Characters of Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider) and Kafka’s The Trial
The characters of the chaplain, in Albert Camus’ The Outsider, and the priest, in Franz Kafka’s The Trial, are quite similar, and are pivotal to the development of the novel. These characters serve essentially to bring the question of God and religion to probe the existentialist aspects of it, in novels completely devoid of religious context. The main idea visible about these two characters is that they are both the last ones seen by the protagonists, Mearsault and K., both non-believers in the word of the lord. Whereas the chaplain in The Outsider tries to make Mearsault believe in the existence of god, the priest tries to warn and explain to K. what will happen to him. The reason the chaplain is the last one to see Mearsault is becasue it’s his job to let the prisioners have a final shot at redemption before they are executed. The reason that K. meets with the priest is out of advice given to him by someone, and he is the last character that he shows K. interacting with (although it might be true that K. meets and interacts with other people after the meeting, but they are neither mentioned nor visible later on). The priest doesn’t try and make K. confess or anything of the sort, he is mainly there to converse with the character, his religious position is almost put to no use. The existentialist view of religion is that humans have been alienated from god, from each other, and so forth. In the novel Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the christian idea of salvation through suffering is omnipresent throughout the novel. What is visible with The Trial and The Outsider is that they don’t touch on the aspect of religion much throughout the story (The Outsider has bits and pieces of it appearing in his cross examinations but they are used more to mock than in an analitical sense). The presence of these two characters at the end of the novel serves to cover all the existentialist areas known to existemtialists (although it is doubtful whether the authors consciously attempted to make the character’s present because of any existentialist rules they had to follow). The characters are required to structure the novels, beside the obvious existentialist areas.
The books The Outsider and Eight Men were written by Richard Wright. Wright was born on Rucker's plantation near Roxie, Mississippi. He was the first child of Nathan and Ella Wright an illiterate sharecropper and school teacher. Wright’s father and mother were children of slaves. Wright uses the novel The Outsider to explore human reactions to oppression and domination, while mirroring his own feelings of marginality and the alienation from the land and people of his birth. While in Eight Men Wright the themes used reflect Wright’s views toward racism and his fondness towards the struggle of an individual in America. Throughout the novels, Wright uses colloquialism, symbolism and
Before and during the times of the Salem Witch Trials, Puritans who were a god-fearing religious sect, always believed in two worlds. They believed that God controlled both worlds, and that if they displeased him, he would punish the entire community. The Puritans did everything in their control, so that they wouldn’t displease him. They paid attention to things that occurred around them, because they believed that he was sending them signs. At the time, they believed that every terrible thing occurring to them was God showing his displeasure with them. Since the Salem community was ruled by the Puritan Church, they instilled their same beliefs and ideals to everyone else in the community. The people of Salem were all taught and shown to fear
In “The Outsiders” Ponyboy Curtis had never been exposed to the positive aspects, of the oppositional group the Socs. This a major encounter that leads to a strong dynamic change. He only identifies them as having hatred for Pony’s group, the greasers. Ponyboy states, and believes, that they are just the stuck-up rich kids who get “all the breaks” because they drive the fancy cars, and where the expensive clothing. All Ponyboy has ever known is the negative associations with the Socs. As the novel progresses, soon Curtis begins to see the other side of the Socs. He understands that, even as hard as his life seems to be, he knows that Socs have their own problems with the greasers, and other negative affiliations. He gains a strong understanding of these problems after having a conversation with Randy. When Two-Bit demands to know what Pony boy’s conversation was about: “What did ‘Mr. Super-Soc want?” and Ponyboy smoothly responds “He’s not a Soc. He’s just a guy who wanted to talk.” It is this perspective, that forces Pony to realize, that Socs and
In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, interactions between Ponyboy and Cherry, two characters with opposing beliefs, illuminate how if two people have different beliefs, it does not have to stop their friendship, because if people pick their friends based on belief, it can make people who are said to be “different” feel like they’re not good enough. When Cherry and Ponyboy first meet, Cherry tells Ponyboy about what she thinks the difference between being a Soc and a Greaser is, afterwards, she says “‘you greasers have a different set of values [...] I think you're the first person I've gotten through to’” (38). This shows that even though they have different beliefs, she still thinks of him as a trustworthy person, and still wants them
... forces the reader to choose between the happiness of the child, or the happiness of the whole city of Omelas. This is an allegory for the relationship between the wealthy (eg. Developed countries) and poverty (eg. Developing countries). The wealthy, developed countries (Canada, USA) are represented by the people of Omelas, and the poor, developing countries (Sudan, Somalia) are represented by the child. Without the poor, the wealthy would not have the happiness it does. The citizens of the joyful town benefit from the child being so badly treated because without it, they wouldn’t understand how much better their life is than the child’s. “They feel disgust, which they had thought themselves superior to.” (Page 3) There is a price to pay between the happiness for all at the expense of the child, and the happiness of the child at the expense of the happiness for all.
In the play “Twelve Angry men”, the story line presents a variety of perspectives and opinions between twelve very different men. Some are more likely to be pointed out as prejudice, and others are more focused on reaching fair justice. Clearly, it is quite difficult for different people to vote ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ in unity when coming to a fair decision. In all of the twelve jurors, I have chosen Juror 3 and Juror 8 for contrast and comparison. I believe that Juror number 3 is a very opinionated man, with more differences than similarities comparing with Juror number 8.
Whether you’re watching the words, or looking at the big screen, The Outsiders has many differences. The Outsiders is about a gang called the Greasers, who has rivals with the “popular” group, the SOCs. Teenage boys, Ponyboy and Johnny have a fight with the SOCs and kills a boy. Ponyboy and Johnny are forced to go into hiding. Major differences include Dally’s death, the Curtis boy’s relationship, and the hearing for Ponyboy.
Jem becomes very interested in Tom Robinson’s trial, presumably because he looks up to Atticus and wants to be like him, so he takes an interest in something that looms large on Atticus’ horizon. After Mayella Ewell, the white woman who accuses Tom Robinson of raping her, convicts in court, Jem wisely informs Scout and Reverend Skyes that “[they’ve won it. [He does not] see how any jury could convict on what [they] heard ”. Jem clearly does not understand the unfairness of Maycomb’s judicial system and the racism behind it. Evidently, Atticus and Tom Robinson do not win the case, and Jem seems to lose his faith in humanity afterwards. Shocked, he says, “How could they do it, how could they?” (243), and truly does not understand how. Jem takes
Have you ever felt alone or different? What do think about when you hear stranger in the village? When I hear the phrase “Stranger in the Village” I think of someone or something that does not belong or is new in the area. Being a stranger in the village can be scary, uncomfortable, or even embarrassing. In this essay, I will use three pieces of writing to show stranger in the village.
Many military children are healthy, resilient, and may even have a positive outcome as a result of certain deployment stressors. Between those are young children with pre-existing health and mental health problems; children whose parents serve in the National...
In The Stranger by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is an absurdist who lives in the moment and refuses to be distracted by societal norms. He views the world as random and is indifferent to it. But to many French people living in Algeria, religion, social order and character are intertwined and are imperative to human life. Camus uses the crucifix and the courtroom to convey the idea that religion is man’s desperate attempt to create meaning in life where there is none.
When having their individual discussions with Meursault, both the magistrate and the chaplain talk about the reactions that all men had in Meursault’s situation. After seeing Meursault’s absence of remorse for his actions, the magistrate says that he has “never seen a soul as hardened” as Meursault’s (69). In addition to this, the magistrate asserts that “all men [believe] in God,” and he centers his life’s meaning in this universal belief (69). The magistrate’s meaning in life relates to the “fundamental rules” constructed by society and opposed by Meursault (102). Since Meursault does not fit within the ordinary pattern experienced by everyone, he is seen as an “abyss” that threatens society (102). Camus reproduces these views when Meursault is approached by the chaplain. In the conversation with the chaplain, Meursault describes his disinterest in God and regards it as seemingly “unimportant” (116). In response, the chaplain talks about his previous experience with all the men in Meursault’s position who have “turned to Him” (116-117). These opinions held by the chaplain and the magistrate show that they feel conflicted by the fact that Meursault does not exhibit the emotions of every other man. They have never had to associate with someone who does not take religion seriously and shows
In my future I have expectations to achieve excellence. After this school year I plan to get a summer job. This will help me prepare myself for my future. I plan to attend a private college in Indiana after I graduate high school. I am aspiring to major in communications. With a degree in communications there would be many opportunities for me to get hired into a job I would love. I plan to work for a business that reaches out to the community. I would love to become a missionary for a church. One of my biggest goals is to start my own party planning business, this business would be faith based. I have had this dream for a while with the understanding of hard work and dedication it takes to start my own business.
Tennessee Williams “A Streetcar Named Desire,” (Williams 1777), introduces a rich, colorful cast of characters and set in New Orleans in the late 1940s. The story revolves around several sets of relationships and subsequent confrontations with each other. The first is between sisters Blanche DuBois and Stella Kowalski, and the second, more prominent relationship showcased, is between Blanche and Stella’s husband Stanley Kowalski.