The Stranger By Albert Camus: A Literary Analysis

“There is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point… The truly adult view, by contrast, is that our life is as meaningful, as full and as wonderful as we choose to make it” (Dawkins). This quote goes along the lines of existentialism and the idea that life is what you make of it, those who are adults, or more mature view it that way according to the quote. This also has to do with the idea of the human condition, and that everyone is subjective. For example everyone can look at the same thing in a different way, and we see what we want to see. Existentialism is defined as the complex philosophy emphasizing the absurdity of reality and the human responsibility to make

Choice and commitment is a very prominent existential principle throughout The Stranger. Humans have the freedom to choose, and their choices create his or her own nature. In order to accept this you must face the fact that there will be risk and responsibility that comes along with it. Meursault made many choices that changed his life, right from the beginning of the book Meursault chooses not to cry at his mother's funeral, and ultimately remain emotionless. Another choice that Meursault made, was to kill the Arab. “My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave; I felt the smooth underside of the butt; and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at the same time, is where it all started.” (The Stranger, Page 59). Meursault made the choice to shoot the Arab, and blamed his actions on the heat. The heat was a common theme throughout The Stranger, and caused Meursault to do a lot of the things he did. This quote shows choice and commitment because it was his choice to shot the gun, and he knew that he was going to have to face the consequences after he did that. Similar to Camus’ life, he made choices in life and had to face the consequences. The lesson the reader can take away from this, is that you are solely responsible for your actions, and you must

Just like in The Stranger, these two existential principles appeared in Kafka’s Metamorphosis. One theme that is seen a lot throughout The Metamorphosis, is the disconnect between the mind and body. After the metamorphosis Gregor was physically changed, but his mind stayed unchanged, which caused him to think he could do more than he actually could. In Metamorphosis , Gregor makes the choice to choose society, and work over himself. The narrator says, “At that time Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair” (The Metamorphosis, Page 25). Although Gregor did not like his job he still wanted to work, to help his family. Even right after the metamorphosis Gregor’s first concern was that he wouldn't be able to go to work, not that he just turned into a bug. This is similar to Kafka’s life because he too did not like his job, but only continued to please his father. The second principle that was prominent in The Metamorphosis, was alienation. Although isolation is not the same as alienation, someone who is isolating themselves is alienating themselves. After the metamorphosis takes place, Gregor is alienation from those around him.