20th Century Sarah

In class it was brought up that Meursault might be a sociopath and of course being the expert I was since I watched the whole Shane Dawson series I was intrigued and decided to actually do some research on how sociopaths are diagnosed. From visiting a couple of sites on Google here are the characteristics I gathered: Glibness-superficial charm Grandiose sense of self-worth   Need for stimulation   Pathological lying Conning-manipulative Lack of remorse or guilt Shallow affect Callous-lack of empathy Parasitic lifestyle   Poor behavior controls Promiscuous sexual behavior Lack of realistic, long-term goals Impulsivity Irresponsibility   Failure to accept responsibility   Many marital relationships Criminal versatility The implication of diagnosing Meursault as a sociopath is that we must interpret his actions throughout the book quite differently. No longer is his tone and mannerism neutral, but instead demonstrative of his callous-l...

Ah, family, the bunch of people you are eternally related to. Their problems become your problems and your life is constantly being influenced by them. Sometimes you’re glad you have them and in short bursts of anger you are resentful that you cannot choose your family (ahem ahem siblings). However, in the Metamorphosis we never see Gregor display any strong resentment as a result of events that would have riled up any other normal human being. Gregor somehow manages to take outright thievery and attempts on his life and spin it in a positive manner. Gregor is fittingly turned into an insect because that is exactly how his family sees him: expendable and insignificant. His father, mother, and sister, who we all see are perfectly capable of working later in the story decide to bankroll a lavish lifestyle off of Gregor’s labor. Gregor’s family is completely unmotivated to resolve the debt and are content in letting Gregor’s misery last an additional five years. Indeed, it’s quite ...