Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus’ The Stranger , both feature protagonists in situations out of which arise existentialist values. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts . In The Metamorphosis the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, realizes his existentialism towards the end of the novella. In contrast, Monsieur Meursault, the protagonist in The Stranger, knows of his existentialism, only realizing his life’s lack of meaning moments after he is sentenced to death. Despite the somewhat absurd nature of The Metamorphosis, and the realistic nature of The Stranger, similar values are communicated to the reader. The easiest to pick out being that it is up to the individual to create his/her own life, and that the inhuman behaviour presented by both protagonists will eventually lead to very bad things; namely death in

…immediately gives an impression of a lack of emotion towards the demise of his mother. This lack of emotion highlights the existentialist ideal that we all die, so it doesn’t matter what life we have while we are alive. We simply exist, as did Meursault. It becomes apparent, as the novella unfolds, that Meursault has acquired an animal like indifference towards society. His interactions with his neighbour Raymond are an example of his indifferences. It never dawns upon Meursault that society does not condone his interactions with the pimp, avoided by his community. Meursault simply acts to fill his time. Being a single man, he has a lot of time to fill, and finds the weekends passing particularly slowly. While the scene passes slowly before Meursault, Camus’ text flows quickly. He uses short sharp sentences to convey an atmosphere devoid of emotion or feeling. This is especially effective between pages 21 and 24, at the end of chapter two, when Meursault is giving a descriptive narrative of the life outside his window on a typical Sunday. He ends the chapter saying ‘…one more Sunday was over… nothing had changed .’

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is equally as philosophical. The novella is written as a metaphor, with a very strong sense of vivid realism. The metaphor is for any situation in which someone tries to break free form a social norm, only to fall, failing to convince the society that his/her action is just. The protagonist, Gregor Samsa, brought society against him when he questioned his life as a travelling salesperson. Social expectations had put him in his place, but he decided, although the reader may assume quite subconsciously, that it was not the place for him. His wish to remove all social burdens from his shoulders is first illustrated to him through his transformation into a ‘monstrous vermin .’ The protagonist was the narrator in The Stranger, a man who told the story of his demise from existentialism, only to find he needed a life just before his chances were taken away. The Metamorphosis, on the other hand, is narrated on the third person, where the reader receives an unbiased view of Gregor Samsa’s attempts to become existentialist. Where Camus used short ‘to the point’ statements to show existentialism, Kafka has filled his novella with colourful descriptive literal language, in an attempt to point out the depth in any situation, such as Gregor’s many squirming legs, his visualisation of his room becoming ever smaller and ever more bland, an

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