The Bizarreness of the Characters in The Stranger

It's easy to think of Mersault as abnormal, apathetic, or even sociopathic. But sometimes I feel that we focus so much on Mersault's abnormalities that we forget about the other characters. Most of the other characters don't seem very normal either. Mersault is just easy to fixate on because he is the narrator and main character. But if you take a look at the other characters, you'll find that it's just as easy to analyze their abnormalities as it is to analyze Mersault's. 

Mersault's somewhat love interest Marie seems pretty normal at first glance. Her relationship with Mersault is pretty typical and healthy. It's very understandable that Marie wants Mersault to be committed to her. But she's willing to marry him even if he doesn't love her. He clearly says that marriage doesn't make a difference to him, and that it doesn't matter if he loves her or not. And she decides that she's okay with that and that she's excited to marry him. I just doubt that Marie's mind is very sound, because she's willing, even excited to make a huge commitment to someone who doesn't reciprocate her excitement or even her feelings. 

Raymond is another abnormal character, but the audience figures that out pretty quickly. He's extremely sadistic towards his (ex)-mistress, probably as a result of feeling hurt and/or losing control. He doesn't just want to hurt her physically; he wants to mess with her mind so much that she won't know what to do with herself. Mersault may have written the sadistic letter to Raymond's mistress, but Raymond was the one who asked him to. Raymond has several unhealthy personality traits, which definitely seem to manifest themselves when his mistress comes up. 

The chaplain isn't sadistic like Raymond or a little too impulsive like Marie, but he is extremely passionate. He's so passionate that Mersault makes him explode with emotion by barely saying anything. He thinks that Mersault has the power to make his life meaningless. I understand that Mersault can be a perplexing character, but the chaplain seems to be driven crazy by Mersault, not just perplexed by him. While he seems to get used to Mersault throughout the trial process, he still seems unnerved by him. I just get the impression that it doesn't take much to make the chaplain crack, and by crack, I mean go postal. 

Ironically, I think Old Salamano might be one of the more normal characters of the novel, which is definitely saying something. He has the same routine with his dog every day. Before that, he had the same routine with his wife every day. He's definitely not completely healthy, though. He treats dog like shit, but I definitely think he loves his dog. He has a natural reaction to his dog running away. Many of the other characters in The Stranger have abnormal reactions to significant events in their lives. But Salamano is just very sad, as most people would be if their dog (who had been with them for a long time) ran away. I really don't like the way Salamano treats his dog, but I'd probably say that he's my favorite character. It's not because I find his reactions normal; it's because I think he's a very relatable character in the way that he loses a routine aspect of his life and doesn't know what to do about it. 

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with bizarreness; it's often something to be appreciated. But remember that Mersault is not the only character worth analyzing in The Stranger. 

Ignore the Prospect That Every Story Has a Happy Ending

Gregor Samsa was a man who spent his adult life working off his father's debt, turning into a bug, and being persecuted as a bug. I have to admit, that life doesn't sound too appealing. He was alone through most of his hardships as a bug as well, which makes his life sound all the more sad. As soon as I had learned about Gregor's life as a human, I knew that there was no way he would get a happy ending. 

As a human, Gregor pretended to be a very eager worker, while all he wanted to do was to finish working off his father's debt. He wasn't happy. (Sorry, I know I'm stating the obvious.) As a bug, his family either ignored him or treated him like vermin. Even if Gregor had turned back into a human, his life would've either gone on as it did before, or his family would realize that they didn't need him at all. They were self-sufficient while he was a bug, why wouldn't they be when he turned into a human again? 

If Gregor remained a bug, his family would continue ignoring him. And whenever he would try to be a part of something, they would hurt him, physically and with words (that they aren't sure he understands). As it happened, neither of these possibilities came to be. Gregor didn't turn into a human, and he didn't remain a bug. He was killed by his sister, with approval by the rest of the family. 

Gregor is the central character, so it's easy to view things in his point of view. I know I sound biased, but I don't think the ending was happy. One could say that this ending was happy for the rest of the family, by viewing quotes such as "And it was like a confirmation of their [the Samsas] new dreams and good intentions when at the end of the journey their daughter was the first to rise to her feet and stretch her young body." But the ending for the central character didn't seem happy. "Then his [Gregor] head sank fully down, of its own accord, and his last faint breath ebbed out from his nostrils." 

I'm aware the central character isn't the only character, but he was the only character I felt sympathy for. I initially felt sympathy for Grete, but then I became unsure of whether her care for Gregor was out of selflessness or having control. She seemed to enjoy being the one to take initiative for all things Gregor, including his death. So if her ending is happy, it doesn't necessarily mean the ending is happy. 

Plus, we have to take into account the parasitic nature of Herr and Frau Samsa. Are they planning on taking advantage of the new Grete? They want to find her a husband, and they seem to take notice of all the useful characteristics of Grete. Maybe her ending isn't going to be so good. I wouldn't wish a bad life for her, but her happiness isn't what I would define as a happy ending. 

Herr and Frau Samsa will probably have a happy ending. I'm not quite sure that they deserve it. So I don't think their happy ending gives The Metamorphosis a happy ending. 

The Sun Also Sets

Each of the main characters has a unique ending in The Sun Also Rises. These endings seem rather appropriate considering Jake's feelings for each of these characters. I knew immediately after reading the first chapter that the ending of The Sun Also Rises wouldn't be a stereotypically happy one. But I also knew that the ending was bound to be interesting. 

In the end, Hemingway managed to separate all of the characters (physically, not emotionally) except Jake and Brett. I think there's a lot of significance to this. It's almost like stripping down to the bare essentials. How do Jake and Brett act when there's no one around, no Romero, no Mike, no Cohn, just no one? In the end, there's no one to disturb Jake and Brett. Both of them seem very unprovoked, contrary to how they felt in earlier chapters. 

Neither Jake nor Brett seem completely happy at the end, but they seem content. When Brett says, "Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together,", it's obvious that she wishes Jake didn't have an injury. But she doesn't sound bitter about it. She seems happy about what could have been, but fairly fine about what her life is now. 

Jake, despite being the narrator and main character, is harder to read. Our class struggled to completely understand Jake's last line: "Yes. Isn't it pretty to think so?" It must be hard for Jake to love someone that he can't be with. But I don't think he will go about it in a completely negative way. We've seen several times that Jake enjoys being alone. So I think he'll be fine, even if he can't be with Brett. But I do think that having Brett's friendship makes Jake's ending happier. They understand each other emotionally like no one else does, and that will always mean something, even if they aren't dating or married. 

Brett's ending makes a lot of sense based on what Jake feels about her. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the other characters. Cohn's ending HIGHLY reflects what Jake feels about him. Cohn ends up leaving because he has disappointed almost all of the main characters. He is sad because none of his "friends" have completely accepted his apology for his behavior, and damaged because Brett didn't reciprocate his feelings. I don't think Jake only holds bitterness for Cohn, but I do think Jake would say that Cohn got what was coming to him. 

Bill and Jake have a rather sweet ending, though I wish it had been longer. Their relationship was actually my favorite one in The Sun Also Rises. They have a genuine, honest, and fun friendship that many of the other characters lack. They have a nice goodbye, where Bill says that he had a good time and then Bill and Jake say their "So long"'s to each other. Jake also watches Bill through the train window, which I thought was almost kind of sad, because they probably won't enjoy each others' company for a while. While Jake doesn't explicitly say that he'll miss Jake, it seems sort of implied based on the way he acts in the moment. Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but I think they will miss each other. 

I never thought that Jake had any super deep feelings for Mike, negative or positive. So it makes sense that Mike's ending wasn't too significant. Jake, Bill, and Mike all shook hands, and then they separated. It was a nice goodbye, but there was nothing too emotional in it.