The Inside Outsiders in The Stranger and Day

Abstract

The Stranger by Albert Camus and Day (The Accident) by Elie Wiesel are two of masterpieces in the twentieth century. Camus is acknowledged as an existentialist, whose works propose and elucidate the notion of the “absurd” of that generation, while Wiesel is typically identified as a Holocaust writer who has attempted in varying ways to find a voice with which to articulate the experience of the final solution (Estess, 1976). In fact, critics argued that Camus’ absurd philosophy has impacted greatly on Wiesel for whom Auschwitz signifies the absurdity of human and divine behaviour and the breakdown of the Covenant and the Jewish spirit. Instead of interpreting the image of the absurd as indifferent outsiders in classical criticism, this article argues that the two protagonists, Meursault and Eliezer are inside outsiders from the perspective of the “absurd” and the text itself; and further explores the shared theme "death" involved in these two works.