Text Analysis Of The Stranger

In Camus’s novel The Stranger, it would be found that there are some inherent conflicts in the narrative of narrator, which inhibits the reading and understanding of readers. The explanation of these conflicts becomes a puzzle devised by the author intentionally, and it is believed that the unreliable narration theory could provide a theoretical basis for us to analyze. As we have known, the kernel of unreliable narration theory is narrator’s unreliable narrative, which presents a contrast to narrator’s reliable narrative.According to the implied author’s norms proposed by James Phelan, the representative of the rhetorical theory school and reader’s norm proposed by Tamar Jacobi from the cognitive school, this dissertation analyzes the conflicts in the narrative from three aspects:underreporting in the axis of facts, underinterpreting in the axis of knowledge and perception, and underevaluating in the axis of values or ethics. In the axis of facts, the narrator just select Meursault’s performance of not crying in his mother’s funeral to indicate his callous attitude towards his mother while relating very little about his spiritual resonance with his mother, which leads to the underreporting in the axis of facts. Meanwhile, the narrator focuses on relating Meursault’s carnal satisfaction with Marry’s body and his indifference in the prison because the narrator does not give a full interpretation of the protagonist Meursault’s view of love and his mentality in prison, which results in the under-interpreting in the axis of knowledge and perception. In the axis of values or ethics, the narrator just focuses on Meursault’s indifference, cynicism and the final ending of facing to death calmly but lacks the narration about Meursault’s own rules of living and the collective prosecution he suffered, which leads to underevaluating.These underreporting, under-interpreting and underevaluating jointly construct the unreliable narration of the text.Later, based on the classification and analysis of the unreliable narration in The Stranger, this dissertation probes into the value orientation of implied author, which is manifested in the thought norm of The Stranger’s implied author, and guided by real author Camus’s philosophy. The author holds the view that value orientation of implied author is reflected in Camus’s secular philosophical views including facing to death, accepting the idea that life is finite and enjoy the short life to the hilt, believing the goodness of life and treating life with true disposition. Finally, this dissertation gives emphasis to the meaning of unreliable narrative in the text, the realization of Camus’s creative ideas, and the generality of unreliable narration. It is concluded that the presentation of unreliable narration makes the dialectical unity of form and content possible, and mobilizes the readers’participation in the comprehension of the novel so that enriches the space of interpretation.