The Priest(Kafka vs Camus)
The Outsider, written by Albert Camus, and The Trial, written by Franz Kafka, are two books that have been critically acclaimed since the time that they were published. There are critics that claim that The Outsider is a dull book, and is not even a read-worthy book. Other people claim that it shows us how society actually acts upon people who do not want to be like the rest of society. The Trial falls under the same kind of criticism; but both books, although written by different writers in a different époque, fall under the same kind of genre: Imprisoned Lives. In both The Outsider and The Trial there are many people who influence the protagonists in a positive and in a negative way, but none of those characters are as important as the priest. The priest, being of the same profession in both books and trying to accomplish the same kind of tasks, have a totally different effect on the two protagonists. In The Outsider the priest changes the whole attitude that Meursault has to life, whereas in The Trial the priest tells Joseph K. how his life actually is.
"Why do you refuse to see me?" This question was asked by the priest and was meant for Meursault. Normally, if a person is convicted to death, he will see a priest before the sentence is executed. Meursault did not do that. He profusely refused to see the priest and why should he? He "did not believe in god." Meursault did not care, as he did not care if his mother died, or if someone proposed marriage to him. This of course went totally against the rules and ethics of society, which cannot permit such kind of behaviour. But why does Camús characterize Meursault like that? Why did he create such kind of an outsider to society? Camús created such an outsider because he wanted to show people how life actually is. Society does not accept people who do not bend the truth a little and lie. Society wants to make life as easy as can be, making up lies so that everything can run smoothly because truth can hurt sometimes, and Camús knows that. Camús implements the priest not just as another character in the novel, but as a person who wants to tell Meursault how society expects him to behave. Meursault did not want to know how he has to act to make the society happy, as a matter of fact, the priest was "beginning to annoy" him.
Meursault is a man who chooses to observe people, rather than interact with them. He often people watches from his balcony in the evening, than actually going down to communicate with them. While he was in exile, he was forced to converse and discuss his feeling to strangers like his lawyer, and the chaplain of the prison. Due to being a severe introvert, the idea of discussing his problem to another person was foreign for him. The experience of opening himself up to others for help was alienating, and contradicted his personality of being a stranger to everyone. Camus writes, “He didn’t understand me, and he was sort of holding it against me. I felt the urge to reassure him that I was like everybody else, just like everybody else.” (Camus, 66) Meursault wanted to help his lawyer understand his point of view, but his nature is so closed off that he’s unable to put his feeling into words for others
Growing up we are told that “Honesty is the best policy” but in many cases that can be juxtaposed. When certain people are being honest in certain instances it comes off as being brutally disrespectful, but isn’t Honesty the best policy? when Meursault is being honest and truthful he comes off as being detached and disconnected to the world.Throughout the whole book, meursault is perceived as a person without a care in the world.“But if you don't die today, you'll die tomorrow or the next day. And the same question will arise. How will you face that terrifying ordeal? I said I would face it exactly as I was facing it now.”(Camus, 117) when Meursault is talking to the Chaplin, the Chaplin thinks that Meursault is crazy. All while the Chaplin is shocked at the way Meursault is answering, he fails to realize that Meursault is being both honest and truthful. To continue further into the book more of Meursault's honesty and truthful ways are being shown. “He wanted to talk to me about God again, but I went up to him and made one last attempt to explain to him that I had only a little time left and I didn't want to waste it on God” (Camus 120). The last bit of this chapter goes on on the way Meursault feels. Meursault's honesty and truth baffle the Chaplain because he couldn't respect how brutally honest and truthful Meursault is
Throughout the novel, Camus presents the audience with one reason after another why Meursault should not, and in many cases cannot, be judged by "normal" standards. He also seems to say that no matter how mystifying or straightforward a person might be, there is no excuse for judging another human being. The question he finally presents to the reader is this: do we take his advice and abstain from judgment, or do we continue to judge others, often wrongly?
... mother, he does not react in a way most people do. He does not cry but instead accepts what has happened and realizes that he can not change it. He goes back and does physical things he would do on a normal day. When the caretaker offers him coffee, he accepts it, he smokes a cigarette and has sex with a woman he just met. Meursault also does not lie to escape death. He refuses to conform to society and lie. He would rather be seen as an outsider than do something that he does not believe in. Finally, Meursault, will not believe in G-d or Christianity just because it is the only thing to turn to before he is put to death. When Meursault decides not to cry at his mother’s funeral, he accepts himself as an outsider. When he is considered an outsider, it does not matter if he is guilty or innocent; at the end of the day he guilty just for being different.
Firstly, Camus juxtaposes the stories of Meursault and the Czechoslovakian man to create a presage of the denouement of Meursault. The Czechoslovakian man undergoes major life changes, and this ultimately leads to his demise. He goes to make a better life for himself, and he returns to his village with riches in wealth and in family. Unrecognizable to them, the Czechoslovakian man returns to his mother and sister, and he decides to play a simple joke “of taking a room” and “he had shown off his money” (80). This trick ends when “during the night his mother and sister had beaten him to death…in order to rob him” (80). The Czechoslovakian man’s newfound courage results in obstinacy. Contrastingly, until Meursault commits his crime of murder, his life appears nearly painfully simple. ...
In The Stranger, Albert Camus personifies eyes as a source of knowledge. Characters come upon knowledge through many different sources from touch to hearing. The knowledge gained through eyes can range from, self discovery to understanding events taking place. Eyes and knowledge all seem to be related to Meursault. Meursault’s ability to understand events and circumstances depends on his clarity of vision. Unlike other characters, Meursault’s eyes do not provide knowledge, thus leaving characters misunderstanding him. Characters who have blue eyes help Meursault realize a truth about himself.
...iod when Camus writes this novel. Camus obviously knew the time period and explored different ideas and philosophies about pointless of life in people which comes out in his character, Meursault. In prison Meursualt also realizes that he’s trapped, and there’s no way out as he remembers what the nurse once said to him. His growth in self reflection results in unimportance of emotional values of life and help focus what’s directly ahead of him. This significant change results him in understanding himself and his voice, and figuring out his capabilities and philosophies. Time spent in prison helps Meursault finally understands himself, the meaninglessness of life, and the unimportance of time which shows the shift in the character after sent to prison.
...everyone is surrounded by death. Camus explains that life isn’t about what is not envisioned, but it’s about what is evident. Meursault’s feeling of apathy is directly related to his conviction that life lacks necessary order and meaning, “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope…I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world,” as he awaits his impending death, he finally recognizes that life is the most complex entity in the universe and one only has one life to live, so live it wisely (122). In the end, Meursault changed spiritually because he didn’t concentrate as much on the physical world because while he was in prison, he thought about life’s gifts and (although still atheist) realizes that faith in yourself and life is very important. There is also some irony here; he finally realizes the meaning of live just as he awaits his death.
The most prominent part of this discussion was the talk on religion and the bigger meaning behind Camus's input on religion and philosophy. I found this discussion quiet interesting and enlightening because I thought deeply about several ideas that never occurred to me such as why Meursault rejects religion and how does that reflect what Camus is vocalizing about religion? Meursault rejects religion because he doesn't want to use it as a way to hide from his behavior. He just accepts his fate and doesn't question it. Although his religious beliefs are not directly stated, I feel as though he's character is leaning toward the absurdist direction. What I thought Camus was trying to say about religion is that if you find religion fills a void
In Albert Camus’ The Stranger and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, both feature protagonists in situations out of which arise existentialist values. Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will. In The Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa is the protagonist, and realizes his existentialism attitude towards the end of the novel. Meursault, the protagonist in The Stranger, knows of his existentialism attitude, realizing his life's lack of meaning. Similar values are found in both novels. Each protagonist did not realize how they could create their own future, and that the behavior presented by both protagonists
The Law in Kafka's novel The Trial houses a fundamental but fleeting metaphysical metaphor. It is virtually unassailable, hidden, and always just beyond the grasp of human understanding. The Law seeks to impose an unknowable order and assimilate any individual notion of existence. It defines two distinct modes of existence through accusation: those who stand accused by the Law and those who are empowered by the Law to pass judgement upon those accused. From the very moment of his arrest, Joseph K. resists this legal hierarchy stating, "I don't know this Law ... it probably exists nowhere but in your head... it is only a trial if I recognize it as such" (6, 40). Freedom is at the center of this conflict. In attempting to rigidly define human existence, the Law compels humankind to be passive, to accept the incomprehensible legal machinery of the Court without question. "The only pointless thing is to try taking independent action" (175). There is a tacit assumption that freedom, whether one is accused or not, is provisional at best. Kafka uses the priest's allegory of the doorkeeper and the common man to powerfully illustrate this point. In many ways, the novel itself can be seen as an elaboration, commentary, or critique on the allegorical power of the Law.
From page fifty-eight to fifty-seven of Albert Camus’s The Stranger he uses the relentless Algerian sun as a motif for the awareness of reality that pursues the main character, Meursault, throughout the passage. When each motif appears in the novel such as this passage, Meursault’s actions change. This exemplifies that the light, heat, and sun trigger him to become debilitated or furious. Albert Camus sets up this motif in the passage to indicate to the reader that this motif shows the major themes of this novel. This motif shows Meursault’s emotion, how the imagery of weaponry affects Meursault’s actions, how the sun is a representation of society, and how the sun weakens Meursault.
Albert Camus’s novel The Outsider is a fictional narrative that presents strong philosophical themes such as the irrationality of the universe and meaningless of human life. Throughout the novel it is clear that the narrator and protagonist – a young man named Meursault – is the only character that is able to understand and appreciate these ideas or philosophical truths. It is for this reason that he is an outsider. Accordingly, other social groups, including women, are represented as shallow as they constantly attempt to identify or create rational structure and meaning in their lives – Camus’s notion of absurdity. Women are a social group that show attributes of attachment, hope and ambition all of which in the novel are a futile attempt to impose rationality when none exists. Thus, Camus implies that women are shallow — lacking the deeper understanding of the universe.
Camus writes in a simple, direct, and uncomplicated style. The choice of language serves well to convey the thoughts of Meursault. The story is told in the first person and traces the development of the narrator's attitude toward himself and the rest of the world. Through this sort of simple grammatical structure, Camus gives the reader the opportunity to become part of the awareness of Meursault. In Part I, what Meursault decides to mention are just concrete facts. He describes objects and people, but makes no attempt to analyze them. Since he makes no effort to analyze things around him, that job is given to the reader. The reader therefore creates his own meaning for Meursault's actions. When he is forced to confront his past and reflect on his experiences, he attempts to understand the reasons for existence. At first, Meursault makes references to his inability to understand what's happening around him, but often what he tells us seems the result of his own indifference or detachment. He is frequently inattentive to his surroundings. His mind wanders in the middle of conversations. Rarely does he make judgments or express opinions about what he or other characters are doing. Meursault walks through life largely unaware of the effect of his actions on others.
Meursault was always indifferent. Meursault accepted death. Why? Meursault saw the purpose of life meaningless. That is “Absurdity”! Absurdity, how does that word sound? Pretty bad, eh? Absurdity when used like “that’s absurd!” gives the feeling of negative judgment and a sense of finality. The idea of the Absurd seems to attach itself with meaningless, pointless and other such words that express a destination but without the means to get there and vice versa means but no destination. So from there I inferred that Camus does not believe in God nor any high law or universal law that are associated with a divinity, which is a path in life (either the means or the destination). So what is Absurd? The Absurd is living, a quest to find the meaning of anything within a reality with no purpose. Reality has no purpose because there is no high law, a universal law nor a God. Therefore this reality must be randomness. I believe that Camus wants us to see this and begin questioning our existence. So he wants he wants us to see the Absurdity and to cope with the Absurdity.