Humans exist in an irrational universe and despite our circumstances, we continue to venture to make rational decisions. Everyone's meaning of life is distinct from the next. We create our own meaning through the freedom of our existence and choice. In the novel The Stranger written by Albert Camus and TMI (The Meursault Investigation) written by Kamel Daoud both authors attempt to answer the question of the purpose of life through their main characters actions by focusing on questioning human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence. Meursault and Harun's actions help define and create the self they desire to become (public self). We witness both characters struggling to detect the meaning …show more content…
Those individuals who live by the existential philosophy neglect societal norms abiding by wealth, pleasure, structural and societal values. Instead, they accept their reality of “lack of life purpose” and prefer to live with a day to day approach. In addition, they refuse to accept responsibility and are unable to express gratitude and emotion towards particular situations. Existentialists believe that individuals should hone and treasure every moment because that is all we have. Unlike most of our functioning society, existentialist fail to recognize a greater power. To them, there is no afterlife or anything merely more than our birth following with our death. We have this one shot to be who we are and to develop our interpretation as to why we are placed on this …show more content…
Meursault's opening line explains his mother's death. The reader can quickly interpret, just by reading the first line, the lack of affection Meursault expresses towards his mother. If anything he feels a sense of relief. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours. That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.” As a reader, I interpreted Meursault reaction to the news as his coping mechanism to accepting his reality. Perhaps it was easier to distant himself from the pain than allow it to engulf him. However, the consensus I have reached was quickly refuted as I continued to read the novel. Meursault feels as though emotion is an accessory to the lives of humans, not a necessity. During several occasions, we witness Meursault's cold hearted selfish nature “A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.” Because Meursault feels there is no point to feelings and emotional bonds, due to the fact that we are all going to die anyways. Meursault has the habit of pushing the people away who showcase the slightest affection. This explains his solitary lifestyle. In a sense, Meursault fears to open up because he refuses to accept responsibility. With affection comes responsibility and fear of loss “I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so
In real life there are many different types of people, some of them are similar
To Kill a Mockingbird "I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them." – Miss Maudie The quote above states that Atticus Finch was a man who did unpleasant things, but this quote is false. Miss Maudie had every good intention when she told Jem and Scout this and her point was taken in the way she intended it to be taken by the children. Her point could have been better worded if the portion that reads "our unpleasant jobs" were replaced with "what is right." Atticus did unpleasant things only because he knew that they were the right thing to do. Miss Maudie told the children about their father in this way only to avoid saying that the rest of the town was wrong.
The author George Elliot once said “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Appearance can be very misleading, and you shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone. This philosophical idea has been included in many works of literature, including the timeless classic To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. The novel takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Many citizens of Maycomb tend to make judgements based on outward appearances alone. In the novel, Lee uses minor characters such as Boo Radley, Mrs. Dubose, and Tom Robinson to convey the book’s theme of prejudice.
This is best exemplified when comparing the novels opening paragraph, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: “Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.” That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.” to the uncomfortable heat that he complains about for the entire first chapter. Upon learning of his mother’s death Meursault doesn’t show any emotion in relation to her death. Instead he is more concerned with the telegram not telling him exactly when it occurred. After arriving at the home Meursault then becomes preoccupied with the extreme heat causing...
...ough Maman’s funeral and the impact of Maman’s death on Meursault. In the first chapter, Meursault is disconnected from the world around him; only responding to the social customs set in place and showing awareness in why they should be followed, but he does not understand why that is the case. In the last chapter, the inevitable arrival of Meursault’s own death makes him aware that the life he lived meant nothing because things would be the same at the end despite what choies he made. This acceptance is reached because Meursault was guided through death. Thus, Maman’s funeral links Meursault and Maman together as two individuals who accept their despair-filled truth but demonstrate the willingness to live again because they carry that acceptance with them.
Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place during the 1930’s in the fictional and quiet town of Maycomb, located in Maycomb County, Alabama. The town of Maycomb is described as a tired old town that moves very slowly and its residents have nothing to fear but fear itself. Being in set in the South during the 1930’s the story does tackle racism and inequality for African Americans as racism was becoming more and more prominent in the 1930’s. The fact that the story takes place in a backwater county in Alabama makes the the injustice even more prevalent. The story goes through the early years of the main characters Jem and Scout so the exact time is always changing, however, the more important and intense parts of the story takes place
Meursault shows very little love or sorrow at the fact of his mother's death. A normal man would feel pain and regret for not being by her side while Meursault does not even care much about the date she passed away. Immediately on the first page in the novel, we confront the situation where Meursault's mother dies, and he does not care about it. "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: `Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.' That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday" (3). Meursault does not bother to call back and find information about his mother. Meursault shows no emotion or care for his mother because he sends her away for someone else to take care of her. During the last years of an elder person's life, they are invited to stay with the family in order to become closer with one another. Meursault could care less as he shows no sign of pain, and goes off to do something else. He resembles a figure where an issue as important as death does come as a priority. "We are the hollow men/ We are the stuffed men/ Leaning together/ Headpiece filled with straw" (Lines 1-4).
Meursault in the book tries to overcome his emotional indifference within himself. One example shows Meursault emotional indifference against Marie. In this quote, “A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.” The quote explains how Meursault doesn’t really think about the consequences of other people’s emotions. When he said in the quote it didn’t mean anything to him, it shows he believes human life and emotions are meaningless. He also says I didn’t think so, showing he struggles to comprehend and make his own interpretations on human emotions from Marie and other people. Another example shown is Meursault against his mother’s funeral. In this quote ‘Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: “Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.” That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.’ This quote also shows Meursault idea of human life is meaningless. This shows that Meursault believes it doesn’t really matter if his mother died, he’s probably implying that his mother was dying soon...
Jill McCorkle's Ferris Beach, a contemporary novel, shares numerous characteristics with Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written in the 1960's. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, McCorkle's novel documents the life of a young girl in a small southern town. The two narrators, Kate Burns and Scout Finch, endure difficult encounters. A study of these main characters reveals the parallels and differences of the two novels. Jill McCorkle duplicates character similarities and rape from Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird to show the reader how young girls think and develop.
Keeping a mouth shut doesn't hold the world shut out, it opens up new doors to things that would never be expected. In To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there is are two character that is are an eternal mystery for the readers. Boo Radley, though the reader nor Scout and Jem know anything about the character all they want is to learn about him. Boo becomes a mysterious figure that many see as creepy, ghostly, but also reasonably wise. The one-time Boo appears the readers learn he is a sagacious, powerful man. Little do Scout and Jem know is that their father is also a rational being as well. The two crucial character in the story helps support the
He reflects on his mother's death and comprehends why she sought love in her final moments. He recognizes all are born, die, and have no further importance. At the very end of the novel Meursault states he hopes his execution is filled with a multitude of angry spectators who "will greet him with cries of hate. " This simple sentence shows the active transformation that has taken place in Meursault.
Throughout all of Meursault’s actions at the funeral, most receive scrutiny especially his denial to see Maman before she was buried. Camus states, “When the caretaker asked if Meursault wanted to see his mother, Meursault responds with “I don’t know” (Camus 6). For whatever reason, Meursault was not consciously able to react appropriately at the moment. An expansion on Alonzo’s work in which supports Meursault would be the philosophy of Socrates and the Socratic paradox. Socrates states, “If one acts in a manner not conducive to one 's good then that person must have been mistaken (i.e., that person lacks the knowledge of how to obtain what was serviceable in that instance.”(Socrates 882). Even though Meursault did not understand his reasoning at the time, he didn’t know how to react in order to please the others. It’d be benign to assume he did not give a shit about Maman. Denying the request without reason and ultimately defying society, Meursault inevitably receives judgement from this point forward as an immoral
To Kill A Mockingbird deals with many primal and basic lessons in human nature. The book exposes many issues that affect most people throughout their lives. Scout, the main character was one of the most affected by these lessons. During the book she was exposed to many profound experiences, which no doubt will leave a lasting impression. In the three years that the book took place, she may have learned the most important things she will learn over her entire life.
The novel opens with Meursault having just learned that his mother has died. His reaction to her death is far from typical, and he simply says, “Maman died today, or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” As he prepares to leave town to attend the funeral, he expresses a sort of general discomfort. This discomfort can be seen in his extremely uncomfortable conversation with his boss, in which Meursault simply tells his boss, “it’s not my fault.” Meursault also wishes that the funeral were already over so that, “the case would be closed, and everything will have a more official feel to it.”
Meursault is distant from set plans, ambitions, desires, love, and emotions in general. He has a difficult time with emotions such as regret and compassion. The reader sees the nature of his personality in the first few lines of the novel: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know." When he hears of the death of his mother through a telegram, he is unattached, and can be considered uncaring.