Albert Camus's novel, The Stranger, and Samuel
Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot, are both great literary works but has many
differences and similarities that distinguish the two. These characters are
very different from their society and in that same way the are very
similar. To understand in what ways they
are similar, there must be and understanding of how they are different from the
society in which they live in.
First of all, the major difference from the
novel and the play is their desire for God's salvation. Recall when Meursault was in jail, he did not
want the magistrate to pray for God to save his soul unlike Vladimir and
Estagon, who waits many years for their god.
They both live their life for one reason: to wait for Godot. However, to wait for someone who is not going
to come is just as pointless as not doing anything at all, just like Meursault
who lives his life at the spur of the moment.
Neither of them makes important goals in their lives. Meursault can care less about his promotion
and Vladimir and Estragon could have done something worth while with the last
fifty years of their lives. Because of
this, they found ways of passing time.
Vladimir and Estragon tries hanging themselves and call each other names
while Meursault goes smoking, drinking with Raymond, listen to Salamando and
have casual sex all because they do not have anything else to do. They all feel their very existence is
insignificant. Whether they live or died
would not change anything. One life is
as good as another.
Vladimir and Estragon's expression of their
emotions contrast to Meursault's lack of emotions. After Vladimir and Estragon fight, they resolve their disputes by embracing each
other. Meursault's honesty prevents him
from showing any emotions that he does not have. These ways of expressing their emotions
reveals their views of life. Meursault
knows who he is in life but is just indifferent to it. He did not care if everybody thought he was
strange or his associates is a pimp. However,
Vladimir and Estragon does not know who they are in life. To wait for someone who is not coming is
pointless. They assume a role that their
"Godot" would give to them without living their own life.
Although Vladimir
and Estragon seems lifeless, they do possess some emotion that are a sign of
life. Their abuse of one another shows
their impotence and dependency to each other just like any human being is
dependent on someone else such as their parents. They
would not hang themselves unless they both are able to do so. Meursault does not have any close
relationship in which he is dependent on someone else. They all have desires such as death, meeting
Godot, sex, and swimming in the beach but Meursault do not show much emotions
to someone else. Even when ask about
marriage, he still does not reply with any enthusiasm or dismay, just the
answer. This independence is an example of how he is disconnected to
others. It reveals his pessimistic views
of life compared to Vladimirs' and Estragons'.
Vladimir's thought of Pozzo at first was that
he was inhumane because of the way he treats Lucky but later sways and thinks
of him as a great man. This demonstrates
how weakly he validates his opinions and how foolish he is to be easily
persuaded. In contrast, Meursault was the total opposite. He did not cry during his mother's funeral
because that was expected of him nor did he change his lifestyle because
society wants him to, and because he validates his beliefs strongly, he had to
pay it with his life.
Near the end in which Meursault is abut to die,
he states that he is ready to live. This
freedom from condemnation by society through death contrasts Vladimir's and
Estragon's freedom to break free from their cycle. They can very easily break free from the
cycle just by walking away but yet do not.
This suggest an impotence in human beings. Vladimir realize that he is part of an
ongoing cycle. He say "let's
go" but instead they sit and do nothing.
The quotation "nothing to be done" can apply to both the novel
and the play because neither of them did anything apart from their routines.
They all are very subtle to change.
There
are many existential themes incorporated into the novel and play. The question of how these people live their
meaningless life is still being ask today, but who determines how they should
live their lives? To better answer the question, there must be a better
understanding of their views and compare them other views.
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