The novel Sula and the novel The Stranger share few apparent commonalities. Sula was written by a female, Toni Morrison, The Stranger by a male, Albert Camus. Sula was published in America, while The Stranger was published in France. The protagonists in the two books, Sula Peace and Meursault, respectively, have little in common as well. The novels are both driven by the emotions of the protagonists. However, The Stranger is remarkable by Meursault’s lack of emotions while Sula is characterized by Sula Peace’s erratic and emotional responses. One commonality that the two novels share is the characterization of both protagonists as being strongly independent and individualistic, traits which often separate them from the rest of society.
The character of Meursault in The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, is unique in that throughout the novel he is unfeeling and often indifferent to what is happening around him. Whereas many authors often utilize the emotion of their characters liberally in their writing in order to better develop the character, Camus almost does the opposite. The character of Meursault is blunt in his delivery of dialogue, and his thoughts are notable for his lack of emotion rather than his display of them. Meursault often fails to conform to societal expectations of honesty and empathy. He doesn’t see the value in withholding the truth, even if it is intensely hurtful, as seen in the following interaction with his girlfriend, Marie:“A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so”(Camus 35). A similar situation arises following the death of Meursault’s mother.He is very analytical in his descriptions surrounding her death and his trip to the funeral, saying that he “caught the two o’clock bus. It was very hot. I ate at the restaurant, at Celeste’s, as usual. Everybody felt very sorry for me”(Camus 3). Meursault comments on how other people felt, but has no emotional response to the death of his mother personally. This unfeeling response towards the death of his mother, which occurs in the first chapter of the book, establishes a trend of indifference that continues throughout the rest of the novel. Meursault’s divergence from societal expectations of emotions-having the capability of love and sadness and remorse-further ostracize him from society. The actions and lack of feeling of Meursault in the novel were unrelatable to me. As a more sensitive and emotional person, I often times didn’t understand his cold approach to many delicate situations. However, Camus is consistent throughout the novel in the characterization of Meursault's behavior, and thus creates a believable character, despite his absurd and uncommon actions.
The character of Sula Peace from the book Sula, written by Toni Morrison, is a complex and confusing character. She is often portrayed as wild and emotional and erratic. However, at times she is in control of her emotions, and often desires calm and peacefulness. Like Meursault, she often engages in activities that society deems immoral, and has a difficult time realizing the wrongs that she has committed. The relationships that she engages in are perceived to her as being light and meaningless, purely physical. Because of this, she doesn’t always realize the severity of the repercussions of her actions. This is evident in the ending of her friendship to Nellie, occurring due to Sula’s affair with Nellie’s husband. Despite the hatred that many of the townspeople feel towards her as a result of her sexual relationships, she continues with her actions. This illuminates a similarity between Sula and Meursault; they both refuse to conform to society despite pressure from the community to change. Meursault is pressured to feel empathy for others and regret, while Sula is pressured to feel shame for her behaviors.
Both Sula and Meursault are solitary characters. They isolate themselves from the rest of society, and have views that differ from the rest of the general public. Sula has little worry of what others think of her. Instead of focusing on the domestic life that the rest of her community seems to conform to, Sula takes a more modern and unconventional approach. In response to being questioned as to why she had no desire to start a family, Sula responded that “I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself”(Morrison 92). Meursault is also an individual character. He doesn’t accept God, which is abnormal in the culture that he lives in. He is brutally honest with those around him, resulting in him eventually becoming ostracized by society.
In conclusion, there are few shared traits between Meursault and Sula besides their honesty, solidarity, and rejection from society. Sula Peace lets her emotions drive her actions, while Meursault is often devoid of emotions. The almost opposite emotional response of Sula and Meursault result in two characters that share few commonalities.
1 comment:
Immediately into your post, I can tell that you have a very refined and eloquent writing style, I instantly feel as if I am reading something that was written by someone intelligent and trustworthy. Your comparison of Sula and The Stranger relating to Sula and Mersault's emotions (or lack thereof) is well versed and strong, and aided well by your evaluation of Sula and Mersualt both being highly individualistic, a trait which often lands them as standing outside of societal norm.
While I agree that Mersault is of an odd kind of stoic, I have to disagree that Mersault is unempathetic. Mersauly nearly always can comment on how others are feeling, though he rarely seems to experience these emotions himself. My analysis of Mersault is that he is a likely troubled man, caught in a dissociative state, a kind of emotional barrier which the brain puts up to protect itself from the negative outcome of strong negative emotions. I think that the true Mersault isn't shown in the book, but hiding behind his dissociation, and in reality, is a highly empathetic man, shown by his ability to observe emotions in all of the people around him but his inability to connect to them. I also disagree on this topic when you bring it up again in your conclusion, that Sula is driven by emotion, but Mersault is driven by a lack of emotion. Rather, I would say that Mersault is driven by repressed emotion, bottled up for too long and violently shooting out, as it did when Mersault shot the gun.
Though I hadn't chosen to read Sula, your description of her character draws a more than decent picture of her, and it definitely does seem that Sula and Mersualt are both pressured by their societies to feel different than they do, for Sula to feel shame, and Marsault to feel regret. I think that this commonality is one shown in many books, even in other books that we've had the chance to read this summer, like Hester Prynne, who is also pressured to feel shame in The Scarlet Letter. As such a common connection, I find that this seems to be an innate human quality, in the human experience societies will always pressure people to be or feel a certain way.
Your post is overall very good, and provides excellent food for thought.
Post a Comment