Individualism Enhances The Character

0 / 5. 0

Individualism enhances the character

Introduction

L’Etranger, by Albert Camus, tells the events corresponding to Mersault’s life, an adult man, from his mother dies until he is arrested and judged for having murdered an Arabic. The work was written during a period in which great French philosophers promoted radical currents, so it is not surprising that this novel has great philosophical features within it. One of the most notable characteristics of the novel is the presence of glimpses of individualistic philosophy. Next, it will be explained how it influences the personality of Mersault, the main character.

Individualism, according to Alexis de Tocqueville, can be defined as rebellion of individuals against hierarchy in the name of equality. This position derives from another important current, existentialism, which identifies the human being as a full and thinking entity. That point of view before life and other people is precisely what differentiates Mersault from others. 

Developing

He does not seem to show any emotions about his surroundings most of the time. When we talk about character, we refer to the “set of qualities of a thing, of a person or a community, which distinguishes them, for their way of being or acting, from others.”In the case of Mersault, it is clear that his identity is very different from that of the surrounding characters, due to the individualistic philosophy that is very present in his character.

From the beginning of the novel, your indifference can be noticed about those changes that occur in your personal life, but that do not significantly affect your living. When he learns that his mother is dead, for example, he is not very interested in details. Mom has died today. Or maybe yesterday. I do not know. I received a asylum telegram: his mother died. 

Burial tomorrow. Felt condolences. But it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday. Mersault only knows that her mother is dead. There is no difference, objectively, between the fact that his mother has died yesterday or a week ago. Total, his mother is dead. He cannot do anything about it, rather than going to his funeral and continuing with his normal life.

 Perhaps it is Mersault’s serenity in this situation, which baffles his employer in the novel: I asked for two days of license to my employer and could not neglect them before a similar excuse. But he didn’t seem satisfied. I came to tell him: it’s not my fault. He did not answer me. The Mersault chief is a bit confused about the ease with which he tells him the news, and even more so when it comes to justifying him.

Not even when Maria, her partner, proposes to marry her, seems to care:. Married or not, the character would remain alive, and due to the lack of feelings of him for Maria, Mersault as a person would not change at all.

The feelings and interests, specifically, are essential in individualistic philosophy, since they are the main reason why the human being should act. And precisely, that’s what Mersault does throughout the work. In the case of his relationship with Maria, it can be seen that it is not due to deep feelings, because he himself comes to declare that he does not love her: a moment later asked me if I loved her. I replied that it was not important, but that it seemed to me that. In fact, he affirms that if another girl in the same situation would ask for marriage, I would accept: 

I wanted to know simply if I would have accepted the same proposition made by another woman to whom she was linked in the same way. Naturally. Mersault’s character was formed so that he can act freely, and although he expresses that he does not care about his emotions, what does not really interest him is the institution of marriage. None of the establishments and the rules imposed by society are interested, so its character converts it into a foreigner for others.

The dynamics of the link that Mersault and María shared, rather than for feelings, is given by wishes of the moment and for the satisfaction of their mutual company. The water was cold and I liked swimming. We move away with Mary and felt united in our movements and in our satisfaction. During the novel, Mersault never expresses indication or affection to Mary, but as evidenced in the previous appointment, he admits to having a good time with her.

However, the moment in which you can truly observe the influence of feelings on Mersault’s attitude is in the climax of the novel: when Mersault murders the Arab man on the beach. I felt more than the Sun cymbals on the forehead E, unquestionably, the shining sheet arising from the knife, always in front of me. The burning sword was rolling my eyebrows and penetrating my pain sinned. Then everything hesitated.

My whole being distended and twisted my hand on the revolver. Mersault did not think about the feelings and interests of his victim, or those of his companions. At that time I only felt fatigue and despair, so he decided to shoot without further ado. He was not afraid of the prison where they were going to arrested him, or the justice of his country. I only wanted to satisfy their impulses immediately.

conclusion

As can be seen, the foreigner has several elements of the individualistic philosophy of the twentieth century. These elements can decipher in the character of the protagonist, Mersault, possessor of an existentialist type of thought. That philosophy is the one that makes his character someone who is allowed to be carried mainly due to his interests, even to turn his back on the other matters of his environment, because they did not affect him in the least. 

These attitudes produce in their friends and close people a bewilderment and even disgust, for not accepting the rules that society imposes on its inhabitants. All this means that the novel becomes more intriguing, since our vital character acquires a very different attitude from the rest, which leads him to be a foreigner, in an environment that has a different point of view before life. 

Free Individualism Enhances The Character Essay Sample

Related samples

Zika virus: Transmission form Introduction The Zika virus belongs to the Flaviviradae family, was found for the first time in a monkey called Rhesus febrile and in...

Zika virus: cases and prevention Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that Zika is a virus caused through the mosquito bite which is...

Zeus The King of Greek mythology Introduction Zeus is the Olympic God of heaven and thunder, the king of all other gods and men and, consequently, the main figure...

Zeus's punishment to Prometheus Introduction Prometheus, punished by Zeus Prometheus, punished by Zeus. Prometheus is a ‘cousin’ of Zeus. He is the son of the...

Comments

Leave feedback

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *