Mod World Lit Essay

Daniel Lee

Mod World Lit

Throughout both short stories the nature of life was addressed in the Modern World sense many times. To understand the motifs I thought it was a good idea to understand how each of the authors thought of the world. Existentialism was employed throughout both stories and emphasizes the idea of the nothingness of life and the fear that this idea created, especially in the time period. I thought that this idea created a feeling of living life to the fullest because it doesn’t last forever. I thought this knowing that Meursault believed life was infinite and didn’t matter. The characteristics of his beliefs on a boring life showed readers why life is important and should be cherished.

The motif mentioned above is death.

Right away the death of Meursault’s mother joined with other very random occurrences seem to be everyday occurrences. Once again I noticed the similarities of the two main characters of the book, acting as if all the events in their lives seem to be normal. Meursault views life so simply, despite its irregularity. This can be seen in the quote in which he talks about life, “I said that people never change their lives, that in any case on life was as good as another and that I was not dissatisfied with mine her at all”. He really exerts no emotion towards anything in this life. This simple fact keeps him so alienated from the rest of the characters in the book. To go in deeper with Meursault’s isolation, most of his attention was self created. Others, such as his “fiancee” Marie and neighbor Raymond, wish to associate with him, however, he lacks the fundamental skills required to maintain healthy relationships. His alienation becomes especially noticeable thought his time in prison. At one point, he addresses his views on the world after having killed a man on the beach. He says, “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time,in that night alive with signs and stars I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world”. This also showed major emotional change in the character depicting another motif. This quote also exemplifies how very different he was