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The Stranger

Trial

The trial scene reminds me in many ways of Kafka's *The Trial*. The fundamental absurdity of the trial process is a central theme underpinning both books. In both trials, the accused himself is unheard, and his case can be stated only through an advocate of questionable competence. In each book, the disinterested or even sympathetic nature of most of the human actors associated with the trial contrasts sharply with the damning verdict and severe punishment handed down by the court. This suggests that the court, or the justice system more generally, is its own beast with a separate mind and personality to the people of whom it is comprised.

*The Trial*

One difference is that the Meursault's trial in *The Stranger* involves a jury and is held in public, and the spectators appear to share the prosecutor's disgust at Meursault's indifference to his mother's death. So the position of the court, though absurd, appears to have some popular support. This stands in contrast to *The Trial* where we learn nothing of the public's perception of K and his conduct. *The Trial* therefore reads like a critique of an authoritarian state whereas *The Stranger* is a critique of society more generally.