cell, and after that incident Meursault felt calm and a "wondrous peace?flooded into me" (pg. 116). Likewise, Mitty could not escape the reality of life. His wife was constantly nagging him and always demanded something, which he usually forgot. "e was always getting something wrong?But she would remember it" (pg. 76 - 77). At one point he got enough courage to stand up against her, after a long string of lectures, and defended himself. "I was thinking," said Mitty, "Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?" (pg. 80). Rebelliousness against his wife led to serious events. There was no escape for Meursault and Mitty; they had to face whatever came their way; they had to face the reality of the world that they lived in. With every action, or lack of, Meursault and Mitty were pressing on to their inevitable death. Meursault's came because he did not want to conform to society and was facing death penalty by the guillotine. The events that led to his execution were his deep beliefs - the obsession for the truth. This truth was a negative one; nevertheless it was the truth that he was willing to die for. Meursault was condemned to death mostly of showing lack of emotion, especially because he did not cry at his mother's funeral. There is a question that arises. Is it that, "In our society any man who doesn't cry at his mother's funeral is liable to be condemned to death" (pg. 118, from Afterword)? In Mitty's case he finally stood up and rebelled against his nagging wife, which led him in a different direction in his daydream. Outburst towards his wife spun him into the bravest act yet - he bravely stood in front of the "firing squad." It appeared that none of his dreams ever had closure, none that is, except the last one, "Then with that faint, fleeting smile playing about his lips, he faced the firing squad; erect and motionless, proud and disdainful, Walter Mitty the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last" (pg.81). Is ...
