The Outsider And The Secret Li
fe of Walter Mitty
The opening lines of the novel, The Outsider by Albert Camus, set the tone for the book: "Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know" (pg. 9), it is a dreary and depressing sentence, so are the thoughts of a character by the name of Meursault. However, the circumstances that took place, plunged him into a spiral of events. Strangely, his thoughts stayed the same, yet his life changed dramatically. Conversely, the story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber, is seemingly contrary to the novel The Outsider. In the beginning of the story, Lieutenant Burg was saying to the Commander, "We can't make it, sir. It's spoiling for a hurricane…" The ...
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the realties of their lives; yet, they came face to face with them because of the decisions they made throughout their lives, which led them to their ultimate destruction.
Both characters wanted to shy away from society. They disassociated themselves from everybody and interacted with others only when they needed something. Meursault was a peculiar man who kept to himself. He never sought people, they always came to him. They were there for his pleasure and amusement, only if it was suitable to him. How Meursault felt, and the way he treated people, is clearly illustrated in his relationship with Marie, who was his sexual object. When he did not have any more need for her services, "… There was nothing left to keep us together or to remind us of each other. Anyway, from that point on, Marie's memory would have meant nothing to me. I wasn't interested in her any more if she was dead. I found it quite normal…" (pg. 110). Sometimes, being around people annoyed him, ...
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murder. He could not escape the society any more. At one time, the priest came to Meursault to tell him how he should behave in society. Meursault did not want to compromise his way of thinking just to make society happy. The harder the priest tried, the more annoyed Meursault became. "Then, for some reason, something exploded inside me" (Pg. 115). He started to shout at the priest and grabbed him by the collar of his cassock. The guards had to pull the priest out from the cell, and after that incident Meursault felt calm and a "wondrous peace… flooded into me" (pg. 116). Likewise, Mitty could not escape the reality of life. His wife was constantly nagging him and always demanded ...
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"The Outsider And The Secret Li." Essayworld.com. April 25, 2005. Accessed December 1, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Outsider-And-The-Secret-Li/25878.
"The Outsider And The Secret Li." Essayworld.com. April 25, 2005. Accessed December 1, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Outsider-And-The-Secret-Li/25878.
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