Camus The Metamorphosis, And Soborio's The Ni
Kiley Stackpole
Kane
World Literature
3 April 2017
Existential Themes In Camus’s The Stranger, Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and Soborio’s The Nihilists, we see a parallels of existential themes. These three sources fall into many different terms under the broader theme of existentialism, however the most apparent among them is nihilism. Through these three works of art, some aspect of them address the concept that life is meaningless and that nothing in the world has real existence. In the story of The Stranger, the main character, Meursault, is lifeless man who finds no meaning or worry about anything in the world. He appears to be the model nihilist. A man mentally at odds with the entire universe, he plods through life knowing no certainties and caring for nothing. The first and most significant pointer to Meursault's nihilistic tendencies is his mother’s death. Early in the novel, in the first couple lines, Meursault's nihilist views become apparent. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday” (3). The opening lines of the novel introduce Meursault’s emotional indifference. He proceeds to go to the funeral, but does not shed a tear. Rather than …show more content…
Gregor wakes up one morning and finds himself transformed into a bug which leads to a lot of issues pertaining to both work and his family. Towards the end of the story, his transformation took a toll on everyone in his family, and all ties he had with his family are lost. His family ask Gregor to leave and upon filling their request, he dies in his bedroom. His family concluded that all of their life problems had been because of Gregor and all he was was a burden on the family. Beginning with his transformation and ending with his death, Gregor developed nihilist views on the
Kane
World Literature
3 April 2017
Existential Themes In Camus’s The Stranger, Kafka's The Metamorphosis, and Soborio’s The Nihilists, we see a parallels of existential themes. These three sources fall into many different terms under the broader theme of existentialism, however the most apparent among them is nihilism. Through these three works of art, some aspect of them address the concept that life is meaningless and that nothing in the world has real existence. In the story of The Stranger, the main character, Meursault, is lifeless man who finds no meaning or worry about anything in the world. He appears to be the model nihilist. A man mentally at odds with the entire universe, he plods through life knowing no certainties and caring for nothing. The first and most significant pointer to Meursault's nihilistic tendencies is his mother’s death. Early in the novel, in the first couple lines, Meursault's nihilist views become apparent. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday” (3). The opening lines of the novel introduce Meursault’s emotional indifference. He proceeds to go to the funeral, but does not shed a tear. Rather than …show more content…
Gregor wakes up one morning and finds himself transformed into a bug which leads to a lot of issues pertaining to both work and his family. Towards the end of the story, his transformation took a toll on everyone in his family, and all ties he had with his family are lost. His family ask Gregor to leave and upon filling their request, he dies in his bedroom. His family concluded that all of their life problems had been because of Gregor and all he was was a burden on the family. Beginning with his transformation and ending with his death, Gregor developed nihilist views on the