Friday, October 6, 2017
Autism in The Stranger
In the first part of the book, The Stranger, the main character Meursault is illustrated as a straightforward narrator seems to lack deep emotions or connection with people in his life. For example, at the beginning of part one, Meursault seems unbothered by his mother’s death and rather by the fact that he must disrupt his routine to attend her funeral. His behavior is easily dismissible as being unemotional or “shallow” but Meursault’s tone seems to point to him being slightly autistic.
Several interaction behaviors of people with autism include; becoming upset by a slight change in routine or being put in an overstimulating environment and difficulty communicating and interacting with others. While it is clear that Meursault is very independent and able to live and thrive on his own, this could be the explanation for Meursault’s actions and through process.
At the end of part one, it seems that Meursault is led to killing a man by the Sun. At first glance, this may seem bizarre or impossible that one might be led to murder by the Sun, but is it really that improbable? As I previously stated, one interaction behaviors of people with autism is becoming very uncomfortable over stimulating environments. This could be the reason that he became so uncomfortable with the bright glaring sun “slash[ing] at [his] eyelashes and stabb[ing] at [his] stinging eyes” (59).
DQ: How does Camus use simple sentence structure and Meursault’s seeming lack of emotion develop the story?
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I hadn't thought about Meursault's behaviors in this light and I totally agree. Autistic individuals have certain things that really bother them, and when they experience those things, they freak out. At the time of the murder, Meursault was so overcome by the heat and the brightness of the sun that he just wigged out. He was angry and frustrated, so he killed.
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ReplyDeleteI think there should be a larger emphasis on this idea. As readers we try to analyse a characters psychological thinking and I noticed that he becomes very irritable over small things. He points them out in times when I wouldn't be able to focus on anything, especially during the time of his mother's death. We might think of his inability to self-reflect or share emotions as rude but he shares the same qualities of a person with Autism.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing when I was reading part one! I was getting frustrated with how he was unlike most protagonists in novels I read, and then this thought popped into my head. His blatant honesty with the reader and with others in the story about how he is feeling and what he is thinking do seem reflective of someone with Autism.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the entire book thus far I have been frustrated with the lack of emotion that Meursault has displayed. Yet after reading your post I shame myself for letting my emotions get the best of me. I truly wasn't letting the book play out and instead I judged it right off the bat. I had never thought that the short sentences could have more meaning than to show the lack of emotion of a character, they could possibly show much more than that. I hope your idea gets brought up in class because I think this topic could be a very interesting discussion question.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting thought that I hadn't realized before. It makes a lot of sense when you explain it, and I am disappointed that I missed it.
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