The Stranger - Unique Dialect as a Literary Device
Upon first reading The Stranger, by Albert Camus, one is left with the impression that Mersault is a heartless, unfeeling monster. However, through rereading the novel and thoroughly analyzing the text, one unmasks the theme hidden behind Mersault's thought process: life is pointless, and whatever menial tasks we manage perform in our lifetime mean nothing, for in the end we all die anyway. A unique, one-of-a-kind approach to this theme is used. Not only does Camus use an informal and childishly simple dialect, but he also uses the lack of strong imagery and personification to illustrate a strong felt indifference towards the world. Furthermore, Albert Camus repetitively displays the sun as a constant annoyance. The sun could be interpreted as a symbol for life. Thus, through these literary devices, or lack thereof, Albert Camus is able to convey the belief that life is pointless because we all die in the end. One of Camus's most obvious literary techniques is his unique dialect, which is apparent in the very first sentence: "Maman died today."(3). The utter simplicity of nearly every sentence in the book drills home the blunt (and occasionally hidden) truth of each fact. At the same time, however, the reader understand
Two other, more subtle devices are imagery and personification. However, it is not the applications of these devices that connects the reader, Mersault, and the theme. Instead, it is the lack of these devices that drives the message deep into the reader's mind. The author sprinkles a mere handful of weak imagery throughout the novel, keeping each example of either both refreshing and welcome. For the most part, imagery consists of street lamps "making the pavement glisten"(24) or Mersault and Emmanuel "dripping with sweat"(26) and other such minuscule occurrences. The frail imagery displayed in these examples and other such sentences throughout the book are not employed to directly support the theme. Rather, they are used to merely keep the reader interested and aware of the setting in his or her mind's eye. While not giving the direct support most commonly found in other novels, imagery still performs an important task by being so rare and weak. This holds words at bay that may provoke unwelcome emotions, which would eat away at the message of the book. Likewise, personification rarely peeks out from the text, choosing to keep hidden for those rare times in which the author wishes to invoke emotions in the reader or to convey the understanding of emotions stirred within Mersault. Most frequently, imagery and personification are used in conjunction in passages where the sun and heat are present, such a
Some common words found in the essay are:
Albert Camus, Stranger Mersault, Mersault Emmanuel, Arab Mersault, imagery personification, albert camus, , strong imagery personification, direct support, life pointless, symbol life, describes sun, strong imagery, support theme,
Approximate Word count = 959
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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