"The outsider" by Naguib Mahfouz and Albert Camus

"The family that prays together, stays together", a quote which I have often read on the side of my very religious uncle's van, shows how when family values are observed, the unity of the family is preserved. In troubled times, however, the family unit finds it increasingly difficult to stay together. As this process progresses, the eventual downfall of an entire society can occur because the society is simply a group of families. Through the …

…society. Albert Camus' The outsider, and Nagiub Mahfouz's The thief and the dogs, are both similar as they expand upon the idea of the down fall of society through the disintegration of the family unit. Throughout the course of history, the change from the family cultural unit to the individual independent unit is evident from ancient to modern times. It is only by reversing this process can human society hope to visualize a brighter future.