Symbols and Motifs

Motifs

='a recurring subject, theme or idea' (www.dictionary.com)

Observation:

It appears that Meursault is constantly observing what is going on. Observation is a motif because it reflects the absurdity of life- how life is meaningless. Thus, the observation could symbolize that humans are in everlasting search to find purpose. This also displays Camus' absurdist philosophy that highlights the importance of the physical universe that does not have much significance. 

There is a juxtaposition that contrasts two major scenes:Meursault observing from his balcony and people observing Meursault in the courtroom. When Meursault is watching people on the street from his balcony, he is passive as he makes no judgments. On the contrary, the atmosphere in the courtroom is exactly the opposite and people are very judging about Meursault due to the facts that were revealed about him. Therefore observation is a significant motif that portrays that humans in general are in search for purpose. 

Death:

A recurrent motif in the novel is death. At the beginning of the novel the reader is presented with the funeral of Meursault’s mother. Meursault is emotionless and what bother him the most are the heat and the sleepiness whilst society believes that he should be in grief. Another example of death is the one of the Arab, which the society believes that he should regret his crime and yet again he only feels “annoyance about it”. Finally the idea of death is shown once again in the final chapter, where the chaplain tries to convince Meursault that there is a God and an afterlife, “In that case, God would help you”,while Meursault believes the complete contrary.  In all the examples where death was present Meursault acts against the way in which society would want him to act. This motif has great significance as it allows the reader to understand what kind of character Meursault is and how he acts against the conventional manner that is imposed by society.

Symbols

Salamano’s dog:

Salamano’s dog is a prominent symbol which helps convey the society’s perspectives. The dog symbolizes Meursault in the way that they are both unique and are ostracized by the surrounding people. The dog is peculiar to other breeds because it has a skin infection called ‘mange’, which makes all of its hair fall out and forms brown blotches all over the body. Not only is this dog physically different, but also is distinctive because of the poor treatment that is given by Salamano, which causes him to be in constant fear.  Similarly Meursault is deemed different due to the indifference and lack of ambitions. Even at his mother’s funeral he shows neither grief nor affection. Instead, he “wasn’t sleepy, but was tired”, and he was irritated by the silence. Nevertheless, he replies to his boss saying, ”About Sixty,” when he asked of Meursault’s mother’s age which verifies that he does not know much about his own mother and that he is peculiarly different. In addition, the dog could foreshadow Meursault in a sense that they both disappear from the society. The reason why the dog ran away is unspecified, however we do know that no one has seen the dog ever since. Likewise, Meursault vanishes from the society because he receives a death sentence for being responsible of the murder, which erases his presence physically from the eyes of the society.  Perhaps both the dog and Meursault ‘vanished’ from the society because neither of them could adapt in the society. 

The sun & heat:

The sun is a significant symbol in the book as it is referred in the end of part 1, which is the climax of the novel. It is the sun that made Meursault commit the crime: “ All I could feel were the cymbals the sun was clashing against my forehead” which conveys the intensity of the sunlight. The sun and heat could symbolize the pressure in society since in the beginning of the novel it is the heat that annoys Meursault in the procession of his mother’s funeral rather than the actual fact that he is burying his mother. The sun and heat representing the pressure of society would explain why Meursault is always bothered by it. 

Here Camus is telling the reader how someone who behaves differently from the conventional manner imposed by society will be pressured to change his values and the way he behaves into a more "acceptable" one.

The Chaplain:

The Chaplain signifies Christianity. At the end of the novel the Chaplain offers a chance for salvation "God would help you". The fact that Meursault refuses to do so is viewed as peculiar from the reader. From this the reader can understand that Christianity signifies rational order and something that all society has to follow, and since Meursault refuses to do so he is deemed as irrational and is condemned as an "outsider" to the society. Therefore, Camus conveys a message that anything the society views peculiar is a threat to the society. 

Absurdity

Definition---> completely illogical or ridiculous

In the novel Albert Camus exposes different types of absurdities, these being the absurdity in Meursault's character and the trial. Throughout the book the readers are revealed to Meursault's strangeness and so he is seen as a rather "weird" person. After the murder of the Arab the trial can be seen as rather absurd since it is mainly being based on the fact that he didn't cry at his mother's funeral and also for being absolutely honest.

Absurdity in Character

At the Funeral:

Meursault's absurdity is expressed throughout the whole novel, this is first shown at the funeral of his mother where he refuses to see his mothers body. At first readers think of it as being understandable, however when the caretaker asks him 'Why not?' (12) it makes the readers consider the abnormality of not wanting to see his mother's body. At this point the caretakers reaction of the situation helps express the absurdity of Meursault. This though does not make the readers think of Meursault as bizzare but later on when he expresses his interest of the effect of the humidity and heat on the rate of decay on his mothers body instead of mourning, it makes readers speculate him as somewhat odd. 

At Home:

When Meursault gets back home after the funeral he does not do much, he rather spends the day alone. He is revealed as an observer because he spends his afternoon on his balcony watching the streets. This shows how he is curious but at the same time "stalkerish": 

"First of all it was families out for a walk, two little boys in sailor suits, with the trousers below their knees, looking a bit cramped in their stiff clothes, and a little girl with a big pink bow and black patent leather shoes. Behind them the mother, and enormous woman in a brown silk dress, and the father, a small, rather frail man whom I know by sight." (24)

Meursault does not believe his actions are absurd since he thinks of his day as a "typical Sunday" (26) while the readers think of him as rather awkward. Readers at first don't think much of it however further on in the novel when his obsession of curiosity is a reoccurring motif he is seen as crossing the limit of observing. This is when he is having lunch at Céleste and a woman sits across from him, he is rather surprised but after h watches her eat. When she finishes he decides to follow her until he looses sight of her, this is when it is a shock for the readers and he is seen as someone who is curious but out of the ordinary. However it is ironic because after losing sight of her he thinks to himself; "I thought how peculiar she was, but I fairly soon forgot about her,"(46) and this represents him as being even more abnormal. Meursault chooses to live as honest as he wishes and therefore stalking to him seems normal.

The Heat:

During the novel heat is very important because it always seems to intervene with his actions. It makes him easily irritated, for example he doesn't fancy Marie in the sun, he kills the Arab in the sun and on the eve of his death he realizes he has been happy. This not only shows how easily annoyed he gets but the impact of the sun on him. This is also presented further on in the novel when the room Meursault and the magistrate are talking in gets warmer and warmer and Meursault gets irritated and "snaps" at the magistrate for talking about God (68) and insisting him in having faith in God.

Outsider:

Meursault always feels as if he is watching and not doing the actions. For example, when he shoots the Arab he feels as if he watched himself shoot him instead of actually shooting him. This is also shown as previously discussed when he is on his balcony watching people on the streets and when he doesn't get a police officer because he wants to see what Raymond is doing to his mistress. All his unusual actions make him a very absurd and "weird" person and separate him from our society.

His Conclusions: 

"As if this great outburst of anger had purged all my ills, killed all my hopes, I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the nightsky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifferent of the world. And finding it so much like myself, in fact so fraternal, I realized that I'd been happy, and that I was still happy." (117)

At the end of the novel Meursault analyzes his life and concludes that he lives in a life of no meaning and no hope. He realizes of his absurd position in society, how he was an "outsider", but he mentions how even so he had been happy of his life. 

 

Absurdity of the Trial

When Meursault is arrested he is asked if he had chosen a lawyer and when he confesses that he didn't and he doesn't need one because his case was simple the examining magistrate answers by saying:

"'That's your opinion. But this is the law. If you don't choose a lawyer yourself, we'll appoint one for you automatically.' I thought it most convenient that the legal system should take care of such details. I told him so. He agreed and said it showed how well the law worked." (63)

It is ironic that the examining magistrate says that the law works well because during the trial readers are shown the absurdity of the situation. The trial is centered on his mother, he is asked why he had sent her to an old home, and why he hadn't cried at her funeral. It would have been alright if the court had addressed the topic for background and possible motifs for him killing the Arab. However, instead of the court questioning him for killing the Arab, it revolves around his actions at his mothers funeral. Meursault chooses not to force himself to cry at his mothers funeral and so he is being punished for his actions. So Meursault gets sentenced to death for not following society's unspoken rules.

Important Quotes [PART 1]

THE OUTSIDER by Albert Camus
Important Quotes Explained: PART 1

Chapter 1

Quote: “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” (pg 9)

Context: The day of Meursault’s mother’s death.

Explanation:This quote is the first sentence of the novel. This sudden opening to Meursault’s character tells the reader that it is very important to understand how Meursault is like. The main thing that is shown in this quote is that Meursault isn’t an ordinary character. He isn’t close to his mother and he lacks emotion to the fact that his mother has just died. When he says, “I don’t know”, to when his mother has died shows that he doesn’t care about the situation and that he just wants to get over what happened in the past.

Quote: “She said, ‘If we go slowly, you risk getting sun-stroke. But if you go too fast, you perspire and then in the church you catch a chill.’ She was right. There was no way out.” (Pg.22)

Context: When the nurse spoke to Meursault during the funeral procession.

Explanation:If you take what the nurse says literary, she is talking about how the hot weather during the funeral procession, but when Meursault says, ‘There was no way out”, reveals another meaning to what the nurse said. The hot sun is used to symbolize life and what the nurse said made Meursault think that life will always end by death and there is no way around that. This thought made Meursault think that you can have a slow or fast life but either way you will die in the end. This may suggest that Meursault thinks that there is no point in life.

Chapter 2

Quote: “It didn’t mean anything. In any case, you’re always partly to blame.” (Pg. 24)

· Context: Mersault says this when him and Marie Cordona are speaking about his mother, and he is about to say it wasn’t his fault but stopped himself

· Explanation: Rather than believing that the death was his own fault, he just believes that any death is always partly someone’s fault. This expresses his lack of sadness or guilt for his mother’s death, and the same indifference in his personality overall.

Quote: “I didn’t have lunch at Celeste’s as usual because I knew they’d ask me questions and I don’t like that” (Pg.25)

· Context: Mersault is trying to decide what to do on his free Sunday.

· Explanation: It seems that Mersault dislikes expressing emotions because this quote shows that Mersault tries to avoid ‘questions’ on his Mother’s death or anything that would make him have to talk about his feelings.

· Also, this quote is an example of Mersault always trying to justify his actions with a logical explanation, with the repetition of ‘because’. He does this many times in the book, for example:

o “I cooked myself some eggs and ate them out of the pan, without any bread because I’d run out and I didn’t feel like going down to buy some” (Pg.25)

o “I turned my chair around like the tobacconist’s because I found it more comfortable that way.”(Pg.26)

“I realized that I’d managed to get through another Sunday, that mother was now buried, that I was going to go back to work and that, after all, nothing had changed.” (Pg.28)

· Context: Mersault looks back at his Sunday as he comes back inside from his balcony and is about to go to bed.

· Explanation: This is a very strong quote, especially when he says, ‘nothing had changed’, even though his mother was now dead. This normality even though his mother died is very concerning to the reader – we wonder what kind of person he is or problem he has that would make him say this. It again emphasizes his lack of emotion and grief for his mother.

Chapter 3

Quote: “I told him that I hadn’t thought about it but it was interesting.” (Page 35)

· Context: After Raymond told him the different ideas of how he wanted to punish his mistress, he asks Meursault of his opinion.

· Explanation: The way Meursault replies to Raymond when he asks his opinion of how to punish Raymond’s mistress shows his indifference again to the problems of others. It also shows the peculiarity of Meursault’s character, because he has no strong reaction to what he has just been told and he finds it interesting. An ordinary person would not find different ways to punish someone interesting. Meursault’s reply also helps to demonstrate his bluntness and honesty.

Quote: “I wrote the letter. I did it rather haphazardly, but I did my best to please Raymond because I had no reason not to please him.” (Page 36)

· Context: Raymond asks Meursault to write a letter to his mistress for him, and he replies that he doesn’t mind doing it for him.

· Explanation: The fact that he doesn’t mind writing this letter for Raymond when he knows the reason for it which is to persuade Raymond’s mistress to return only so he can punish her by spitting in her face after going to bed with her, shows how he merely observes and does not interfere. He also replies quickly that he doesn’t mind writing the letter shows how he can be a pushover. Also his reason for wanting to please Raymond was not necessarily based on friendship or to gain anything, it was based on logic like most of his decisions. He doesn’t over think things he just does it, without emotionally involving himself in the situation.

CChapter 4

Quote: “I really fancied her because she was wearing a pretty red and white striped dress and leather sandals.” (pg 37)

Context: When Meursault met Marie on Saturday before going to the beach with her.

Explanation:The fact that Meursault likes Marie because of how she looks shows that Meursault lacks emotion and does things through logic and nature. Throughout the book he mentions that he fancies her through observations such as what she’s wearing, when she smiles, and her breasts. His relationship with Marie to him is completely sexual and lacks emotion, showing that he can have the same relationship with a woman as long as she looks good. He doesn’t really care about ones personality.

Quote: “A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her that it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.” (pg 38)

Context: The morning after Meursault and Marie made love when they came back from the beach.

Explanation:This quote shows how Meursault lacks a great deal of emotion. He believes that there is meaning to love. When Meursault says, “It didn’t mean anything”, tell the reader that he doesn’t understand love. In fact Meursault doesn’t comprehend any emotion because he doesn’t feel them.

Quote: “Marie said it was terrible and I didn’t say anything. She asked me to go and fetch a policeman, but I told her that I didn’t like policemen.” (pg 38)

Context: After Meursault and Marie heard the woman screaming and yelling while Raymond was hitting her.

Explanation: The contrast between Marie and Meursaults reaction to the screaming of the woman shows how Meursault is very different from the others in the society. How Meursault doesn’t react much shows how he doesn’t feel any negative emotions in the situation. When Marie refuses to get the police, it tells the reader that Meursault wants to avoid any trouble and he doesn’t want to get involved to complicate his life.

Chapter 5

Quote: “I wanted to hang up straight away because I know my boss doesn’t like people ringing s up from town.” (Pg.43)

· Context: Raymond phones Mersault in the office, and invites him and Marie to his chalet outside Algiers. He also mentions that he had been followed by a group of Arabs and asks Mersault to warn him if he sees any Arab near his house.

· Explanation: The quote shows that Mersault is a hard worker when it comes to work, and works diligently to please his boss. It extends to his overall personality of wanting to please people and do a thorough job, whatever he did. When Raymond asks him on this phone call to warn him if an Arab is near his house, Mersault says yes without questioning anything. This demonstrates his ‘people pleaser’ personality where he can’t say no.

Quote: “I said yes but I really didn’t mind. He then asked me if I wasn’t interested in changing my life. I replied that you could never change your life, that in any case one life was a good as another and that I wasn’t at all dissatisfied wit mine here.” (Pg.44)

Context: The boss announced to Mersault that he wanted to give him a promotion, to work in Paris. He says, ‘You’re a young man, and I imagine that sort of life must appeal to you”

Explanation: This shows that Mersault is different from an average young man, in the fact that he lacks ambition and, in this example, ‘doesn’t mind’ in an exciting life in Paris. This quote also shows that he likes his simple life the way it is, but with his ‘anything goes’ personality he doesn’t mind going. In addition, he says that even with small changes life is always the same. He also thinks that ‘one life is as good as another’, and believes in the equality of life. This quote is also significant as it is one of the rare times he talks about the future.

Quote: “That evening, Marie came round for me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said I didn’t mind and we could if she wanted to. She then wanted to know if I loved her. I replied as I had dome once already, that it didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t” (Pg.44)

Context: basically explained in the quote J

Explanation: The fact that he answers this important question so honestly and bluntly shows his lack of emotion. It also shows that he doesn’t understand what love is, or any kind of emotion for that matter. It again shows that he is not a normal person. He doesn’t think marriage is a serious matter and thinks it’s just ‘another thing to do’. It expresses his personality in terms ignorance, detachment, and honesty.

Chapter 6

Quote: “He hasn’t said anything to you yet. It’d be unfair to shoot just like that.” (Page 57)

· Context: When Raymond and Meursault see the Arabs again after the first fight, Raymond is ready to shoot the Arabs but Meursault convinces Raymond not to shoot until provoked, as it would be unfair.

· Explanation: This quote demonstrates the logical thinking of Meursault once again. Another example of Meursault’s logical thinking is when he tell Raymond, “if the other one intervenes, or if he draws his knife, I’ll let him have it”. This shows how Meursault is rational in his thinking, but at the same time indifferent to the situation. He doesn’t care if he might have to shoot another person or not, if it happens, it happens.

Quote: “It annoyed me to have to explain things to them” (Page 56)

· Context: After the men get into a fight with the Arabs , Raymond needs to be taken to the doctor and Meursault has to stay and explain to the women what has happened, but he doesn’t want to.

· Explanation: After an important event has happened, Meursault doesn’t want to explain it to the women, and is annoyed at the fact that he has to. This shows again how he never involves himself emotionally to situations. Not necessarily showing that he a cold person but detached, even with his own mother.

Quote: “I’d realized that I’d destroyed the balance of the day and the perfect silence of this beach where I’d been happy” (Page 60)

· Context: Meursault has just shot and killed the Arab.

· Explanation: This is a very strange reflection to have after just killing someone. He does not regret it or panic, but is disappointed that he has just ruined the mood of the day. He does not understand the significance of what he has just done. This shows an important attribute of Meursault, as it demonstrates that he lacks emotion and the importance of life. Emotions, family, friends and even himself do not matter to him.

the outsider introduction.

The stranger outsider is a novel by nobel-prize winning author Albert Camus. It is based on the life a middle aged man called Meursault, who in the heat of the moment (no pun intended), gunned down an Arab. The novel moves on to his trial and subsequent debate. I will not diverge further information because: I don't want to ruin it and I haven't read that far yet.

It was orginially written in French and it is known for its thoroughly descriptive passages and existentialist nature: even though Camus denies it. The translation we are reading was formualted by Joseph Laredo for Hamish Hamilton in 1982 and was published by the Penguin publishing conglomerate a year later.


Born in the November of 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria to a, excuse my french, Pied-Noir family, Albert Camus rose from the ashes of poverty and went to the University of Algiers, where he studied Philosophy. He also played Goal-keeper for the football team. Camus joined the Communist party but was later dismissed and accused of being a Trotskyist. He was later linked with anarchist movements. He moved to Paris to work for the Paris Soir newspaper agency.During WWII he was part of the French resistance and founded,and wrote for, the under-ground newspaper: Combat. He won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1957. 3 years later, Camus sadly died, with his friend, in a car crash in 1960, at the age of 46. In his pocket: a train ticket. He had planned to travel by train that day.

Note: A link to the novel online is added to the sidebar, however one should note that the translations, like the Ivan Denisovich version, are slightly different. However, the subject matter remains the same.

the reason why Solzhenitsyn chose a good day.

The day seems absolutely horrific for us. Getting up at 5:00am, to eat what seems like diluted dishwater and than walking to a power station, in subzero temperature throughout, to work for 10 hours, only to return back to eat more of the diluted dishwater and sleep on a uncomfortable bed.

The day, if we were to experience it, would possibly be the worst day of our lives.

However just before going to bed Shukhov is described as "pleased with life" and the day was accounted as "almost happy" The day was a good one for him.

Solzhenitsyn plays with the reader's notion of a 'bad day' as he make a good day, for the zeks, absolutely revolting.

The reader than is left to imagine what a bad day is like. The reader believes, due to this contrast, that the GULAG camps had hideous living conditions and the USSR, with approval and implementation of the GULAG system, was breaking international human right laws.

The reader is appauled with the government employees in this text, and thus sympathize with the position of the zeks

continuity and monotony.

continuity.

The lack of chapters is a clever method adopted by Solzhenitsyn

that reflets the seemingly never ending and relentless sentence

the zeks were sentenced too. The reader sympathizes with the

zeks as he two is locked within the book, unable to break, as

there seems to be no break in the prose.


The end of chapters are conventional points for the reader to

stop at and the lack of chapters handicaps the reader into

reading on. The reader, similar to the zeks, hasfreedom taken

away from himself/herself, in the form that they have to read

on.

The reader than feels easier to sympathize, or if you detest

reading, empathize with the zeks which are put on a strict

schedule, are stolen of their freedoms and our serving a endless

sentence.

monotony.

The simple authorship is combined with the lack of chapters in

this book to provide a sense of monotony throughout the novel. The book has no evident climax or buildup. There was nothing notably amazing about the plot of the book and there is no point at which the book seems like an ideal candidate for a blockbuster movie. However the humdrum tone of the novel colligates with the feel of the prison sentence, thus allowing, like the aspect of continuity, the reader to sympathize with the zeks.

trailer II : russian rap edition.