2004 AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTION (Form B)
The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
Open Prompt Essay #4: The Stranger
2004, Form B.The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole.Avoid mere plot summary.
The thematic implications of death are seemingly endless, and with the vast array of possibilities that come along with it, it comes as no surprise that death scenes in literature sometimes develop the most important themes in their respective stories. One such case of this is the narrator, Meursault's, own death inThe Stranger,by Albert Camus. Facing his imminent execution, his reflections reveal his utter indifference to humanity-- a moment that illuminates the absurdist philosophical purpose of the novel more clearly than any before it.
Throughout the book, one clearly senses the buildup to Camus's central message, which came to fruition with the death of Meursault. In his life, Meursault seems apathetic to almost every situation he finds himself in, such as when he learns of his neighbor Raymond beating his mistress, but still agreeds to be his friend, because not only does he not care about the woman, but he doesn't even care about the idea of friendship. His strange tendencies areexemplified even further in the fact that he seems to be indifferent to his own mother's death, and doesn't express any affection for his girlfriend, Marie.
As the reader uncovers these peculiarities, she is left with a certain degree of confusion about what the point of it all is, but this is all cleared up with Meursault's death. Facing execution for a murder he committed for no apparent reason, he seems unworried about his situation, even through a tearful conversation with Marie when in prison. The poignant quote he offers right before he died reveals the existentialist philosophy at the heart of the novel, when he says "for everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate" (Camus 123).This quote in particular, combined with the peculiar circumstances surrounding the situation, truly shows the important theme throughout the story-- that individuals are ultimately responsible for acts of free will, regardless of what's good or bad.
Death plays into novels in many different ways, not least of which is in the development of major themes. This is the case with Albert Camus's novel,The Stranger.Meursault's death is key to revealing the existentialist philosophy intrinsic to the novel's purpose, and without the haunting message his death brings, the story would not be the same.