A Fateful Acceptance

            Acceptance proves sometimes to be the hardest part of life; accepting oneself or what the future holds in store can be both confusing and difficult. Acceptance of the future seems nearly impossible to achieve, especially when one's life or happiness is at stake. In both The Stranger by Albert Camus and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Meursault and Gregor, the doomed main characters, accept their fate because of their own mental pressures on themselves, their physical limitations, and the way society judges them. .
             Both Meursault and Gregor force themselves to accept their fates in their own minds. Meursault, for instance, thinks about being executed during his time in prison and realizes there is nothing he can do about it. This realization spurs him to accept his fate. When Meursault says, "The fact was that it had been decided once and for all that the patient was to die" (Camus 111), he mentally accepts the fact that he can allow himself no hope and that there is no chance of escaping his inevitable death. About Marie, he thinks, "I wasn't interested in her dead" (115), acknowledging the fact that he knows nothing about her now and that he will never be able to know. During his time in prison, Meursault does not want to think about the possibility of escaping his fate, instead he says, "I would make another effort to divert my thoughts" (112). In this manner, he makes an effort to mentally accept his situation the way it is. Finally, he states, ".it doesn't much matter whether you die at thirty or at seventy, since in either case other men and women will naturally go on living" (114), proving his understanding that he is of no significance, and that there is nothing he can do about his upcoming execution. His recognition of his dire situation pushes him to accept his fate. .
             Similarly, Gregor mentally accepts his transformation into a "monstrous vermin" (Kafka 3). He quickly learns how to use his new body, and this adaptation to his insect state and instinct gives him "a feeling of physical well-being" (27).