Alienated and indirect anti heroes are ideally illustrated in the novels Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and The Stranger by Albert Camus. Dostoyevsky incorporates an anon. , satirical storyteller of the narrative besides known as the Underground Man ( UM ) , while Camus portrays an indifferent and emotionless character called Meursault. Regardless of the different features of the chief characters, both Dostoyevsky and Camus use these two supporters to show a individual imperative subject of individuality to the readers. This subject is most accentuated in critical state of affairss, through the elaborate description of conditions. Particularly, the word picture of the conditions in the flood tide of both narratives presents the important positions of individuality.
Meursault is an prototype of a inactive adult male. He allows the milieus and the conditions to order himself and his actions alternatively of him commanding himself and his actions to prosecute his desires. Throughout the novel, he is often affected by the sunshine. He describes the Sun with strong enunciation in order to arouse negative imagination, irrespective of his state of affairs. The undermentioned quotation mark, “ There was n’t a shadow anyplace in forepart of me, and every object, every angle and swerve stood out so aggressively it made my eyes hurt[ 1 ], ” illustrates the unpleasantness Meursault experiences from the brightness of the Sun during his female parent ‘s funeral. The word “ aggressively ” highlights the hurting he receives from the beaming Sun beams. The strength of the summer heat has a negative impact on Meursault ‘s temper as he describes the Sun as “ cold and oppressive[ 2 ]. ” These two negative descriptions of the Sun accentuate the supporter ‘s defeat and annoyance. The grounds of his annoyance can be seen from the quotation mark, “ the blaze from the sky was intolerable[ 3 ]. ” Therefore, unlike others who enjoy the sunshine, Meursault shows uncomfortableness and reacts violently to the Sun, puting himself apart from the norm of society.
While the narratives in The Stranger take topographic point during summer, those in Notes from Underground occur during winter. The supporter of the book, the Underground Man ( UM ) possesses anti-heroic qualities that differentiate him from the society. Towards the terminal of portion one of Notes from Underground, the UM finishes the subdivision by adverting the snowfall and the incident associating to the snow. The UM delineates the state of affairs as “ a moisture, xanthous, cloudy snow falling down[ 4 ]. ” Ironically, the snow is normally non affiliated with the three words the UM uses to depict it. In other literary plants, the snow is portrayed as a pure, frozen, white substance that symbolizes both artlessness and naivete. However, the UM incongruously uses three immediate adjectives – moisture, xanthous and cloudy – to picture his acrimonious feelings about the snow. His bitter attitude and different positions of the snow distinguish the UM from the society, set uping a strong sense of individualism.
Camus and Dostoyevsky illustrate two conditionss that seem different from each other ; nevertheless, there is really congruity between the two. The most obvious and important similarity is the negative influence the two conditions conditions have on the temper of the supporter – arousing negative ambiance of the secret plan. This overall negative aura aroused from the conditions finally has an impact on each supporter ‘s positions on individualism, impacting the determinations they make in important state of affairss, or the flood tide of the novels.
Prior to the flood tide of Meursault ‘s offense, Camus opens the chapter by showing Meursault ‘s fatigues with the undermentioned quotation mark, “ I had a difficult clip waking up on Sunday, and Marie had to name me and agitate meaˆ¦I felt wholly drained and I had a little concern[ 5 ]. ” From this quotation mark, it is apparent that Meursault lets the Sun control him, as he is apathetic about his milieus. He shows a glance of attention about anyone, including his lover, as he merely responds physically to the events that occur. This can be seen from the apathetic tone of the above quotation mark. In add-on, Meursault describes the sunshine as if it is assailing him, as demonstrated in the undermentioned quotation mark, “ The twenty-four hours, already bright with Sun, hit me like a smack in the face[ 6 ]. ” The verb “ hit ” and the noun “ smack ” evoke violent and counter feelings he receives from the Sun, puting him apart from the society once more. While Marie “ [ amuses ] herself laping her bag aˆ¦ in all waies[ 7 ], ” under the heat, Meursault expresses uncomfortableness and defeat throughout the chapter. This seeable difference farther exemplifies Meursault ‘s individualism.
In contrast, the presence of the moisture snow foreshadows changelessness of the UM ‘s anomic and stray life. It is interesting to observe that the “ moisture snow ” appears whenever the UM confronts or at least efforts to face the world. However, he is incapable of moving, irrespective of his limitless desire to make so. The brush with Zverkov and other friends illustrates such facet of the UM. The quotation mark, “ Yes, I ‘ll sing if I want to sing, because I ‘ve got a right to singaˆ¦ But I did n’t sing[ 8 ]. ” illustrates the importance of the right to carry through one ‘s single desire. Regardless of his desires, the UM is unable to move and therefore, as an wake of no action, remains changeless throughout the book. The significance is that this event happened when the snow was falling. The presence of the snow relates to his individualism as he fails to interact with his friends. His positions on individuality remain changeless ; he continues to chastise the enlightenment thoughts and inaccuracy of the graduated table of human advantage as they omit individualism.
As mentioned antecedently, Meursault lives passively. He is closely linked with the natural universe, more specifically, the Sun. Even at the minute of his offense, Meursault ‘s actions are the consequences of the crisp sunshine. The undermentioned commendation is the description of the Sun:
“ The Sun was get downing to fire my cheeks, and I could experience beads of perspiration assemblage in my superciliums. The Sun was the same as it had been the twenty-four hours I ‘d buried Maman, and like so, my forehead particularly was aching me, all the venas in it throbbing under the skinaˆ¦I knew that it was stupid, that I would n’t acquire the Sun off me by stepping frontward. But I took a measure, one measure frontward.[ 9 ]“
In the quotation mark, Camus makes an allusion to one of the scenes in the first chapter of the novel: the scene where Meursault and Perez are on the route to the cemetery during the funeral. In this scene, Camus uses the route as a metaphor to exemplify that decease is inevitable. This thought is illustrated by Perez ‘s effort to take a cutoff by traversing the field alternatively of following the way. The exact same thought can be applied to the Sun. Meursault tries to “ acquire the Sun off [ him ] by stepping frontward ; ” nevertheless, he can non make so because it is impossible to wholly avoid the Sun by merely traveling about. Regardless of who the individual is or where the individual stands, he will stop up having the sunshine. Therefore, the sunshine potentially represents decease, as it is inevitable to anyone. Worlds, no affair who they are or where they rank in footings of hierarchy, will decease finally ; they are all equal when confronting decease.
However, Dostoyevsky interprets the snow in a wholly different manner. The moisture snow symbolizes the barrier to the society, as it cuts the UM from the remainder of the universe and therefore doing him populate a lone life off from society. At first, the UM acts harmonizing to his impulse and desires. But every bit shortly as he realizes that Liza has pride and religion within her and therefore is different from other typical adult females, he rushes out from his shell in hunt of her. He searches for her, but the falling snow wipes off her path, doing his hunt futile. The snow separates him from Liza, and as a consequence, the UM chooses to close himself off from the society. He decides to go a outcast as he continues to oppugn his actions and the branchings. The undermentioned quotation mark, “ aˆ¦cheap felicity or lofty agony? Well, state me – which of the two is better?[ 10 ]“ demonstrates that he is cognizant of the effects. As the UM remains changeless, his doctrine of individualism remains unchanged.
In decision, Notes from Underground and The Stranger use the conditions to heighten the positions on individuality. Both the Sun and the moisture snow possess symbolic significances that help the readers understand the chief characters ‘ positions on individualism. The conditions in both books leads each supporter to travel on a different discharge of life. Meursault ‘s indifference toward his milieus and the changeless impact of the Sun separate him from the society, as he contradicts the recognized norm of society. The UM continues to turn his back off from the social universe and lives his ain life due to his overly cognizant and enhanced position on individualism. In malice of such dissimilar single features, both storytellers expeditiously outline the elaborate word picture of the conditions in an effort to stress their doctrine on individualism near the denouement of the book.
