Victims of Society in The Outsider and Antigone Essay

Victims of Society in The Outsider and Antigone Both Meursault and Antigone are the protagonists in their stories. They have much in common, such as the fact that they explain their impending deaths as decided by fate, even though each seems to have an easy way of surviving. Both are willing to die for what they believe is right. The concept of fate is quite different between the texts. In Antigone, a Chorus tells you at the beginning of the play that Antigone will die. Antigone uses the excuse of fate to explain her own death to Creon, where as in The Outsider fate is much more subtle. First I will look at The Outsider and Meursault. Albert Camus wrote this novel as a challenge against the death penalty and the society that†¦show more content†¦Come to think of it, I wasnt unhappy. Meursaults mothers funeral is the first chapter of the novel, and the introduction to Meursaults character. On the bus journey to his mothers old peoples home he says only yes to a soldier that asks him a question because he does not want to talk. This is an example of the short sentences he uses as dialogue and as narrator throughout the book. When he gets to the home, he does not cry or act sad, showing us that he is quite emotionless. He points out to the caretaker that he is just another inmate, with a little extra authority due to his position. Meursault does not recognise the caretakers authority as anything special, which is why he does not see the caretakers point, Meursault feels the same way about the judiciary in part 2. Camus makes the caretaker look stupid because he does not see the truth that he is just an inmate with extra work. He may be making a statement here about the way we try to make ourselves better by creating titles and roles. Authority is linked to fate in that they are abstract concepts and both can be considered opposites to freedom. During the first part of the novel, Meursault gets a girlfriend named Marie. Meursault does not care whether they marry or not, much like Antigone with Heamon. It could be said that Meursault agrees to marry Marie for the same reason that Antigone agrees to marry Heamon, because they both know they are going to die. This is evidence ofShow MoreRelatedGreek Tragedy By Euripides Medea1646 Words   |  7 Pagesbeing capable of killing her own children in seek of revenge. Not to mention, the measures she takes in doing so. Secondly, Euripides portrays her as a woman of great power and wit. She is capable of manipulating the men around her, and killing her victims in ways that are highly gruesome. All of which are considered as masculine traits in a Greek mindset. Lastly, considering this play was written on the eve of the Peloponnesian war, Euripides uses the fact that Medea, a wild woman who has committedRead More Gender Politics in the Criminal Justice System Essay4043 Words   |  17 Pageswith the understanding of crime and the criminal justice system. Gender plays a significant role in understanding who commits what types of crimes, why they do so, who is most often victimized, and h ow the criminal justice system responds to these victims and offenders. In order to understand the current state of women and the way in which gender relates to crime and criminal justice, it is first necessary to provide a comprehensive analysis of the historical evolution of women in the criminal justice