EXISTENTALISM IN CRIME AND PUNISHMENT AND THE STRANGER

Being creative beings humans have a natural exceptional manner by which they understand their destiny and their nature. They have a set of beliefs that govern their psychological view of everything, the choices they make are to be in their own judgment that is not controlled by anyone therefore creating ideologies that base their daily arguments and view of the world. In the books, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Stranger by Albert Camus, existentialism is widespread throughout the read. The characters in these books had a belief of their own which they expressed through the actions they took in regards to their life. The main characters in these books, Meursault and Raskolnikov have both committed crimes against humanity by murdering.

For example at his mother’s funeral, he was expected to be sorrowful as any son would but he showed no emotions to this and went on with his day like it was a normal one. He says that he had realized that he had gone through another Sunday after his mother’s burial and that he was going back to work since to him nothing had changed (Camus pg 5). As the story begins Meursault starts by saying that His mother had died that day or the previous day, he was not sure (Camus pg 3). This was after he receives a telegram informing him of his mother’s death. He treats his mother’s death like a normal thing or in such a manner that suggest that she did not mean much to him like she was any other person he was forced to have known.

In The Stranger, Meursault is sentenced to death whereby he is to be beheaded. He was accused of murder after shooting an Arab at a beach fight which he says he did because he felt uncomfortable and not because he was threatened. He goes on to add four more shots on the Arab’s body and when another Arabian takes out a knife, he does not flinch. He says that the burning sun and its reflection to his eyes bothered him (Camus pg 59). This action led to his imprisonment though he was not agitated by that since he believed that he had committed an offence and the end game was paying for this action. Existentialism is also evident in the religion matters touched in both reads.

During his trial at the magistrate’s office, the magistrate brings out a crucifix from one of the drawers and tells Meursault of his belief in God. He believed that the even the worst of sinners could be forgiven (Camus 43). Meursault indicates that he was not a believer in God. His free will to religion surprises the magistrate because he did not expect him to be a non-believer and if he was, he could at least show a reconnection of some sort to God after his crime of murder. His existence is somewhat not bothered by the fact that he might not receive Godly forgiveness for being a sinner who is not willing to repent. He does not care and therefore accepts his punishment for the crime he committed.

There are no expectations of Meursault having to view the dead Arab as anything but a result of his doing. He lacks humanity because he shows no feeling of humanity after taking the life of the Arab. This ideologies that rule his life, base the argument that he is an existentialist. He says that he feels nothing and that was a decision he made by himself to feel nothing for no one. At his mother’s vigil he sleeps all night not even paying attention to what people had to say about her. He is just there to be seen not be heard. Both characters have decisions about their mothers that affect them differently Raskolnikov was a great existentialist with the argument that although he was a scholar who had published his own works was still limited by the laws of a society.

He breaks the law in a bid to prove his theory. Raskolnikov talks of how great men should conduct themselves in the society. He holds his ideology on the fact that great men have to make decisions that seem more than ordinary. They have to do things that please them and not mind of the consequences (Thomson 2017). His ideology is bought by Meursault who feels that everything he does is to please his persona. Not the world. Meursault, who, is viewed as a person following his own strict rules. He finds his murdering the Arab as a simple act and deems the need for a court as a waste of time. He murdered a person and must live with that and accept the implications.

He does not care of what the sentence will be he accepts it anyway. While in prison he imagines what the future will be like, like how long he would have to spend in isolation. He chooses to withhold his urges of purging into the water. In his statement it might be viewed as if he has a dual personality. One that is more emotional to the environment and the society and the other that is in control of his world. The personality tributes are what are deemed as strange. He becomes a stranger to himself and defines this through the actions he takes and how he reacts differently to them (McCarthy 1988). She got married to a self-preserved man in order to help Raskolnikov get employed.

She was like Meursault’s Marie to Raskolnikov. She would go to any lengths in a bid to help her brother. Sonya was a daughter to a drunkard and worked as a prostitute so that she could help her family. Raskolnikov met her at a bar. After admitting to the crime of killing the old pawnbroker, he gets a minimal sentence compared to Meursault’s. It was through his free will that Raskolnikov decided to tell the truth of the murder to Sonya, this saves his life since she made him accept and admit his crimes. Meursault’s ignorance to the repercussions of his actions leads him on the death row. Raskolnikov is torn between two worlds, one where he battles the idea of turning himself in or not and the other where he fears suspicion.

His guilt and fear of suspicion make him do things that can be termed as crazy. He feels that the facts laid out by the prosecutor are shrew in a way. They are not correct as they had happened. His mind keeps on inviting him to act on the proceedings of the court but he is held back by the lawyer’s warning. The prosecutor is carried away by his own free will to make sure that Meursault gets sentenced on a guilty as charged sentence. He thwarts the facts to fit in his evidence against the accused. He welcomes death like it was a normal thing saying that he had been happy and was at that moment happy. His situation makes him have a realization of what his mother underwent during her death.

He for once shows a concern for his mother’s feelings. He feels what she felt so he compares with her (Ryken 2012). The realization that was almost to die does not make him flinch he says that he is eager to no longer feel alone. XVIII. Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. New York: P. F. Collier&Son, 1917; Bartleby. pdf?sequence=1 Heffernan, George “Sexism, Racism, and Colonialism in L’Étranger/The Stranger” Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Ed; Peter Francev 2014 McCarthy, Patrick “Camus: The Stranger” Cambridge University Press 1988 https://books. google. co. ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kItXNEolJJMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Existentialism+in+crime+and+punishment+and+the+stranger&ots=5jtgw6ANmk&sig=Ug889fvbqvQeexyahg8I-FJhNI4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Özyön, Arzu.