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The Stranger Figurative Language Essay

1019 Words5 Pages

Nowadays we see different portrayals of violence in media, which are written by different reporters. This is also true for novels, as different authors use certain literary features in order to deliver their intended message about violence. “The stranger” consists of many acts of violence, which are reported by a detached and emotionless main character, Meursault. In “The stranger”, by Albert Camus, the author has portrayed violence in this particular style in order to provide an absurdist and meaningless view of life. Camus has shown this theme by using an isolated character, an objective tone and figurative language.
Camus has chosen a character like Meursault as the protagonist, because it suits the theme so well. As the original title of …show more content…

The narrator has described the situations in great detail and has created a vivid picture in the reader´s mind. Meursault often describes things that are surrounding the event rather than focussing on the actual event. For example, when Meursault was pointing the gun at the Arab on the beach, he describes vividly how the light from the blade flashed into his eyes and how the sweat that gathered on his eyebrows rushed into his eyes. He then pulled the trigger and the Arab was dead. Later, when Meursault was asked in the court why he killed the Arab, he said that it was “because of the sun”. This shows that Meursault killed the Arab for n reason and without any forethought. A series of small things resulted in killing the Arab and these seemingly indifferent things are distilled down into the tiniest details by Meursault. In addition, the sun can be seen as a metaphor to the society, as Meursault feels uncomfortable under the influence of both the sun and the society. You cannot escape the heat of the sun, just like you cannot escape the legal system of the society. Camus is also implying it was the society that forced Meursault to kill the Arab. Meursault´s indifference towards the society was caused by society’s ignorance towards him. Camus´s use of figurative language has helped to deliver the theme and the reader to visualise the experiences that Meursault have

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