Meusault and Compliance

            The Stranger is a very strange book because it forces us to confront situations that are unfamiliar and strange. Meursault is a character that shatters all possible expectations, he seems like he lives a relatively normal life on the surface yet he is completely devoid of any emotion and is brutally honest about everything and everyone. He truly doesn’t seem to care what other people think of him, even when he feels self-conscious during the funeral for not looking at his mother’s body, that doesn’t stop him from sticking with his decision. Despite him seeing that Marie is visibly upset by him not claiming to love her. he doesn’t choose to change his answer when she asks again later on. In particular, he doesn’t seem to be governed by any morals or even governmental laws since he doesn’t fear the consequences.. It is really interesting to look at this in the context of the situation. As we have talked about a little bit, Camus novel was written in the context of a Vichy government installed by the Germans to run France. In this context, it seems like Camus might be trying to criticize people who complied with the Germans after they took over, whether explicitly or implicitly.

             Meursault complies with Raymond’s clearly immoral deeds, but he never seems to be truly a part of the situation, at least until he kills the man. Throughout the first part of the book, he is slowly drawn deeper into Raymond’s scheme, eventually turning from an innocent bystander into a murderer. However, despite everything that makes it seem as such, by the narration in the book we can tell that Meursault did not commit premeditated murder, and that instead, the murder just happened. Meursault takes full responsibility for his actions and yet infuriatingly refuses to acknowledge his reasons. What makes the situation even more striking is that Meursault is the only witness and in a racist court system, a simple lie about the man rushing at him with a knife would’ve have sufficed to ensure his freedom. Meursault’s complete disregard for his, and others’ existence until the end when he is faced with death is striking as Camus is asking some real questions about the meaning of life.

            Meursault’s compliance with Raymond can be compared in some ways to French citizens who complied with the Nazis during World War II. There are undertones of fear in Meursault’s relationship with Raymond, as there does seem to be a sense that Meursault would find it difficult to say no to Raymond. The French citizens during WWII were faced with the same dilemma, since speaking out and fighting the Nazis could very easily result in death but complying with them seems immoral in that you are complying with a force of evil. War impacted Camus from early in life, as his father died in World War I, and Camus himself was deemed physically unfit to serve in the army. However, Camus was deeply involved in the French Resistance and throughout the Stranger, there is a feeling that Camus is warning against going with the crowd, whether it is how the court treats Meursault or how Meursault acts in relation to Raymond. Camus questions the meaning of life throughout the book and it seems like one thing that he found meaning in is to do what’s right, because if you go with the crowd, your life is insignificant, whereas if you resist, at least you have given yourself meaning in some small way.

Gregor's Sense of Purpose

Gregor is a very interesting character due to the fact that the Metamorphosis has a unique premise. Given the fact that he is a bug and the dynamic that he can understand what the humans in the story say without being able to acknowledge it in any way makes for a really tragic experience on Gregor’s part in many ways. He witnesses that his family doesn’t miss him as a person or even miss his income that much. While they are forced to get jobs, they even become transformed and seem stronger and more independent as the story progresses. His father becomes bolder and stronger and emerges as a leader, culminating in him authoritatively removing the lodgers from their house. His sister goes from being a naive girl who takes care of Gregor to one with a job and the one who first speaks up about the fact that Gregor seems to be holding her back. At the end of the book, she is shown to have gone from being a young girl to a mature young lady, and she is ready to find a husband. These transformations suggest that even before Gregor turned into a bug, he was holding the rest of the family back. Gregor thinks he is important to the family because of his ability to earn money for them and provide them with a leisurely lifestyle, but in reality he is not only being exploited but also preventing the others in his family from reaching their potential

Gregor’s sense of responsibility and purpose seems to get shredded throughout the story. His father repeatedly drives him back into the room at the end of part 1 and again at the end of part 2, asserting his authority over Gregor as the leader of the family. Not only does his father get stronger and more authoritative, but even his sister who he like and was saving money for becomes stronger and self sufficient to some degree. Gregor doesn’t even have the satisfaction of knowing that without his work the family was struggling, instead they seem to be thriving in terms of mental and physical health, even if they have some extra work to do. Ultimately, his family seems to be better off than the start of the book after Gregor’s death, which shows that Gregor was not only being held hostage and exploited by his family, but that his family didn’t even necessarily need the support he provided.

Jake and Brett

   The ending of the Sun Also Rises is very ambiguous and interesting because it can be read in so many different ways, as we have discussed in class. When I first read the ending, I saw it as Jake being cynical and questioning Brett’s sentiment that they would have had a nice relationship if Jake hadn’t been injured. When Jake says “isn’t it pretty to think so”, I read it as Jake stating that in reality, their relationship would be completely different without Jake’s injury, and he might just be another one of Brett’s lovers like Mike and Cohn. I thought this because throughout the book Jake seems to realize that his injury is a defining characteristic of their relationship, and that the trust and friendship between him and Brett is reliant at least partially on the fact that they can’t have a sexual relationship. The dynamic between Jake and Brett that exists in the place of the novel could not exist in a world without Jake’s injury. Jake realizes this throughout the book which culminates in him ultimately admitting to himself and Brett that even if he wasn’t injured, their relationship may not have worked out.

   In the beginning of the book, we see Jake struggling to accept the relationship he has with Brett. He asks her if they can live together, and he cries at night because he can’t sleep due to him thinking about their relationship. Especially while they’re in Paris, Jake seems filled with regret and self-pity. However, when the story moves to Spain, Jake’s attitude slowly starts to change as well. Seeing how Brett treats Cohn and Mike makes him wonder if he would’ve been any different, just another sexual partner for Brett that doesn’t mean anything to her. Throughout this section, Jake defends Mike and to some extent Cohn as well, seeing as the way Brett treats them would cause him to act the same way if he was in their position.

   Brett starts to recognize that she is causing them to feel jealous, but she still blames Cohn and Mike for their bad behavior. Also, when she wants to go meet Romero, she understands that it is probably not in either of their best interests to get into a relationship and yet she goes ahead with it anyway all the while telling Jake that she knows how bad it is that she’s doing it. It seems that even though Brett can see what her actions do to the men around her, she chooses not to alter her actions to fit their expectations.