Man's place in society and nature in The Stranger by Albert Camus and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf A general premise underlying the art of writing is that “language shapes and is shaped by the surrounding society” (McCarthy 41). The authors of an era attempt to convey a message through their writing, and inevitably this telegram to society reflects the writer's temperament in reaction to his environment and historical context. In this light, Albert Camus's The Stranger (1942) and Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse (1927) are the product of two separate cultures in an overlapping time period; Camus's minimalist, sparse prose and Woolf's indulgent, lyrical discourse represent two different stylistic approaches to a similar theme. The French existentialist and the English feminist distinctly manipulate narrative structure and use symbols and metaphors of nature to suggest the depersonalization and secondary importance of the individual in a society essentially incompatible with and indifferent to man. In particular, two passages taken from Camus and Woolf offer a wealth of stylistic devices in relation to the intended themes. From The Stranger, the chosen passage tells of the clash of the main character (Meursalt) with a threatening Arab and his subsequent murder. The selection from To the Lighthouse describes the general passage of time, using a more poetic manner with its emphasis on description rather than plot. Reform in the world is related to reform in the method of expression of its literature; understanding the contemporary social context of Camus and Woolf provides insight into the origin and purpose of their works. Born in Algeria in 1913, Albert Camus grew up in a tough, working-class neighborhood of Algiers and... middle of paper... foreign. 1942. New Jersey: Penguin, 1955. pp 57-60.Cruickshank, John. Albert Camus and the literature of revolt. Oxford University Press, Inc. 1960. 249. Dyson, Ae and Morris Beja, eds. At the lighthouse. London: Macmillan, 1970. pp 19, 198.Gorsky, Susan. Virginia Woolf. Boston: Twayne, 1978. pp 15, 28, 49, 105, 108. King, Adele. Camus. Oliver and Boyd Ltd. 1964. 120.McCarthy, Patrick. The stranger. University of Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.Seltzer J., Alvin. "The Tension of Stalemate: Art and Chaos in Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse." Chaos in the novel: The novel in chaos. Schocken Books, 1974. pp 120-140.Sprague, Claire. Virginia Woolf: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. pp 1-13.Woolf, Virginia. At the lighthouse. 1927. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1951. pp 131-133.