Meursault Compare And Contrast Essay
Both The Stranger and The Meursault Investigation occur in Algeria and discuss the time period
while it was under French control. During this time both the French colonists and native Algerians
possessed harsh opinion of one another. In both novels, two protagonists are presented, Meursault
and Harun. Meursault, a French colonist, and Harun, a native Algerian, both hold prejudice towards
the opposing ethnicity. Although seemingly different, the point of views presented by Albert
Camus and Kamel Daoud of Meursault and Harun are similar in regards to the Arab people.
Meursault s hatred, expressed in The Stranger, for Arabic people is typical due to his status
Frenchman. Throughout the novel, Meursault encounters numerous people of Arabic origin,... Show
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When charactering his Arab neighbors, Harun mostly describes them in a negative manner.
When describing his neighbor Tawi, he describes his mannerisms and appearance in a disgusting
manner. He refers to Tawi as a heavyset fellow, with a bad left leg, and a nagging cough, (13).
Furthermore, he states that early each morning, it was his habit to step outside and pee on a
wall, as blithely as you please (13). Harun s entire description of this man is negative and
characterizes him as fat, unhealthy, and vile. Next, he describes another Arabic neighbor
stating, His [El Hajj s] sons were liars and petty thieves, capable of stealing all the fruit off every
possible tree, (13). Here, this man s sons only receive negative characterization regarding their
immoral theft and deceit. Later in the novel, he describes another Arab neighbor remarking
There s a fireman with a bad limp who regularly beats his wife and who stands on the landing of
their apartment at dawn because she always ends up throwing him out and begs her forgiveness,
all the while shouting his own mother s name. (37). Here, this man also receives a negative
description discussing his toxic relationship that includes regular abuse. Finally, Harun a neighbor
who is a crook and a con man that deceives other s by claiming he fought as a Mujahid and has
taken money from the contributions of real mujahideen and diverted it to his own profit (45). This
neighbor receives the worst descriptions from Harun because he is both deceitful and attempts to
benefit off of the rewarding hardship of others. Overall, Harun s descriptions of his Arab neighbors
are negative and depict that person in a negative light. As the novel progresses the identification of
the person he is describing gradually transitions from providing the person s name to vaguely
identifying them
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