Camus Vs Kafka

Views of the Society

“By definition, a government has no conscience. Sometimes it has a policy, but nothing more” -Albert Camus (Citation). In The Trial by Franz Kafka and The Stranger by Albert Camus both authors illustrate their views on society. The authors use a unifying agent, a court trial, to illustrate their views. Franz Kafka uses the trial to show the absurdity he sees in the world. On the other hand, Albert Camus uses the court trial to focus on the views of existential. Their views of society also relate to the circumstances and thoughts of their characters. While both characters are judged by a court trial they have different experiences with the justice system along with different opinions along the way. Both novelists express

He shows himself to be unemotional, impulsive, and indifferent to his actions and the world around him. His indifference is prevalent from the opening line, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know “(Camus 3). Meursault has little sympathy for his mother’s death and it seems like he does not even realize it has occurred. He also does not understand why the man cries at his mother’s funeral. Meursault thinks it is perfectly normal for him to take no notice to the death. After the funeral he says, “my joy when the bus entered the nest of lights that was Algiers and I knew I was going to go to bed and sleep for twelve hours” (Camus 18). Meursault is happy to go home and sleep and does not even mourn his mother’s death. He is more interested in getting sleep on his day off than taking note of the death of his mother. In his relationship with Marie, he shows little love or adoration. “she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” (Camus 35). To him the idea of love is pointless it does not have a meaning. He always seems distanced from others emotionally. “In The Stranger we find it is our failed sense of solidarity that creates doubt——delivered by Meursault’s interaction. This particular type of (existential) doubt brings with it the more complex sensation of strangeness; where expected reactions based on tradition and norms are unsettled” (Curzon-Hobson 464). Ω It is hard to relate to Meursault in the beginning, but after he kills a man the task grows harder. After firing the first shot he, “fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without a trace” (Camus 59). He is willing to take someone’s life and then continues to shoot them after. People who feel guilt for their killings do not fire multiple times especially with a pause in between. This gives the audience an apathetic feeling towards his actions. It is obvious that Meursault is guilty of the