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Analysis of the stranger by albert camus
Camus the stranger literary criticism
Essays on albert camus the stranger
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Not many people can say they have won a huge award, except for this author who won a nobel prize for a novel he wrote himself. The Stranger, by Albert Camus, with the genre of philosophical fiction is a very important book. Being published in 1942 was very influential. This novel shows that the world is a devoid of all rational meaning. In 1957, Camus was given the Nobel Prize for Literature because of his “important literary production, which was clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times,” stated by the Nobel Prize Committee. Showing the great author Camus is. This book does a great job of displaying the realities of violence to the audience and how intense things can actually get. Meursault …show more content…
The first time they met these group of guys, they were fighting at each other, but nothing serious happened. As Meursault went back to the beach for another walk to get away from everything, he met along one of the guys. They were going back and forth when he pulled out a knife on Meursault who then pulled out his gun. He explains, “Every nerve in my body was a steel spring, and my grip closed on the revolver. The trigger gave, and the smooth underbelly of the butt jogged my palm” (76). Him doing this also relates back to the thesis. He killed someone and didn’t even feel any regret or anything and he didn’t even know him. Showing the level of violence in this book it reaches. In this novel, the author writes about a lot of violence and after reading this book, there are many examples to support that. Meursault's neighbor shows that by beating his dog and yelling at it all the time. Raymond also shows this because he beats his girlfriend, trying to teach her a lesson. Lastly, Meursault support’s this because he shot someone and didn’t even mean to or even care. This novel is very important because it shows what some people actually think and do and most people could never imagine doing the things they have done, which is why Albert Camus was awarded with the Nobel Prize for
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.
In The Stranger, Albert Camus describes the life of the protagonist, Meursault, through life changing events. The passage chosen illustrates Meursault’s view during his time in prison for killing the Arab. In prison, one can see the shifts in Meursault’s character and the acceptance of this new lifestyle. Camus manipulates diction to indicate the changes in Meursault caused by time thinking of memories in prison and realization of his pointless life. Because Camus published this book at the beginning of World War II, people at this time period also questions life and death similar to how Meursault does.
In the novel, we are given a more complete view of Meursault. The story is told from his point-of-view, which allows us to understand the situation as Meursault perceives it. Looking at the situation in this light, we can see Meursault as not evil, but simply indifferent and detached from life. He doesn’t attempt to get wrapped up in emotion or relationships, he just takes things as they come, doing whatever is easiest for him. He becomes friends with Raymond and agrees to marry Marie simply because he doesn’t have a very good reason not to. Seeing the story from Meursault’s viewpoint, we understand that even killing the Arab wasn’t an act of malice or evil intent. As Meursault puts it, “My nature is such that my physical needs often get in the way of my feelings.” With this in context, things begin to make more sense. Meursault’s seemingly cryptic statement that he murdered the Arab “because of the sun” can be taken as truth. Meursault does things that society judges as wrong not because he is evil or wants to appear immoral, but because the sun and heat, symbols for Meursault’s emotional state, cause him to become uncomfortable and act “inappropriately.
Chapter 6 of part I of The Stranger concluded with Meursault’s conscious decision to shoot an Arab because of the physical discomfort the Arab’s knife caused him. The significance of the ending of part I is that it was the first demonstration of Meursault’s awareness of the possible consequences of the act that he committed. This awareness continues into the second part of the novel as he is arrested and trialed. The reason for Meursault’s trial is the murder of the Arab. His insensitivity towards Maman’s death and lack of a social conscientious are factors that contributed to support further investigations, but are not reasons to trial him because they have not ‘harmed’ society on a way that he could be arrested for. For example, if Meursault
This passage is set before Meursault’s execution with the chaplain entering the scene, and telling Meursault that his “heart is blind”, leading to Meursault to yell and delve into his rant, and moment of consciousness. The passage has a calm in the beginning as if Meursault catches his breath from yelling previously, and he starts to reassure himself that he is not wrong for expressing his views as it went against the public’s religious beliefs, and states that this moment was so important to him that it was if his life was merely leading up to it. Why this particular scene is important to Meursault is that this is an instance where he successfully detaches himself from the world, and begins to deconstruct the world’s ideals as his rant shifts on to focusing on how nothing in life mattered. Meursault describes his gripes with the chaplain’s words as he explains his reasoning as to why the concept of a god is flawed as Meursault saw that everyone was inherently the same, with equal privileges just how often people could express them separated them. The passage continues with Meursault arguing that everyone would be faced with judgment or punishment one day, and explains why his own situation was not significant as it was no different. After that explanation the passage ends with Meursault posing the concept of everything in the world being equal both in wrongdoing and life in general, evident in his example of saying “Sala¬mano's dog was worth just as much as his wife.” Although the passage shows Meursault challenging the ethics and morals that the world around him follows, it does have instances like the end in which we see that the rant is still expression of Meursault's complex emotions, as it is unclear whether it is fear or a...
In many works of literature a character conquers great obstacles to achieve a worthy goal. Sometimes the obstacles are personal impediment, at other times it consists of the attitude and beliefs of others. In the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, shows the character Meursault who is an emotionless character that let’s other people show their opinions and emotions into him giving him a type of feeling even if Meursault doesn’t care. Meursault contains occasion of his emotional indifference between his friends and social indifference. This essay will be about the character’s struggle contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
opinion on existential nihilism. Existential nihilism is the philosophy that life has no intrinsic meaning, and rejects all religious and moral conformity. The main character meursault, displays all of these traits throughout the book. Camus gives the reader an alternative outlook on the life and how there is no right or wrong way of living because in the end, whether that be sooner or later everyone is going to have the same end fate. Camus demonstrated his belief of existential nihilism through the external and internal
Albert Camus is a skillful writer noted for showing aspects of culture and society through the depiction of his characters. In The Stranger, Camus illustrates the existentialism culture and how that comes into play in the life of the protagonist Meursault. The Stranger, as suggested by the title, is a novel revolving around the protagonist, Meursault, who is a stranger to the French-Algerian society as he challenges its values. Camus vividly portrays Meursault’s journey through the use of imagery, irony, and symbolism. In The Stranger, Albert Camus uses the minor character, Raymond Sintes, to illustrate the contrasting nature of Meursault and how his friendship with Raymond leads to his downfall.
... his mother and the idea of God which is again supported by his close relationships. Those relationships are with people who don’t believe in a higher being or who show no true morals. Camus accommodates white with many objects and people, yet purposely excludes Meursault and refers to him as dark. All of these techniques show Meursault as a nonreligious man with potential to harm without remorse. This leads up to his interaction with light where he feels uncomfortable just as he does with God. Meursault’s history and personality lead up to the murder of the Arab, the distraction of the light, and in the end, accusing God, “the light”, for his criminal behavior. Human nature needs moral standards or the world would be as corrupt as Meursault’s life.
While coming to terms with the absurd was a gradual process for Meursault, his final days and his heated conversation with the chaplain, and his desire for a hateful crowd of spectators show that he was able to accept the absurdity, and revel in it, finding satisfaction in spite of those around him and justifying his murder. His ego had reached an all-time high as he neared his execution, and his satisfaction left him prepared for the nothingness awaiting him. This process was a natural psychological response to his mortality, for his peace of mind. Therefore, Meursault is not the Stranger, an alien to society, but a troubled man seeking meaning and satisfaction in a life and a world that was overwhelming unsatisfactory and absurd.
Use of Stylistic Devices in The Stranger & nbsp; In his novel The Stranger, Albert Camus uses the stylistic devices of imagery and diction to develop the intensity of the physical action and to illustrate the lack of emotion in the last paragraph of Part I. Imagery of all kinds is abundant in this passage as Meursault, the main character, pays great attention to and describes in detail the beach environment that surrounds him. Visual imagery is present as he conveys the intense heat by telling how it seemed as though the sky had cracked open and was raining flame, and by personifying the ocean, recounting how it breathed blistering hot air onto the beach. Auditory imagery is employed when Meursault speaks of the cymbals of the sun clashing and describes the four shots fired as “four quick knocks on the door of unhappiness.” Imagery of a tactile nature is used in Meursault’s depicting the effects of the light reflecting off of the Arab’s knife on him, its “searing” his eyelashes and “gouging” his eyeballs.
I, Albert Camus, am a famous French author who wrote The Stranger in 1942. I was born in Algeria, and my experiences there have deeply influenced my thoughts, my work, and my philosophies. The Stranger strongly represents my philosophy of the absurd and existentialism. When I was twenty-five, I moved to France and joined the resistance movement during World War II. After the liberation from Nazi Germany, I became a political journalist and a columnist for Combat, a French newspaper.
...immediately gives an impression of a lack of emotion towards the demise of his mother. This lack of emotion highlights the existentialist ideal that we all die, so it doesn't matter what life we have while we are alive. We simply exist, as did Meursault. It becomes apparent, as the novella unfolds, that Meursault has acquired an animal like indifference towards society. His interactions with his neighbour Raymond are an example of his indifferences. It never dawns upon Meursault that society does not condone his interactions with the pimp, avoided by his community. Meursault simply acts to fill his time. Being a single man, he has a lot of time to fill, and finds the weekends passing particularly slowly.
Sometimes reading fiction not only makes us pleasure but also brings many knowledge about history and philosophy of life. ‘The Guest’ by the French writer Albert Camus is a short story and reflects the political situation in French North Africa in 1950s. According to this story, we know the issues between the France and the Arab in Algeria, and the protagonist, Daru, refuses to take sides in the colonial conflict in Algeria. This is not a boring story, because Camus uses a suspenseful way to show the character, conflicts and symbol and irony.
Camus writes in a simple, direct, and uncomplicated style. The choice of language serves well to convey the thoughts of Meursault. The story is told in the first person and traces the development of the narrator's attitude toward himself and the rest of the world. Through this sort of simple grammatical structure, Camus gives the reader the opportunity to become part of the awareness of Meursault. In Part I, what Meursault decides to mention are just concrete facts. He describes objects and people, but makes no attempt to analyze them. Since he makes no effort to analyze things around him, that job is given to the reader. The reader therefore creates his own meaning for Meursault's actions. When he is forced to confront his past and reflect on his experiences, he attempts to understand the reasons for existence. At first, Meursault makes references to his inability to understand what's happening around him, but often what he tells us seems the result of his own indifference or detachment. He is frequently inattentive to his surroundings. His mind wanders in the middle of conversations. Rarely does he make judgments or express opinions about what he or other characters are doing. Meursault walks through life largely unaware of the effect of his actions on others.