Comparison

Comparison of Meursault from The Stranger

and Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye

Introduction

The novels , The Stranger ' by Albert Camus (1942 ) and The Catcher in the Rye ' by J . D . Salinger , have provided significant literary comparisons in the characters of Camus ' Meursault and Salinger 's Caulfield . In the case of the character Meursault , he is a portrayal of a lawless individual governed by the principles of extreme objectivity Meursault considers the reality and destiny as import aspects of life 's phenomena that subject the person to non-modifiable situations

. The death of his mother and the Arab , his imprisonment , and every happenings of the story are all part of a pattern that cannot be understood my neither science nor religion . Such is the portrayal of Camus and his own personality . On the other hand , Holden Caulfield in the novel of Salinger portrays a role strayed from the appropriate paths of education . Holden is a typical dropout that starts out his complexities right after he flunked and expelled from school . Throughout his journey of finding himself , he uncovers the hypocrisy and the negative forces present in reality of his world

Similar to Camus portrayal of Meursault , Salinger also uses the character of Holden to illustrate his principles of how life , reality and society interact with each other . According to MacFadyen (2000 Camus ' Meursault and Salinger 's Holden Caulfield are both adrift from any notion of social , codified existence (p .50 . The similarities and contrasts of the novels greatly rely on the author 's portrayal of their principles in life through the heroes , while the differences are displaced in the angles of the personalities manifested by these characters throughout the entire events of the story

Discussion

Meursault in The Stranger

Meursault is the protagonist of Camus ' novel , The Stranger , wherein his main role is to act illustrate how the theory of absurd influences man 's response over the confronting events in life . The character of Meursault is an illustration of a character that possesses a flat emotion completely passive response to his surroundings , seemingly bored attitude towards the events of his life , and detachment from the actual realities of his life . These characters of extreme passivity are observed in his responses during the death of his mother wherein he did not show any signs of remorse or mourning , unmoved by the offer of his boss for a job promotion in Paris , his affair with his mistress Marie and most importantly , the murder of an Arab . The conscious memory of Camus ' mother represents the projection of Meursault 's view towards his mother during the time of its funeral . Three primary characteristics have been observed in the Meursault that prove significant to the aims of the study

First , Meursault 's objective response and principles over the events of his surroundings implicate a certain attitude likened to the author 's views . The character of Meursault in the story is an antithesis between natural existence and the presenting existence on culture and social norms...