The protagonists of Siddhartha and The Stranger seem at first glance enormously dissimilar to each other. Siddhartha is set in India several centuries before the birth of Christ. Siddhartha is the educated son of a Brahmin, who leaves behind his lavish lifestyle and elite family to achieve spiritual enlightenment. The Stranger is set in French Algeria. The protagonist, Meursault, is an ordinary but psychologically disconnected man who commits an unplanned murder and ends up in prison with an execution sentence following this crime. Although Siddhartha and Meursault are different people with different paths and ultimately different destinies, both men navigate the concept and struggle for liberation to come to fruition. Both of these protagonists release different things and go on different journeys to reach this point. Siddhartha learns to free his son and, in turn, learns a valuable life lesson that brings him one step closer to achieving his ultimate goal. Meursault releases his freedom and can therefore come to terms with what he has always believed about life. The concept of liberation resulting in fulfillment is a key element to the development of both characters in both novels. Siddhartha embarks on a complex journey with the aim of reaching nirvana. He makes several stops along the way, learning many things from many different people and lifestyles. He first trades his life as a fortunate and wealthy Brahmin to live among the Samanas, who believe that enlightenment can be achieved through the rejection of physical desire and the body. He adapts very well to this new lifestyle and learns to free himself from the desire for property, clothes and... half a piece of paper... fulfillment. How much do you have to sacrifice to find Meaning? For one man it was the painful liberation of his only son, while for another it was the loss of freedom and, ultimately, life. Living in different time periods, in different places, and under different circumstances, Siddhartha and Meursault are bound together by the struggle to let go of something important. Both men undergo a release and, in turn, gain the ability to accomplish something significant that they had previously missed. The existence of liberation as it leads to fulfillment is a crucial component to the development of the protagonists in both Siddhartha and The Stranger.Works CitedCamus, Albert. The stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988. Print.Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. Trans. Hilda Rosner. New York: New Directions Publishing, 1951. Print.