Throughout the first chapter of the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, one thing that stood out was the narrator's lack of sympathy for his mother's death throughout the time of him going through the funeral.
One of the main evidence throughout the book where we can see the narrator's lack of feeling was in the very beginning of the book.
"Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know" (3).
If someone were to experience the death of their parents, sibling, or a close individual, they would remember the details of what they went through. This includes the specific date in which the incident occurred. The narrator has uncertainty of the date his mother died, which gives the reader a sense of how distant he may have been with his mother.
Another scene that stood out was when the narrator was with a group of his mother's friend during the funeral and saw one of her friend crying. Although the narrator does not talk about the emotion that he was going through, the tone of the way he spoke may make the reader wonder how the narrator really felt as he was experiencing one of his mother's friend cry.
"We just sat there like that for a while. The woman's sighs and sobs were quieting down. She sniffled a lot. Then finally she shut up" (11).
Not only is the tone of this quote quite monotone and emotionless, but the diction that the narrator used, "shut up", may give the reader an idea that the narrator was not too fond of hearing the women cry. He even said "I wished I didn't have to listen to her anymore" (10). During the scene where the narrator was stating what he observed during the time of his mother's death, the narrator's diction, syntax, and tone will pose a question to the reader regarding what he was feeling throughout the experience.
One thing that I was thinking about during reading that passage was the normalcy of it all. He can't remember the date, or at least it seemed to me that he couldn't remember the date, because it was not a more significant event than any other in his life. This seems to be a common through line in his observations. Nothing seems that shocking or significant. There seems to be an aura of aloofness around him.
ReplyDeleteThis is an accurate evaluation of this tone and diction that he used. I completely agree with you on all of this. One thing that came to mind when reading this section for the first time was that possibly it could have been a defense mechanism for the feelings of sorrow he was experiencing. However after continued reading of his character, I believe that this is correct.
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