Are actions truly permanent? In Albert Camus's "The Strangers," does Meursault know he is going to die, therefore accepting it? In Frank Kafka's "Metamorphosis," is Gregor glad to be an insect because he anticipated it? By being a submissive soul, does a person push him/herself onto the brink of destruction, only to either explode or never be able to take action? Each novel provides supporting examples of the idea of not being able to undo actions, but does this mean that people can never change?
What leads up to Meursault's imprisonment? He kills an Arab without reason or purpose, but does Meursault himself really kill the Arab? He may have pulled the trigger, but he is ordered to do so by Raymond; this poses the question: did he truly choose to kill the Arab? In following the same monotonous routine every day, does he show that he cannot stray from the norm, thereby never truly being able to make a decision? Regarding his imprisonment, why does he not choose to speak at his trial to defend himself? Is it to showcase that the pressure of making a decision is too much for him? Or, is Camus perhaps signifying that those who do not make decisions never will?
Why would Gregor turn into a vermin? Did his meager and subservient life lead to him becoming, literally, a bottom-feeder? Is he becoming a vermin significant in that his life is as worthless as a pest whose life can easily be ended with no impact on others? When he is stuck in his room, unable to complete any actions, does he show that no actions lead to no results? Why, then, does he even go on with life as a traveling salesman? As a salesman, he relies on others to make decisions, so does he really take action? When he later dies, his family literally goes out for the first time in months; does this sudden yet resolute action show that him taking no action led nowhere in life, thereby creating no everlasting impact on his family? By telling Gregor to leave, thus leading to his suicide, is his death even of his own accord? or is it his family's?
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