical, emotional and spiritual. He has the constant battle between following his physical self; his id, and doing what is right. Meursault also has to decide whether or not to be true to his emotions and decide if lying during his trial is a suitable course of action. Finally h...
Criminal profiling has become a very popular and controversial topic. Profiling is used in many different ways to identify a suspect or offender in a criminal investigation. “Criminal profiling is the process of using behavioral and scientific evidence left at a crime scene to make inferences about the offender, including inferences about personality characteristics and psychopathology” (Torres, Boccaccini, & Miller, 2006, p. 51). “The science of profiling rests on two foundation blocks, basic forensic science and empirical behavioral research. Forensic science includes blood spatter analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and autopsy evidence. Empirical behavioral research identifies offender typologies, relates crime behaviors to suspect identifiers, and determines base rates” (Cook & Hinman, 1999, p. 239). Criminal profiling is the main subject of many books, television shows, and movies for entertainment purposes, which is why it is typically more fiction than fact. I think that this could be a logical reason as to why criminal profiling is so widely used and why it is largely misunderstood and misinterpreted. Movies and television shows portray criminal profiling as 100% accurate and widely accepted. Profiling is typically shown in cases that involve violent crimes such as murder and rape. Contrary to popular belief, criminal profiling is applied to every type of crime not just murder (Bartol & Bartol, 2012). Most of the studies conducted about criminal profiling focus of those of violent criminals (Cook & Hinman, 1999). With that said, criminal profiling of serial killers has intrigued people more than any other investigative technique. I believe this is because people find murderers more interesting than thieves. The entertai...
Many people attempt to find purpose of their own life through God, blind to the absurdness of life and the universe. In the beginning of the novel, Meursault does not display any emotions when his mother dies because death has no underlying meaning to him. After killing the Arab man and spending months in prison, he realizes that life has no purpose and is meaningless, which contrasts with the beliefs of society and the teachings of religion. But it’s not until after Meursault’s encounter with the chaplain that he embraces his death as a bond that connects him with society. Meursault is emptied of hope and calmly awaits his execution, no longer viewing himself as a stranger to society.
American’s health-care system is in turmoil. According to Bradley and Taylor (2013), “we spend nearly twice what other industrialized countries spend on health-care” (para.2). See figure 1;
...according to him, a man who is morally guilty of killing his mother severs himself from society in the same way as a man who raises a murderous hand against the father who begat him.” This quote is telling how society input their feelings and ideas onto Meursault. The persecutor compares Meursault emotionless and lack on remorse for his killing the same as a person killing their own father. Society believes Meursault as an emotionless killer or a stranger to society’s morality, Meursault then can’t explain why he couldn’t feel any emotion, drives, or thoughts of remorse for his murder. Lastly, when the chaplain visits Meursault against his wishes, this scene showed how society expects everyone to ask for forgiveness from god when near death. Meursault then thinks it is absurd and refused to believe in him because he says it’s ridiculous and there’s no time at all.
Every character that revolves around Meursault seems to be in direct contrast to him. Meursault is an amoral person who does not seem to care passionately about anything. He acts in accordance with physical desires. In other words, Meursault is a sensualist person. At this particular time in his life, his path crosses with his neighbor, Raymond, who feels as though his girlfriend is cheating on him. He decides to take revenge with minor aid form Meursault. Meursault helps him only because he thinks he has nothing to lose if he does. As things lead into one another, the first major violent act of the book is committed.
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude.” Martin Luther King. The concept of forgiveness comes easily to some people but hard for others. It is a choice that every human being is faced with in one’s lifetime. Forgiveness is a deep-rooted emotion that controls the process of forgiving or being forgiven. Forgiveness requires compassion and a caring heart; it is truly a selfless act. There are many views and effects when discussing the topic of forgiveness, some of these include, the religious views as well as the positive and negative effects of forgiveness.
Meursault is distant from set plans, ambitions, desires, love, and emotions in general. He has a difficult time with emotions such as regret and compassion. The reader sees the nature of his personality in the first few lines of the novel: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know." When he hears of the death of his mother through a telegram, he is unattached, and can be considered uncaring.
As Zack has done research on forgiveness as well, he states, “…studies show people unwilling to extend forgiveness to someone who has done them harm will often withdraw from social relationships and tend to experience deep loneliness,” (Carter, 2017). Along with that, for one to still have hurt and negative feelings, can add to stress, which has a huge impact on our bodies physically and emotionally. The stress of unforgiving feelings can take tolls on the body, leading to health problems that shouldn’t be around, and also can slow down the process to moving on with life. But when one can forgive, going through with the process, “…extending forgiveness was essential to personal healing,” (Carter, 2017). The process of forgiving, comes with the ability to walk away knowing, one’s self will heal in time. No more harboring negative