Back to Literary Analysis

The Stranger Motifs

Motifs and symbols tracked across analyzed chapters, with links back to chapter summaries and chapter analysis pages.

silence

5 occurrencespersistent
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

absent soul

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

Arabic figures as 'the other'

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

authority versus vulnerability

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

bars and grates

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

beach as liminal space

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

beach house

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

beach setting

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

black tie

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

black tie (mourning)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

blazing sun

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

blue pencil

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

bucket toilet

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

bureaucracy

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

casket

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

chaplain encounters

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

chaplain’s hands

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

cigarette as defiance

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

cigarette deprivation

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

cigarette smoke

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

cigarette smoking

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

cigarettes

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

coffee

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

cop's slap as power

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

courtroom fans

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

courtroom rhetoric

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

crucifix (faith)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

Director

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 9Analysis ch. 9

dog

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

dog and aging

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

dogs

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

dust and noise

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

echoing voices

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

enumeration of objects

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

escape fantasies

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

execution by beheading

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

flies (discomfort)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

foam as fleeting pleasure

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

food preparation

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

guard's uniform

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

guillotine

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

guillotine as inevitability

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

hands washing

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

heat

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

heat and light

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

heat and sunlight

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

hornets

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

ice‑cream vendor’s trumpet

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

knife

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

knife as imminent danger

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

lamp on desk (authority)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

legal questioning

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

letters

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

light versus darkness

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

light vs. darkness (hope/despair)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

lost dog as broken loyalty

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

machinery of justice

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

marriage proposal

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

memory of Marie

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

memory of the sea

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

mirror (self‑examination)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

mirror reflections

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

money transactions

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

music (flute notes)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

old age

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

old newspaper story

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

parade ground as lost control

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

Paris

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

phone calls

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

pigeons

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

plane tree

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

police authority

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

Presiding Judge

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 9Analysis ch. 9

prison bars

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

Prosecutor

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 9Analysis ch. 9

prosecutor's abyss

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

record-keeping

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

red‑and‑white dress as sexual lure

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

repetition of abuse

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

repetition of testimony

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

restaurant ritual

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

robot woman

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

Salamano’s dog

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

scales on skin

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

sea and water

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

sea as indifferent witness

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

sea/channel (emotional flow)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

sky observation

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

sky/light as freedom

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

skylight

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

spaghetti (comfort)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

stars at dawn

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

stones of cell as suffering

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 11Analysis ch. 11

street observations

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

streetcar (movement/transition)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

streetcar journeys

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

summer memories

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

sun

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

sun as oppressive force

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

sunlight

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

sunlight through flimsy curtain (exposure)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

swimming

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 2Analysis ch. 2

the green sky

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

the pink‑and‑white angel

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

the purple ink

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

the sea/harbor

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

the sun

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10

the yellow envelope

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

tin plate mirror

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

travel

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 1Analysis ch. 1

travel invitations

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 5Analysis ch. 5

typewriter (bureaucracy)

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 7Analysis ch. 7

water and foam

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 4Analysis ch. 4

white dress as false purity

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 6Analysis ch. 6

window overlooking the sea

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 8Analysis ch. 8

wine consumption

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 3Analysis ch. 3

young reporter

1 occurrencessingle-hit
Summary ch. 10Analysis ch. 10