Mersault, Antigone and Gregor as Outsiders Essay - 1226 Words

Mersault, Antigone and Gregor as Outsiders In every society there is an outsider, a person who stands out amongst the crowd, someone who does not fit in with the norm. Most of the time it is obvious who the outsider in a group is, but sometimes it takes a deeper look into the personality and characteristics of a person to see the traits that make the person an Outsider. The characters that will be compared are Mersault from Camuss The Outsider, Sophocless Antigone and Gregor Samsa from Kafkas Metamorphosis. Each of these characters is portrayed as an†¦show more content†¦The characters confront Mersault and give a greater look into the personality of the antagonist. Sophocles also uses this technique; he contrasts Antigone to her sister Ismene. It is only possible to this via dialogue; Antigone is a play therefore all the message the playwright wants to bring across must be in dialogue or actions. These contrasts show us how Antigone and Mersault differ from the people around, and it also allows the author to show us the deeper personalities of the outsiders. In Metamorphosis Kafka uses other techniques to give us the impression that Gregor is an outsider. He makes it obvious Gregor is different by changing him into a bug, but he also writes about certain minor changes that make Gregor different and less human. At the beginning of the book when the reader first discovers what has befallen Gregor, Kafka writes it as if there is nothing absurd about this change, he gives us no reason for the change therefore giving the impression of indifference on both his and Gregors part. Camus Mersault also conveys this indifference. Kafka makes it seem as if Gregors metamorphosis is not the actual highlight of