The Stranger Essay - 1301 Words

While reading The Stranger I noticed that traits that Albert Camus character depicts in the book are closely related to the theories of Sigmund Freud on moral human behavior. Albert Camus portrays his character of Meursault as a numb, emotionless person that seems to mindlessly play out his role in society, acting in a manner that he sees as the way he’s supposed to act, always living in the moment with his instincts driving him, and if the right circumstance presents itself the primal deep seeded animal will come out. I believe that most of the character’s traits fall under Freud’s notion of the Id and Ego mental apparatus, and don’t believe that his idea of the super-ego is represented in this book. In the beginning of The Stranger†¦show more content†¦Once again, there are no signs of emotion or grief to be found, and all that was driving him was his sexual instinctive impulses. Once again, this concept falls under Freud’s views of the human beings instinctual creatures driven by our sexual desires. According to Joan Riviere, Freud believes that one of our two Basic instincts is the sexual instinct, which is not only the inhibited sexual instinct, but it’s also the self-preservation instinct (37). According to James Strachey, Freud thinks the self-preservation instinct is appointed to our ego, which takes control over the Id’s demands/ instincts, by deciding whether they should be able to receive satisfaction (15). When making decisions though, the ego is a very submissive slave to the Id, and it is tempted by its needs often (Costigan 234). This to me says that the ego, more times than not, gives in to the Ids demand, which defines Meursaultâ⠂¬â„¢s mannerisms perfectly. Now I would like to discuss the correlation between the book and Freud’s notion of the superego. During the murder trial the prosecutor set up an array of witnesses to prove to the court that Meursault didn’t possess a moral conscience, or display any emotions like everyone else, and as the trial proceeds this notation proves to be true. To me this definitely doesn’t support Freud’s ideals of a Super ego. The reason I believe this is because Freud’sShow MoreRelatedStranger2325 Words   |  10 PagesDiscussion Questions for The Stranger (1946); translated by Matthew Ward, 1988. Part One Chapter 1. 1. How does Camus set up Meursaults personality -- how does Meursault respond to others conversation, to ordinary social situations, and to the death of his mother? 2. On page 10, Meursault says that at the viewing of his mother, he felt as if the elderly people there were judging him. Offer a conjecture about why he might have had that feeling. (It is worth paying attention to such references toRead MoreThe Stranger1548 Words   |  7 PagesAlbert Camus creates a series of characters in The Stranger whose personality traits and motivations mirror those that are overlooked by the average man. Camus develops various characters and scenarios that are considered rude and unpleasant, but because it has become common, society accepts it as norms. Camus incorporates atrocious personality traits of the characters, variety, consistency, and everyone’s fate through the creation of the characters. Camus demonstrates the disregarded reason behindRead MoreThe Stranger Essay1048 Words   |  5 PagesAlbert Camus influential novel, The Stranger, a great work of existentialism, examines the absurdity of life and indifference of the world. This paper provides a summary of the novel, and outlines some of the novels main themes. The novels protagoinist, Meursault, is a distanced and indifferent young man. He does not believe in God, and lives his life with seemingly sensuous abandon. After Meursault is caught up in the life of a local pimp, he rather inexplicably murders a young man on theRead More The Stranger Essay879 Words   |  4 PagesThe Stranger The Stranger exhibits a society that has confined itself with a specific set of social standards that dictate the manner in which people are supposed to act. This ideology determines the level of morality, and how much emphasis should placed on following this certain ethical structure. Albert Camuss main character, Meursault, is depicted as a nonconformist that is unwilling to play societys game. Through Meursaults failure to comply with societys values and conform toRead MoreMetamorphosis And The Stranger1288 Words   |  6 Pagesexistence. The Metamorphosis, written by Kafka in 1915, follows a traveling salesman who struggles with his purpose in life. Similar to that story, Camus’s The Stranger, published in 1942, details the unnecessary undoing of an Algerian man who follows his own morals, not society’s morals. Within Kafka s The Metamorphosis and Camus s The Stranger, the characters isolation in society, illogical thoughts without real reasoning, and freedom to choose reflect the concept of Existentialism by illustratingRead MoreExistentialism In The Stranger1413 Words   |  6 PagesThe novel, The Stranger, written by French author Albert Camus, is a philosophical fiction piece published in 1942. This book used both Existentialism and Absurdism to promote Meursault s problem throughout the book. Both of these are related to Modernism, which was the aftermath of the industrial revolution. â€Å"Modernism is a phil osophical movement that along with cultural trends and changes arose wide-scale and far reaching transformations in western society during the late 19th and early 20th century†(KoofersRead MoreEssay The Stranger754 Words   |  4 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Albert Camus’ The Stranger, is told by narrarator, Meursault . Our speaker seems to be a person detached from feelings, he shows no emotion. Neither the external world in which Meursault lives nor the internal world of his thoughts and attitudes possesses any rational order. He doesn’t have reasons for doing half of the things he does. For these reasons I believe Meursault is determined, but doesn’t know it. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Our protagonist and narraratorRead More The Stranger Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesThe Stranger The Stranger was originally written in French. When Stuart Gilbert translated the novel, he came across a small problem. â€Å"The title of Camus’ classic novel is difficult to render into English because the French word bears the connotations of both ‘stranger’ and ‘foreigner’ at the same time, and each of these concepts is at play in the novel.† (Mairowitz1) Finding the right translation was crucial because the title is symbolic. â€Å"The Stranger symbolizes the theme of theRead More The Stranger Essay1496 Words   |  6 PagesAlbert Camus creates a series of characters in The Stranger whose personality traits and motivations mirror those that are overlooked upon by the average man. Camus develops various characters and scenarios that show true humanity which tends to have been ignored due to the fact of how typical it has become. Camus incorporates abominable personality traits of the characters, variety, consistency, and every one’s fate. Camus demonstrates the disregarded reason behind the origins of relationships betweenRead MoreThe Stranger Essay963 Words   |  4 PagesThe Stranger Chris Drusbosky 3/5/12 Professor Krauss In the story â€Å"The Stranger† by Albert Camus, the belief that the themes of loss and retrieval are at the core of Mersault’s mythology, and that they illumine the notion of exile to which he returns so often is widely discussed. I however do not believe that either one of those themes has anything to do with the Mersault and the exile to which he returns to so often, rather I believe that Mersault’s own attitude is the reason for the exile