Group items tagged

Argument: In the literary critique Camus' The Stranger, written by Arthur Scherr, the concept of Meursault's characterization and the misinterpretations that result due to this characterization are discussed. The author discusses and dismisses the various viewpoints of literary scholars in regards to discussing the intellectual competence of the main character. Claims: The author claims that many literary scholars view the existential hero as an "irrational, unintelligent child" due to his inability to emphasize with others and rationalize his own actions. However, Scherr claims that no such correlation between Meursault's irrationality and intelligence exist. More so, the author discusses how Camus actually presents the stranger as an individual of high intelligence, citing interactions Meursault has with other characters as prime examples. Evidence: "Meursault's ephemeral comrade…Raymond Sintes…trusts that Meursault possesses sufficient intellect and verbal acuity to compose a convincing letter for Raymond to send to his unfaithful girlfriend" (Scherr). "Meursault's boss recognizes his abilities and offers him a promotion" (Schell). "Appropriately enough, the last person to remark on Meursault's intelligence is the prosecuting attorney at his trial for murder. 'The prisoner is an educated man,' he tells the jury. 'You havee observed the way in which he answered my questions; he is intelligent and he knows the value of words'" (Scherr).

In the literary critique Heroes of Our Time: The Stranger, written by Germaine Bree, the author discusses the characterization of Meursault as the "absurd" hero. She claims that he is content to live and ask no questions, refusing to make any concession to the norms of society. Meursault's development throughout the course of the novel is also tracked. Bree claims that Meursault's error lies in his disassociation from society. She describes him as an individual whose story is used by Camus to ridicule modern man's strive to put meaning to their lives, emphasizes Camus' absurdist philosophy. Furthermore, she tracks the development of Meursault's characterization in order to emphasize Meursault's innocence in the fact of society. "In L'Etranger Camus thus suggests that in the face of the absurd no man can afford passively just to exist. To fail to question the meaning of the spectacle of life is to condemn both ourselves, as individuals, and the whole world to nothingness"(Bree). "Meursault's attitude at first merely reveals how arbitrary and superficial are the codes with which we cover up the stark incomprehensibility of life" (Bree). "He is a stranger to society, because he refuses to make any concession whatsoever to its codes and rituals. He sees no relation at all between his mother's death and the fact that he goes to see a comic film two days later, and he establishes none" (Bree).

Argument: In the literary critique Confession and Desire in L'Etranger, written by Gilbert d. Chaitin, the author argues that Meursault should not, first and foremost, be seen as a Christ figure. He argues against the belief that the main character's ability to live outside the temporal flow allows him to reach a deeper level of enlightenment at the end of the novel, suggesting that there is only a reaffirming of his previous beliefs. Chaitin dismisses claims that the bipartite structure of the novel aids in the characterization of Meursault as an absurd hero. Claims: The author claims that Meursault development as a character stems from his firm belief in the absurdity of life. While other critics notice a change in the character's persona in the second half of the novel, Chaitin claims that Meursault actually reaffirms his beliefs while waiting for execution, only becoming more vocal about his convictions. He states that Meursault only takes pleasure in remembering past events due to his desire to replace the situation he finds himself in the present. Evidence: "The only plausible conclusion to be drawn from this evidence is, therefore, that Meursault's famous 'prise de conscience' does not indicate a change of attitude, but a reconfirmation of his earlier posture" (Chaitin). "Instead of looking back on his past with the eyes of a romantic wishing to resuscitate and preserve it for posterity, Meursault takes an interest in the past only insofar as it informs or replaces his present" (Chaitin). "The actual mode of narration used in the novel corresponds to the Meursault who has become cognizant of his discourse. What matters, therefore, is not the specific nature of the events of his life, but their degree of presence for him; hence the often apparently trivial nature of many of the events that he records, especially in Part I" (Chaitin)

Argument: Carter Kaplan's "The Advent of Literary Dystopia" argues the similarities and differences of Dystopia and satire in the form of literature. Relates to the dystopian society of The Hunger Games. Claim: The idea of dystopia Kaplan discusses come from menippean satire although they differ when it comes to humor. Menippean satire and dystopia are forms of mythology in which both ideas are not likely to occur in reality but emphasizes orthodoxies in society. Kaplan argues that dystopia creates prophacies based on fictional circumstances that relate to society. In other terms, predictions of the future that are usually in a negative manner; the idea of dystopia portray negative mood in literature. Evidence: "Both forms are converned with intellectual mythology, which they critique by exploring the interrelationships that exist between ignorance, intolerance, conflict, brutality, euphemisn, passivity, scientism, and various modern orthodixies" (Kaplan). "The mood of dystopia is usually dark, pessimistic, and often reflects paranoia, alarm or hysteria" (Kaplan). "Dystopia uses fiction to portray institutions based on intellect mythology and essays prophecy and prognostication" (Kaplan). "The literature of dystopia examines the possible effects intellectual mythology can have on individuals and society" (Kaplan).

In the literature critique "Dissent, Assent, and the Body in Nineteen Eighty-Four", Naomi Jacobs analyzes how George Orwell groups the public in what is called the 'Body' in order to explain the totalitarian oppression in Oceania. Both utopian and dysutopian empires utilize the collective mind of the public in order to sway opinions, build ignorance and subjugate the masses. Utopian empires aim to build a country where "suffering is minimized and pleasure is maximized" (Jacobs 1) while on the contrary a dysutopian empire maximizes ignorance in order to keep the masses from questioning the totalitarian authority. Jacobs claims that the government in Oceania created by Orwell uses the degradation of the physical body as another way to homogenize the population in hopes of destroying any outliers that may question the government. While a utopia uses the "powers of eroticism to regenerate the [individual]" (Jacobs 4), Oceania undergoes a change towards uniformity where everyone is described as "small, dark and ill-favored" (1984, Orwell 52-53). A dysutopian government suppresses natural human instincts such as lust and desire as a way to break the all desires of humans such as rebellion and reform. Ultimately, Jacobs argues that Orwell builds a dysutopian government through the use of population homogenization and the suppression of human instincts.

Argument: Evidence: Claim: