Literary Analysis Of The Stranger By Charles Camus

While studying many works of literature, several themes present themselves in in-depth readings, such as the theme of otherness in Albert Camus’ â€Å"The Guest†. This story centers on a character, an outsider, who is trying to fit into the society in the story. It may not be the fact that the stranger is different in looks, culture, or language like it is in this short story, but it is just the fact that they are not the same, which causes them to be the outsider and fulfill the role of the otherness. As we look through the short story ‘The Guest’, and through the short novel ‘The Stranger’, we can see that Albert Camus is working towards the idea of Otherness and how it can affect societies where the ‘otherness’ is seen as undesirable. Otherness, as defined by Merriam Webster, is the quality or fact of being different. In â€Å"The Guest† and in ‘The Stranger’ we are able to see the use of ‘Otherness’. The pattern of ‘otherness’ and trying to find common ground between the characters is prevalent in Camus’ works set in Algerian French control. Daru and the prisoner are the complete opposites of each other culturally, linguistically, and ethnically; they are set up to be each other’s ‘other’ from the beginning, and yet, they seem to be able to find some kind of common ground. I am interested in why Camus made it so that these two men, who are strangers in the beginning, can be seen as comrades near the ending. I will compare these two works by Camus and find out the purpose of hisShow MoreRelatedThe Existential Movement Of The Stranger Essay1966 Words   |  8 Pagesof literary and philosophical greatness, with many writers expressing their ph ilosophical beliefs through their literature. These writers believed that there was no greater purpose in a person’s life and that there was almost no point in existence. Moreover, these authors both valued authenticity and created a sort of absurdity to the society they lived in. Therefore, this struggle to grasp the meaning of life can be seen through an existential light in many novels with authors such as Camus. InRead MoreExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 Pagesamp; Phenomenology * Existentialist Philosophers * ------------------------------------------------- Absurdism * The idea of the  absurd  is a common theme in many existentialist works, particularly in  Camus. Absurdity is the notion of contrast between two things. As Camus explains it in  The Myth of Sisyphus: * The absurd is born out of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world. * This view, which is shared by  Sartre, is that humanity