An existentialist believes an individual’s existence is absurd unless he adds meaning to it through his own actions. In the novels The Stranger and The Metamorphosis, the authors, Albert Camus and Franz Kafka, tell their stories from different perspectives. Using points of view, the authors show their characters’, Mersault and Gregor, alienation to convey the existential concept of authenticity. One becomes authentic when he or she lives their life according to how they define themselves.
Camus and Kafka both use their own points of view to shape their characters. Written in first person, The Stranger presents the world through Mersault’s perspective. Inside his apartment building, Mersault meets a man who he sees as “a little on the short side, with broad shoulders and a nose like a boxer’s” (Camus 28). We view everything in the novel through his eyes, exhibiting how he interprets the world. There is no empathy or understanding about other characters, showing Mersault’s alienation from everyone. Unlike Camus, Kafka wrote The Metamorphosis in third person. However, the writing style allows the reader to see Gregor’s perspective. In the beginning of the novel, Gregor awakens and realizes he has transformed into a bug. He tries to stand up, but then closes his eyes “so as not to have to see his squirming legs” (Kafka 3). These feelings of disgust become apparent to the reader as they illustrate Gregor’s emotions. Later in the novel, “Gregor the insect is having fun” (Goldfarb 1). He crawls around his apartment and climbs on the walls and ceilings. All of these emotions are expressed through third person; however, the author’s illustration shows them through the character’s perspective.
This use of points of view unve...
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...ter this occurs, he thinks about how he will get to work. Gregor thinks to himself, “Oh God, what a grueling job” (Kafka 3). This shows that becoming a bug was no surprise to him, seeing how it is the way he thought his parents viewed him all along. However, as the novel continues, Gregor begins to take joy in his new transformation. “He especially enjoyed hanging suspended from the ceiling; it was much better than lying on the floor” (Goldfarb 1). Gregor shows his authenticity when he becomes comfortable with his new lifestyle.
In order to show the concept of authenticity, the authors needed to project their characters’ alienation through point of view. Although using different point of views, they both accomplished demonstrating this concept. Albert Camus succeeded by using his first person point of view, while Franz Kafka used his third person point of view.
Originally released in French, The Stranger by Albert Camus (published in 1942) follows the story of Meursault whom is a French man living in Algeria prior to the 2nd World War and gives his own unique perspective of the events between when he receives a telegram stating that his mother had recently pass away to when he is executed for the murder of a man only referred to as “The Arab” whom he had shot. Meursault had an interesting outlook on life and it is unclear why he feels the way he does but his tone is constantly detached, plain, and at times subtly ironic. That is the key reason this book is referred to as a panicle example of existentialism and also corresponds with the quote;
“What sorts of excuses people had used on that first morning to get unable to ascertain. Since he was not comprehensible, nobody, not even his sister, thought that he might be able to understand others.” (Kafka, 154) He is the humanoid beetle that doesn't fit in with the rest of the Samsa family. This is where the misunderstood part begins to take place. Gregor is bewildered in the fact that he fell asleep human and woke up as a bug. His family tends to think that it is not even him, and misunderstands how he could have turned into a bug. Things are not the same, because nobody can comprehend what has happened and why. One reason Gregor is so misunderstood, revolves around a feeling of hate. Gregor is the one who did the work to pay for his family. The father was lazy, and the mother has bad asthma. Gregor payed all the bills. Once he can no longer work, his family may think that he did not want to pay the bills, therefore, they pushed him away as if he was never there. Also important, near the end of the story, we find out just how little Gregor is cared for. One of the most important parts of this
One morning, Gregor wakes up from his dream to realize he has completely mutated into a bug. Due to this physical change in his life, he phases out different experiences with each of his family members. In which he alienates himself and his family because of his new appearance. In fact, he has a lot of care towards his family. He actually works hard to support them, pay off their debt, and tries to keep them as comfortable as possible.
When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse.
Before the transformation, Gregor was a human form of nonchalant reclusiveness. It’s almost as if it was crucial for him to go through the conversion so he could become more emotionally aware despite the irony of him not even being human but a bug. For someone who has been human for about 20 years with absolutely no experience of being an insect, then suddenly become more humane as a creature is odd and outlandish. Gregor’s care for his family increases and begins to worry about their loss of financial and emotional security. He fears that what “if all the peace, the comfort, the contentment were to come to a horrible end?” Gregor’s attitude towards his transformation is hopelessly mundane: he does not question why he has been transformed into a cockroach. Significantly, he fails to find the horror and the absurdity in the situation. Right before his death, Gregor feels all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings about his family members. Despite his pathetic condition, he seems more humane than the rest of the characters. In a way, Gregor’s transformation and all of the events after that day illustrates both the rewards and sacrifices of defying social convention and living the extraordinary
...able option. Camus’s main character, Meursault, embodies this third option; by accepting his circumstances and being indifferent to them, Meursault is able to break free of all possible causes of anxiety and find happiness. Furthermore, Meursault’s rejection of religion as belief, his acceptance of the “benign indifference of the universe”, and his acceptance of his circumstances all leading to happiness personifies Camus’s take on Absurdism, the philosophy that Camus is trying to depict in The Stranger (76). By using foil characters to contrast Meursault in actions or personality, Camus creates several polarizing situations, making Meursault the extreme epitome of Absurdism in every contrasting relationship and thus, shining light on his ideology in the process.
Often times an author incorporates a thought or philosophy into a work that can shape or reshape the attitude emitted from the novel. In Albert Camus', The Stranger, the Existential philosophy that the author fills into the work give an aura of apathy. With the opening lines of "Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure," Camus immediately sets a tone of indifference (1). Though the protagonist, Mersault, is not completely without cares, the overall attitude of passiveness he has toward himself, as well as toward others, give the entire novel a tone of apathy.
In the novella “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka focuses on the topic of alienation and considers its underlying effect on the human consciousness and self-identity. The alienation Kafka instigates is propagated towards the main character Gregor Samsa, who inevitably transforms into a giant cockroach. The alienation by family relations affects him to the extent that he prioritizes his extensive need to be the family’s provider before his own well-being. This overwhelming need to provide inevitably diminishes Gregor’s ability to be human-like. Kafka also enforces the idea of the ability to resurrect one’s self-identity following psychologically demanding events. In this essay, I utilize Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis to address that alienation, in its various forms, is instrumental in the dehumanization process and can also oppositely induce a restoration of self-identity. The metamorphosis acts as a metaphor to express the inhumane change of state that occurs to a victim of alienation; it also formulates Gregor’s epiphany. He suffers through three forms of alienation: exploitation, violence, and neglect. The joint presence of these three external forces deprives him of a human distinctiveness, but in turn, influences a final realization that enforces the restoration of his self-identity, and therefore human identity.
Gregor as a human loved and would do anything to help his family, even if the same affection was not reciprocated to him. As a bug, he attempted to stay true to his human values, even if he was no longer human. This can be seen in the very beginning of the story, when Gregor was anxious to get to work to support his family, even though he was a bug. But, as the story progresses, Gregor becomes less human and more buglike, as seen in this quote: “‘I hereby declare,’ the middle lodger said, raising his hand and casting his glance both on the mother and the sister, ‘that considering the disgraceful conditions prevailing in this apartment and family,’ with this he spat decisively on the floor, ‘I immediately cancel my room. I will, of course, pay nothing at all for the days which I have lived here;.’
An enigmatic storyteller, Franz Kafka's legacy has long remained the subject of many writings on existential literature. His stories explore themes which are so depressing, and at times seem so futile, as to put off many a reader while entrancing yet another. The most popular of his works, The Trial is no less perplexing than its brethren, and a perfunctory examination leaves the reader distinctly unsatisfied. After all, what is the point of reading a two hundred odd page book about a man on trial if you never find out what he did, or if he's even guilty? It's tempting to suggest that, being an existential piece of literature, the point is that there is no point. However, Kafka's work is so multi-faceted as to provide many other possible interpretations - a myriad of which are of much greater value than such a simplistic analysis. One of the more interesting angles to consider The Trial from consists of recognizing the story as one of Josef's troubled self-identity, and the characters in it as representative of a mental struggle with uncertainty and guilt. Examined in this light, the story ceases to feel so monotonous and dull, and the ending is ultimately less jarring and unexpected.
After Gregor wakes up and realizes that he has been transformed into a bug, he starts to worry about how he will go to work in order to provide for his family. He debates about calling in sick as he thinks ”The chief himself would be sure
Existentialism is defined as "a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will”. In other words, existentialism it emphasizes individual freedom. Throughout The Stranger, the amount of existentialism views is abundant. The use of Mersault’s experiences covey the idea that human life has no meaning except for simple existence. The idea of existentialism in Albert Camus' The Stranger reflects through Mersault's life experiences with his relationship with Marie, the death of his mother Maman, the murdering of the Arab, and Mersault's trial and execution, all these events show that Mersault’s life of no meaning.
In The Stranger, Albert Camus misleadingly portrays his existentialistic views of life, death, and the world. Camus portrays the world as absurd or without purpose Meaursalt, who, as a reflection of Camus, is foreign and indifferent to his own life and death. Meaursalt eventually senses guilt for his crime, not because of the remorse of taking someone else’s life, but because it means he would lose the little things that he considers important in his life. Meaursalt is a puzzling character, who leaves readers to be uncertain about Camus’ views of life.
In Franz Kafka’s short story, Metamorphosis, the idea of existentialism is brought out in a subtle, yet definite way. Existentialism is defined as a belief in which an individual is ultimately in charge of placing meaning into their life, and that life alone is meaningless. They do not believe in any sort of ultimate power and focus much of their attention on concepts such as dread, boredom, freedom and nothingness. This philosophical literary movement emerged in the twentieth-century, when Kafka was establishing his writing style in regards to alienation and distorted anxiety. A mirror to his own personal lifestyle, this story follows the short and sad life of a man unable to break out of the bonds society has placed on him. These bonds are not only evident in the work place, but at home too. Being constantly used and abused while in his human form, Gregor’s lifestyle becomes complicated once he becomes a giant insect and is deemed useless. Conflicts and confusion arise primarily between Gregor and his sister Grete, his parents, and his work. Each of these three relationships has different moral and ethical complications defining them. However, it is important for one to keep in mind that Gregor’s metamorphosis has placed him into a position of opposition, and that he has minimal control over the events to take place. Conflicts will also occur between family members as they struggle with the decision of what to do with Gregor. In the end they all come to the agreement that maintaining his uselessness is slowly draining them and they must get rid of him.
Many comparisons can be inferred between the main character of Gregor and the author himself, Franz Kafka. The Metamorphosis would represent a time in Kafka’s life where he had been through many similar situations as Gregor, but with a fictional spin. A description of Gregor’s mother is provided when the author states that, “She senselessly ran backwards forgetting that behind her stood the table with all the dishes on it; arriving at the table, she (as if she were absent –minded )” (28). The words “senseless”, “forgetting”, and “absent –minded” relate to the character description of Kafka’s own mother Julie who it is said that, “She lacked the intellectual depth to understand her son” (A&E). Kafka’s father Hermann is described as “a forceful tyrant with a temper, and little appreciation for his son’s creativity” (A&E). The father of Gregor is also shown with a terrible temper throughout the book, but especially in chapter two when the book says that “Gregor stood still in terror and further running was useless because the father had decided to bombard him” (48). The two fathers were also compared in the glossary at the back of the book where it says that “He, (Gregor’s father), is imposingly large, as was Kafka’s own father”