Raskolnikov-A “Stranger” to Mersault?
Though written by completely different authors in completely different times and places, the works The Stranger and Crime and Punishment show many similarities in …show more content…
One device they both most commonly use is sleep. Throughout both books, they seem to deal with most of the problems they face by going to sleep. As soon as Raskolnikov commits the murders, he immediately goes back home and goes to sleep. Meursault doesn’t want to talk to a person while on the bus, so he just goes to sleep to avoid the whole situation. Both characters also try to avoid talking to others and even going out of their homes if it is not absolutely necessary. Meursault recalls, “I said “yes” just so I wouldn’t have to say anything else.” (Camus 4) Raskolnikov also avoids everyone including his landlady just to avoid any conversation. He sneaks out of his flat so as not to have a chance of seeing her. They also have other means of escape. Risk constantly talks to himself. “I chatter because I do nothing…” Raskolnikov is always talking to himself throughout the story without even realizing it. This for him is a means of escape to stay out of the real world. Meursault also has another means of escape that is quite similar to Raskolnikov’s. Meursault says that he is not really unhappy while confined to his jail cell. “I would remember every piece of furniture…every color, texture. I realized that a man who lived for only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison.” This is a very powerful statement by Meursault that shows that he finds escape a joy while in prison. While supporting the existentialist view of escape that is similar to Raskolnikolv’s, this statement also shows another existentialist view. Even when Meursault is physically confined, he is still free in his mind. Raskolnvikov shares this view when he is in prison. He tells of how prison life, although very horrible, is still just as good, if not better, than his previous
Though written by completely different authors in completely different times and places, the works The Stranger and Crime and Punishment show many similarities in …show more content…
One device they both most commonly use is sleep. Throughout both books, they seem to deal with most of the problems they face by going to sleep. As soon as Raskolnikov commits the murders, he immediately goes back home and goes to sleep. Meursault doesn’t want to talk to a person while on the bus, so he just goes to sleep to avoid the whole situation. Both characters also try to avoid talking to others and even going out of their homes if it is not absolutely necessary. Meursault recalls, “I said “yes” just so I wouldn’t have to say anything else.” (Camus 4) Raskolnikov also avoids everyone including his landlady just to avoid any conversation. He sneaks out of his flat so as not to have a chance of seeing her. They also have other means of escape. Risk constantly talks to himself. “I chatter because I do nothing…” Raskolnikov is always talking to himself throughout the story without even realizing it. This for him is a means of escape to stay out of the real world. Meursault also has another means of escape that is quite similar to Raskolnikov’s. Meursault says that he is not really unhappy while confined to his jail cell. “I would remember every piece of furniture…every color, texture. I realized that a man who lived for only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison.” This is a very powerful statement by Meursault that shows that he finds escape a joy while in prison. While supporting the existentialist view of escape that is similar to Raskolnikolv’s, this statement also shows another existentialist view. Even when Meursault is physically confined, he is still free in his mind. Raskolnvikov shares this view when he is in prison. He tells of how prison life, although very horrible, is still just as good, if not better, than his previous