How do the characters’ moral duties reflect their outlook on life? Does the pressure of being his family’s financial provider ultimately lead Gregor to his beetle state? Why does nonchalant Mersault decide to smoke and reject to see his mother when at her funeral? Should one always abide by the “accepted” moral code that society established for us? Does Mersault’s smoking then resemble his disobedient nature, or lack of proper morals? To what extent can society dictate the lives of these characters, without overstepping the boundaries of personal freedom? Is the workforce justified in prosecuting a worker if he commits the slightest negligence or absence? Is it then safe to say that Gregor’s human life is not technically his own, but indebted to his boss and family’s cause?
If that is the case, why does Gregor’s family shun him once he turns into a beetle? What does their immediate reaction to his appearance demonstrate about human beings in general? Are we quick to fear that which we cannot understand? Does Grete’s assertion of Gregor’s disposition paint him to be just a tool that the family abuses? Is it this abuse Gregor receives from the isolation, and realization of humanity’s corrupt ways which lead him to die? Or is it simply his physical state and “survival of the fittest” that lead to his demise?
On the contrary, doesn’t Mersault’s rejection of his mother and eventually his lover clearly display his existentialist nature? Does then the climatic act of him killing the Arab display his disillusionment, or indifference to the value of human life? If he is in fact an existentialist, and his life is absurd, is does his killing become justified? Does his rejection of God add to his sense of invincibleness? Is sex his replacement for the power and rejuvenation that religion brings? Is his realization that he cannot take responsibility for his actions in court, his defining moment? Was the act of killing truly spur of the moment, or overall his destiny?
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