...“The Outsider” is essentially an illustration of Camus’ absurdist world view. The novel tells the story of an emotionally detached, amoral young man named Meursault. In Camus’ opinion there is no ultimate, sense-giving meaning in the world, man must think and act independently. He personifies this view in making Meursault a complete outsider to society. Meursault is shown to be far more interested in the physical aspects of the world around him than in its social or emotional aspects. His attention is focused on his on body, on his physical relationship with Marie, on the weather, and on other physical details of his surroundings. The heat during the funeral procession causes Meursault far more pain that the thought of burying his mother, “with the whole landscape flooded in sunshine and shimmering in the heat, it was inhospitable and depressing.” Enivitably we judge him as heartless and unfeeling, but following Camus’ philosophy, death was a certainty for his mother so Meursault has no reason to grieve. To him the funeral was an everyday event like any other. Similarly, the heat of the sun on the beach torments Meursault, and during his trial he says the sun caused him to kill the Arab. The style of Meursault’s narration also shows his interest in the physical. He gives terse, plain descriptions without mentioning his emotional feelings and his descriptions become more vivid and ornate when he discusses topics such as nature and weather. Meursault, in the opening line...
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...Quicklet on Albert Camus' The Stranger. * * There are five main themes in The Stranger: 1. Alienation. Camus establishes Meursault as an outsider early on in the narrative. The first few pages of the book show Meursault at his mother’s funeral. Meursault watches people and events with no particular connection -- he is distant, feels out of place, feels nervous as he thinks people are staring at him. He does not exhibit any particular sadness at his mother’s death. As the story develops we notice how he comprehends facts but not feelings. He spends more time fixated on trivial physical characteristics than he does on emotional content. He is polite, and passive, but lacks empathy. He is like this throughout the narrative; his character doesn’t really evolve. 2. Time and circumstance. Camus uses some subtle literary tricks to get the reader to imagine that random events strung together are fateful. Meursault’s mother dies, he sees a movie with his girlfriend, he’s walking up a flight of stairs and a neighbor invites him to dinner, a man’s dog goes missing. In between unrelated events like these Camus weaves a simple story about a man who makes the fatal mistake of getting involved with a small-time gangster and ends up murdering someone almost by accident. Camus’ narrative brings the random events full circle as Meursault is convicted for being cold-hearted. In other words, the story reads like a car crash on a highway. All the drivers had some reason to...
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...novel The Stranger (Outsider) the author attempts to demonstrate his philosophy of the world with the protagonist, Meursault. The society described in the novel, much like our own, has varies overwhelming influences from the media and the society towards the general public. This statement may seem paradoxical, but it is one of the vital factors in the protagonist, Meursault’s, development and realization of Camus’s philosophy, existentialism. Furthermore, it is this influence from others that separates Meursault from others and truly defines him as an outsider to society. The novel begins with an interesting event where the antagonist, Meursault’s mother dies. Then as the story goes on Meursalt continues on a romantic appointment with a women the very next day. From these events the readers find them under the impression that Meursault is someone that shows very little emotion and is very detached from the world around him. Later we find out that this is not entirely true. Although it is not stressed often, it is revealed in varies situations that Meursault does have emotions and show them very honestly. The author in some cases even purposely avoids mentioning Meursault’s emotion upon situations as in the first sentence of the book “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” (P1)This gives a very strong impression that he cares little for his mother. However, later in as in the book “I wanted to see mother right away.” This quote explains that Meursault does care fore...
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...The Outsider – Albert Camus Albert Camus presents ideas of identity and the human condition in his classic novel The Outsider, through his exploration of gender and cultural representations as well as an insight into absurdum and existentialism. These concepts of identity and the human condition reflect on the society in which the novella has been set, demonstrating how women, those of other cultures and those who are considered to be different are represented. The novella tells a recollection of events of a young man named Meursault, emotionally detached from a society where he refuses to conform to society’s conventions and in turn a refusal to ‘play the game’. The novella begins with the death of Meursault’s mother and ends with his own, his execution for the guiltless murder of an Arab man. Meursault’s refusal to play the game and willingness to live by his own set of rules is what has him condemned in the end. In the patriarchal society known to the characters of The Outsider by Albert Camus, gender ideologies are explored. In the novella, men are represented as the dominant, powerful gender while women are represented as weak and undermined. It is through the character of Meursault’s girlfriend Marie, that the idea of gender identity is revealed. When Meursault is arrested for the murder of the Arab man, Marie is called to court as a witness to the crime, as well as been questioned for her own character. At the court case, instead of Marie being asked for her recollection...
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...judged negatively and consequently, feel alienated. Both Keating and Meursault are strangers in a society that wants to dictate their expected behaviour and actions. Society seeks to imprison their individual freedom. Meursault is indifferent and passive to this conventional life that is not worth living. He refuses to be anything but himself, regardless of the price he must pay. In contrast, Keating responds to such a society by actively and passionately trying to make a difference by nurturing each person to be free to reach his or her potential and essence. Society seeks to chain these two free individuals into conforming to ways that stifle their individuality and freedom, but the key lies in their choice of response in dealing with such a society, regardless of its negative judgement. Both Keating and Meursault distinguish themselves from the masses that seek to chain their spirit. Meursault is an outsider who feels very removed from his surroundings. His reactions are very different from the conventional norms and society judges him negatively. The prosecutor describes him as a man “whose heart is so empty that it forms a chasm which threatens to engulf society” (The Outsider, 98). Meursault shows no emotion at his mother’s funeral. He is indifferent to the idea of marriage to Marie, to the possibility of a job position in Paris, as well as to his verdict of the death penalty. Meursault is judged to be an anti-Christ because he chooses not to believe in God...
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...in 1942, Albert Camus’ The Outsider addresses the constrictive nature of society and what happens when an individual tries to break free from the conformity forced upon him by staying true to himself, and following his own ideal of absolute truth and sincerity in every action. Propelled more by the philosophy of existentialism and the notion of the absurd than plot and characters, Camus’ novel raises many questions about life, and answers them in a final chilling climax. The plot of The Outsider revolves around a central act of unmeditated violence on a beach, proving that “the darkest moments can happen in the brightest sunlight”. Meursault, Camus’ protagonist, leads a simple life working as an office clerk in Algiers. He lives as a bachelor, who, as we learn from the first paragraph, has just lost his mother and is preparing to leave for the seaside town of Morengo where she lived in an old-people’s home. The rest of the first section of the novel reads as a diary of Meursault’s life until he murders an Arab whilst away for the weekend with some friends. Part Two deals with the time after Meursault’s arrest for the crime, including his court case in which he is condemned more for not grieving at his mother’s funeral than the actual count of homicide brought against him. It has been said that the plot takes a secondary role in The Outsider to Camus’ expression of his views on existentialism and the absurd. In the character of Meursault, Camus tells the story of a “man...
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...The Stranger follows the narration of Meursault a detach man who is on trial for killing a man. indifferent to others view of the world he rather have a different approach to life. The book mainly centers around Meursault and his attitude at his mother's funeral and it is his attitude that digs him into deeper trouble for his crime, because society seems to quickly label him a stranger to the society due to his views on morals and he is condemned to accept his death because he is an outsider. "Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal", Albert Camus makes great social commentary throughout his novel by showing the effect of society when they come into the hand of Meursault, who doesn't exactly follow...
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...Meursault Meursault is psychologically detached from the world around him. Events that would be very significant for most people, such as a marriage proposal or a parent’s death, do not matter to him, at least not on a sentimental level. He simply does not care that his mother is dead, or that Marie loves him. Meursault is also honest, which means that he does not think of hiding his lack of feeling by shedding false tears over his mother’s death. In displaying his indifference, Meursault implicitly challenges society’s accepted moral standards, which dictate that one should grieve over death. Because Meursault does not grieve, society sees him as an outsider, a threat, even a monster. At his trial, the fact that he had no reaction to his mother’s death damages his reputation far more than his taking of another person’s life. Meursault is neither moral nor immoral. Rather, he is amoral—he simply does not make the distinction between good and bad in his own mind. When Raymond asks him to write a letter that will help Raymond torment his mistress, Meursault indifferently agrees because he “didn’t have any reason not to.” He does not place any value judgment on his act, and writes the letter mainly because he has the time and the ability to do so. At the novel’s outset, Meursault’s indifference seems to apply solely to his understanding of himself. Aside from his atheism, Meursault makes few assumptions about the nature of the world around him. However, his thinking begins...
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...In the novels The Outsider and Lullabies for Little Criminals, the two protagonist characters; Meursault and Baby, are both tied up in diverse atmospheres and are both dealing with different situations that link them both towards certain aspects and views on life. The authors of both novels make it clear that both Meursault and Baby have a deceased a mother; however, it becomes evident that the both of them feel differently about the absence of a mother figure within their lives. In The Outsider, Meursault’s view on life is very peculiar; he hardly reacts to things that most people would go over the top about. Whereas, in Lullabies for Little Criminals, Baby’s view on life in more generally open and childlike due to her youthful naiveté that...
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... in this novel the reader will find that Meursault is oblivious to the absurd that Camus has falsified, but nonetheless Meursault is affected by the absurd. Camus explores this theme in order to explicate the importance of certain existential realities throughout his novel. For example, Meursault is always seeking logic in an illogical world; in addition, he sees no meaning in any of his interactions or relationships with the...
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...Mersault is a character who only responds to his instant sensual needs. He responds to heat, to the sun, to the sea, to sexual desire but is indifferent to any social event. He expresses no sorrow at his mother’s funeral. He admits they had no close relationship and that he did not know his father. When Raymond invited him over and asked to be his friend Meursault said yes because he had no reason to say no. He was indifferent about writing the letter, he was indifferent about getting married and the list goes on. Meursault is the character that goes with the flow and lives in the now. He doesn’t find himself submitting to any of society’s so-called ‘truths’. He doesn’t believe in marriage, doesn’t feel like one has to pretend to be sad when their mother dies etc. This makes him different than everybody else, it makes him a stranger. Alienating Mersault as a stranger is a tool Camus successfully uses to reveal the hypocrisy of society. Alienating him allows the readers to distance themselves from other characters rather than identify with them: That way we are better able to study and criticize our subjects as outsiders too, thus allowing us to think outside of the box. From that perspective, we see a bunch of ‘specialized’ people whether the lawyers, the judge or the priest all thinking they know the absolute truth but none of them really knows anything. This method thus allows Camus to reveal to, or remind his readers that all truths in the world are man-made. The alienation...
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...Meaning and Existentialism in My Life - Existentialism is a phiosophy which revolves around the central belief that we create ourselves. External factors are not important. It is the way that we let external factors affect us that determines who we are. As individuals we all have the freedom to choose our own path and that is what life is all about. Along with the freedom of choice comes the responsibilty of one's actions which can make some people anxious but give others meaning to their lives. To overcome this anxiousness and accept responsibilty is to meet the challenges of life and to truly live it.... [tags: Existentialism, ] 675 words (1.9 pages) $14.95 [preview] Understanding Existentialism - Do we matter. Do we seek personal happiness in life. These are questions from existentialism. The dictionary defines existentialism as an individual’s experience filled with isolation in a hostile universe where a human being attempts to find true self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility. Hamlet is an existentialist character who believes that he is forced to avenge his father’s death and the hatred builds in his heart because of the many betrayals which direct him towards a senseless life and constant thoughts about suicide; this ultimately leads to his demise and he is left with naught.... [tags: Existentialism] 872 words (2.5 pages) $14.95 [preview] Life Value vs. Existentialism in Grendel - A main theme in John Gardner’s Grendel...
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...The Concept of the Outsider Literature often persecutes the most vulnerable, a person who lacks support and therefore power within society. Described by Terry Eagleton for The Guardian as the “literary mainstream”; these characters are often referred to as the Outsider due to their exclusion from the community in which the text is set. The characters who are referred to as Outsiders can be portrayed in different ways; their initial exclusion from society can ultimately lead to a narrative of their acquisition of power throughout the text but similarly, can portray a story of their maintenance of the minimal power they have over the course of the text’s plot. However, this is not to argue that some Outsiders presented within literature do not have power over the course of the development of the text so, as a consequence, remain excluded from the society. In this case, the text would then be considered an exposition of the character’s experience from their position in society rather than the author’s attempt of trying to integrate their character into society through their work. Furthermore, the author themselves may be considered an Outsider through their own status in society; they command their readers to be Outsiders themselves within the novel. As well as to read and observe the narrative in order to emulate the same feeling within themselves, within the reader or to have a specific impact on the issues surrounding humanity at the time. The contrast in the ways in which...
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...Specimen Papers and Mark Schemes for English Literature For first AS Examination in 2009 For first A2 Examination in 2010 Subject Code: 5110 Contents Specimen Papers Assessment Unit AS 2 Assessment Unit A2 1 Resource Booklet Assessment Unit A2 2 1 3 9 15 25 Mark Schemes Assessment Unit AS 2 Assessment Unit A2 1 Assessment Unit A2 2 29 31 61 95 Subject Code QAN QAN 5110 500/2493/0 500/2421/8 A CCEA Publication © 2007 Further copies of this publication may be downloaded from www.ccea.org.uk Specimen Papers 1 2 ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY (AS) General Certificate of Education 2009 English Literature Assessment Unit AS 2 assessing The Study of Poetry Written after 1800 and the Study of Prose 1800-1945 SPECIMEN PAPER TIME 2 hours INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Write your Centre number and Candidate Number on the Answer Booklet provided. Answer two questions. Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B. Section A is open book. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES The total mark for this paper is 120. All questions carry equal marks, ie 60 marks for each question. Quality of written communication will be assessed in all questions. 3 Section A: The Study of Poetry Written after 1800 Answer one question on your chosen pairing of poets. Heaney: Opened Ground Montague: New Selected Poems 1 John Montague and Seamus Heaney both write about the Irish past. Compare and contrast the two poets’...
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