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What is the function of societal expectations within the confines of the text?
Within Albert Camus’ The Stranger, a variance of societal expectations are seen, such as mandatory religion to strange conditioned behaviors. The purpose of these societal expectations within the text is to cultivate a characterization of Meursault and show how that characterization reinforces the existentialist and absurdist concepts present.
Throughout the text, there are a multitude of situations in which there is the character of Meursault is juxtaposed directly by society and its’ expectations. This technique of juxtaposition allows for a deeper characterization of Meursault than what may have been possible without the comparison. The first instance of …show more content…
the reason this scene leads to a characterization is due to the display of Meursault as the type of individual who is able to sit passively for hours just observing others. By characterizing Meursault, this scene also displays the reinforcement of an absurdist concept; his alienation from society is seen by the juxtaposition of people going on with their lives and him just sitting there for hours on end, just on the edge of society. This instance shows reinforcement for Meursault’s characterization as being passively content the majority of his life, as long as his biological needs are …show more content…
Throughout the text, the apparentness of Meursault’s atheism is shown; however, as learned through background information, the society at the time was a heavily religious one and atheism was illegal. The recognition of Meursault’s lack of faith aides in the development of a characterization that displays Meursault as an exact model against all societal expectations. It is seen by all aspects of Meursault’s character that his simple existence is rebellion against the views of society, however, the true culmination of this rebellion is seen in his lack of religion. Meursault was on trial for most importantly his lack of religion opposed to the murder of the Arab. By viewing the societal expectation of religion and juxtaposing it against Meursault’s character, a deeper characterization of Meursault is seen, that characterization is the simple fact that he is a rebellion against his society, both consciously and unconsciously; such as the drinking of the coffee, even minutely Meursault rebels against his society. This understanding leads to the reinforcement of the existentialist concept that a person’s place in society is defined by his/her individual decisions. Meursault chooses his place is society, by choosing not to be religious or at least not giving of the facsimile of someone devout, Meursault must accept that as long as he is not religious
What is the function of societal expectations within the confines of the text?
Within Albert Camus’ The Stranger, a variance of societal expectations are seen, such as mandatory religion to strange conditioned behaviors. The purpose of these societal expectations within the text is to cultivate a characterization of Meursault and show how that characterization reinforces the existentialist and absurdist concepts present.
Throughout the text, there are a multitude of situations in which there is the character of Meursault is juxtaposed directly by society and its’ expectations. This technique of juxtaposition allows for a deeper characterization of Meursault than what may have been possible without the comparison. The first instance of …show more content…
the reason this scene leads to a characterization is due to the display of Meursault as the type of individual who is able to sit passively for hours just observing others. By characterizing Meursault, this scene also displays the reinforcement of an absurdist concept; his alienation from society is seen by the juxtaposition of people going on with their lives and him just sitting there for hours on end, just on the edge of society. This instance shows reinforcement for Meursault’s characterization as being passively content the majority of his life, as long as his biological needs are …show more content…
Throughout the text, the apparentness of Meursault’s atheism is shown; however, as learned through background information, the society at the time was a heavily religious one and atheism was illegal. The recognition of Meursault’s lack of faith aides in the development of a characterization that displays Meursault as an exact model against all societal expectations. It is seen by all aspects of Meursault’s character that his simple existence is rebellion against the views of society, however, the true culmination of this rebellion is seen in his lack of religion. Meursault was on trial for most importantly his lack of religion opposed to the murder of the Arab. By viewing the societal expectation of religion and juxtaposing it against Meursault’s character, a deeper characterization of Meursault is seen, that characterization is the simple fact that he is a rebellion against his society, both consciously and unconsciously; such as the drinking of the coffee, even minutely Meursault rebels against his society. This understanding leads to the reinforcement of the existentialist concept that a person’s place in society is defined by his/her individual decisions. Meursault chooses his place is society, by choosing not to be religious or at least not giving of the facsimile of someone devout, Meursault must accept that as long as he is not religious