In Albert Camus's The Stranger and Montserrat Fontes's The First Confession, symbols and characterization play a major role in defining the main message of each novel. Both authors' use of these literary elements contributes to the reader's understanding of their respective themes, from the absurdity of human life to alienation and the loss of innocence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Much of Camus's novel revolves around a single symbol: the courtroom, where the second takes place half of the book. Embodying society as a whole, to the extent that it includes the reappearance of almost every minor character in the first half, the court functions as the will of the people in determining Meursault's place in civilized culture. Regardless of his own thoughts regarding his homicide, Meursault is judged by others who attempt to impose meaning and order on his actions. He is watched by the court, with journalists “examining him closely without betraying any definable emotion” (85). For them, Meursault is a strange creature to read and decipher; Whether or not he has a say in this process is irrelevant. Unable to accept the irrationality and absurdity of his murder, the members of the tribunal attempt to connect the elements they can see, linking Meursault's lack of emotion over the death of his mother to his inexplicable murder of the Arab. By imposing reason and order, the prosecutor even goes so far as to accuse Meursault of having “buried his mother with crime in her heart” (96). With this statement, the obvious reason for Meursault's execution is clear: his philosophy makes him a threat to society. Due to his lack of remorse over the murder he committed and his lack of grief over his mother's death, he is sentenced to death. The fact that he killed someone doesn't matter. Unable to find a rational explanation for Meursault's irrational actions, the court considers him an outcast, a monster. In this way, the tribunal symbolizes humanity's larger struggle to find an answer to the irrational questions of the universe, a struggle as futile and absurd as Meursault's actions and the tribunal's judgment on those actions. Like Camus's work, Fontes's novel also derives much of its meaning from symbols, the most important of which is the money that Andrea and Victor steal from Armida. The stockings filled with money represent the two children's loss of innocence, and virtually everything that happens throughout the novel is due to theft. Embodying the difficulties of the adult world, dirty money embodies the sin that weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of Andrea and Victor. The loss of children's innocence is not at all a gradual affair; on the contrary, the difficulties caused by money immediately swallow them up as sin swallows up a sinner. The reality of adult life hits them faster than they can adapt to it. Even if they try to give the money, first to the children of the river, then to the beggars, with their "arms full of gifts, [their] hearts eager to do good", they cannot escape the curse until contains the stolen money (81). . Money is part of the adult world; Once Andrea and Victor enter, they can't turn back no matter how hard they try. Giving the money to Smelly Hands only makes the situation worse, and Andrea's attempt at revenge backfires, leading to a sin that will never leave her soul, a sin that she asks "no one for forgiveness [ his] terrified parentscould see,” a sin. it consumes her that no one else knows about (282). It is not after this sin has broken his original spirit that the painful consequences of money begin to lessen. However, even after Andrea gives all that's left of the money to Rancho Grande, her impact is permanent. Innocence, once lost, cannot be restored and the door to childhood remains closed forever to Andréa. Symbolism aside, characterization plays by far the most important role in emphasizing the themes of each novel. In The Stranger, Meursault's interesting and different personality is what makes the book. His lack of emotion and psychological detachment from the world around him are key to Camus's presentation of existentialism. Because Meursault simply doesn't care and doesn't care on a sentimental level, he is neither moral nor immoral; rather, he is amoral in the sense that he makes no distinction between good and evil in his mind. He cares about nothing outside the physical realm – no emotions, no religion, no societal norms. After attending his mother's funeral, he finds that "one more Sunday was over, that Mom was now buried, that [he] was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed" (24). Meursault is so detached from the social and emotional aspects of life that he doesn't even realize that he is supposed to grieve, that society holds him responsible for not showing his grief. When it comes to love and marriage, Meursault rejects both, enjoying the sexual aspects of his relationship with Marie but completely apathetic about getting married. This indifference is also manifested in the murder of the Arab, in which "the curtain of tears and salt" in his eyes, "the cymbals of the sun crashing on [his] forehead" and "the dazzling spear flying away of the knife in front of [him]” led him to murder (59). While in this first half of the novel Meursault applies his philosophy only to his own actions, his thinking broadens after his death sentence. After his last meeting with the chaplain, he realizes that the universe is completely indifferent and that people's lives have no meaning, no effect on the grand scheme of events. As he says, “nothing mattered” because “everyone was privileged… everyone else would all be doomed one day” (121). It simply didn't make any difference when someone died, because they would have to die someday, and nothing they did could actually impact the world. This epiphany, representative of Meursault's philosophy on life, is the crux of Camus' novel and its primary theme. When it comes to First Confession, characterization plays just as central a role in developing the theme as it does in The Stranger. It is Andrea and Victor's unique traits that create the main themes. Both characters lose their innocence over the summer due to a major misstep, leading to serious, unforeseen consequences that will stay with them for years. In Andrea's case, her final mistake that led to Armida's suicide haunts her forever, an indelible mark on her conscience that cannot be forgiven and therefore cannot be erased. For both of them, however, it is their innocence and naivety that proves to be their undoing. By stealing Armida's money, the children become convinced that if they used it "to buy toys for the river children, [they] would simply turn bad money into good money" (56). Spoiled and undisciplined, Andrea and Victor indulge in their pleasures and take the money, only to later discover how much their lives would change. Ironically, it is their innocence.