Free College Essays - Stylistic Devices in The Stranger by Albert Camus :: The Stranger The Outsider

Use of Stylistic Devices in The Stranger In his novel The Stranger, Albert Camus uses the stylistic devices of imagery and diction to take on the intensity of the physical action and to illustrate the need of emotion in the last paragraph of Part I.Imagery of all kinds is abundant in this passage as Meursault, the main character, pays great attention to and describes in decimal point the beach environment that surrounds him. Visual imagery is present as he conveys the main(prenominal) heat by telling how it seemed as though the leaf had cracked open and was raining flame, and by personifying the ocean, recounting how it breathed erosive hot air onto the beach. Auditory imagery is employed when Meursault speaks of the cymbals of the sun concussion and describes the four shots fired as four quick knocks on the entry of unhappiness. Imagery of a tactile nature is utilise in Meursaults depicting the effects of the light reflecting off of the Arabs knife on him, its searing his eyelashes and gouging his eyeballs. All of this imagery works together to create the feeling of intense pressure in the actions being carried out by both Meursault and the Arab on the beach. All of it describes what is happening in the physical world, yet none of it deals with how Meursault feels in that situation (whether apprehensive, frightened, or angry) or what he is thinking. Since the imagery of the passage deals just now with action and not the emotion, Camus creates the impression that there is no emotion.The diction used by Camus in the paragraph further develops the intensity of the action and the lack of emotion. Words such as pulsing, scorch, bursting, clashing, searing, and gouging are used in linguistic context with the heat on the beach, the veins in Meursaults forehead, the sun, and the light reflecting off the Arabs knife. All of these words carry a violent and rather forceful connotation which augments the tension in the activity of the passage.