1. INTRODUCTION

Language is employed to express views and beliefs on the veracity of the proposition in an utterance, in addition to transmitting factual information. Point of view is the perspective that connects thoughts and events in a story and serves as the “angle of telling” the actions in literature. Along with that, the distinction between those who tell and those who see is essential to the concept of narrative viewpoint. For instance, in a third-person narrative, the “storyteller” and the ‘viewer’ are two distinct individuals, while in a first-person narrative, the same person both “tells” and “sees” the events. Therefore, viewpoint represents the effect created by the storytelling process, with perspective being embedded in the act of narration, even in its simplest form ( Neary, 2014, pp. 175-176).

Employing a first-person point of view in narration offers several benefits, as it enables the author to delve into the protagonist’s mind, either in a stream-of-consciousness manner or through other means. However, this form of narration also has certain limitations. Although it provides privileged and extensive access to the protagonist’s mind, by the same token, it leaves the hero, author, and reader to speculate about the thoughts and feelings of other characters because we are unable to read their minds (Childs & Fowler, 2006,p.182).

The term “point of view” is utilized in several ways: first, to describe a visual perspective or the angle from which a scene is presented; second, metaphorically to indicate the ideological framework and presupposition of a text, such as a male or female perspective; and third, to describe the different relationships the storyteller has to the narrative (Clark, 2007, p. 69).

First person and third person are the two categories into which Morini (2011) (as cited in Al-Alami, 2019,p. 911 ) divides viewpoint in narrative. First-person narration is employed in a text where the main protagonist, or occasionally, a minor character, tells the story. Third-person narrative can be effectively employed to provide a view into the events that occur within a fictional text. According to Durant et al. (2000,p. 266), in a third-person narrative, the narrator can be either internal or external, with varying degrees of knowledge. External third-person narration is limited to observing characters from the outside, while the internal opens the door for the visualization of the characters’ thoughts, feelings, and attitudes.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Many studies have focused on point of view with regard to its different types and its connection to modality systems, which is considered an influential tool for adopting stylistic analysis in literary works. Some of the previous studies apply the model of this study to short stories and others analyse different literary text of more than one writer, whereas this study analyses just one text to reflect the viewpoints of the narrator and the characters at the same time.

2.1 Parina and Kristines’ Study (2014)

Parina and Kristine (2014) used Simpson’s model framework to analyze Ian Rosales’s “Things You Don’t Know” for their study “A Stylistic Analysis of the Use of Modality to Identify the Point of View in a Short Story”. The study’s findings indicate that the epistemic modality is dominant, causing the readers to sense the narrator’s uncertainty concerning the characters’ attitudes and the unfolding situations or events. The negative uncertainty is presented through the narrator’s dependence on the external appearance or surroundings alone.

2.2 Abood’s Study (2018)

Abood (2018) investigates the representation of viewpoint and modality systems in fiction, using Simpson’s Model (1993) to analyze the selected short stories. The findings reveal that this model is highly effective in identifying the writers’ styles and understanding the characters’ thoughts. In the first story, epistemic and perception modalities are ranked higher than the other categories. This highlights the uncertainty and bewilderment of the narrator. In the second story, deontic and boulomaic modalities are foregrounded. The last story represents the absence or little usage of modality as it employs a third-person narrative mode with neutral shading (Abdullah and Abood, 2016,p.p. 67-68).

2.3 Jasim and Qadduri’s Study (2019)

A very useful article written by Majeed Hameed Jasim and Hanan Hameed Qadduri (2019) uses Paul Simpson’s model framework to stylistically analyze Faulkner’s novel ” The Sound and the Fury”. Its results show that three out of the four modality systems, deontic, epistemic, and perception modalities, are widely used in the four narrators’ language in different proportions. Each narrator adopts his own type of modality, which reflects his individual tone and indicates the mode of narration that he or she is using. Throughout the novel, boulomaic modality records the lowest percentage.

3. ALBERT CAMUS AND HIS NOVEL

Camus is one of the few French writers of the twentieth century who has overcome true adversity. He was up in a desolate flat in Belcourt, an Algiers working-class district, after his father was killed in the Battle of the Marne when he was eleven months old. His mother was deaf and uneducated. Camus was a prolific playwright who produced and published several of his plays throughout his lifetime. His fictions, such as The Stranger, and his plays have secured his leading place in contemporary French letters. Camus received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature. At the pinnacle of his skills, one of the most significant writers in the Western world had his career abruptly ended by his untimely death in the 1960s ( Camus, 1946/1989, vii).

The Stranger required Camus to develop a literary yet incredibly popular style—an artistic trick that would make the intricacies of a man’s existence seem uncomplicated. Contrary to popular belief, however, neither Camus nor Meursault ever attempted to simplify their own lives. Camus admitted to using an “American method” when writing this novel, especially in the first half of the book: the concise, direct sentences; the portrayal of a character who appears to be unconscious; and the occasional use of a “tough guy” tone. In the second part of the novel, Camus allows more leeway to his unique poetry as he guides Meursault—who has now been deprived of his freedom—past sensation to forced recollection, unfulfilled desire, and, at last, to a sort of comprehension (Kennedy and O’Brien, 2020, p. v-vi).

4. MODALITY

Simpson (2014,123) defines modality as the linguistic aspect that allows us to convey expressions of beliefs, attitudes, and obligations in our speech and writing. Thus, modality functions as the grammar of explicit comment; it comprises signs of our differing levels of certainty in the propositions we express, and the types of commitments or obligations that we impose in our words. Besides, modality broadly refers to a speaker’s attitude or perspective on the truthfulness of a statement transmitted through a sentence. It also includes how they feel towards the circumstance or event that a statement describes (Simpson, 1993,p. 43).

Trask (2005, 125) argues that modality refers to “the grammatical category associated with the expression of obligation, permission, prohibition, necessity, possibility, and ability”. Fowler (1977,p.43) illustrates that language is full of constructions which reveal the speakers’ degree of commitment to the truth of the claim they make. He states that the linguistic expressions of modality can take different forms. These include the use of sentence adverbs (such as probably, maybe, perhaps, certainly), lexical verbs of knowledge, prediction, or evaluation (including know, think, believe, seem, like/dislike, approve, guess, foresee), modal auxiliary verbs (such as must, might, may, shall, should, will, needs to, ought to), or evaluative adjectives and adverbs (like regrettably, luckily, fortunate).

5. PAUL AIMPSON’S MODEL GRAMMAR OF POINT OF VIEW

Simpson’s (1993) point of view model is closely related to Flower’s (1977) original one. Simpson (2005,p. 43) argues that the writer’s point of view reflects how he or she conceptualizes a worldview. For convenience and in order to clear the ground, we are going to describe Simpson’s four model systems. These are the deontic, boulomaic, and epistemic systems, as well as its subsystem of perception modality.

5.1 Deontic Modality

Simpson (2005,p.p. 43-44) refers to it as the system of modality related to duty, which addresses a speaker’s attitude regarding the degree of obligation associated with specific actions. Modal auxiliary verbs (you should, must, and may participate), which convey varying degrees of permission, obligation, and requirement, are indicative of deontic modality. It is also communicated by the conjunction of some adjectives and participles, such as “BE . . . THAT” constructions as in “it is crucial that you participate” and ‘BE . . . TO’ constructions as in “you are required to participate”.

5.2 Boulomic Modality

This type of modality shares a tight relationship with deontic modality. It conveys the speaker’s desires, wants, and wishes. To indicate a level of boulomaic commitment to a certain proposition, modal lexical verbs like “want”, “hope”, “wish”, and “desire” might be utilized. Besides, boulomaic modality can be expressed through modal adverbs like “hopefully” and “regrettably,” as well as adjectival and participial constructions like “BE . . . THAT” or “BE . . . TO,” for example, “it is regrettable that he left early” or “it was amazing to travel to such places.” (Gavins, 2007,p. 94).

5.3 Epistemic modality

This type conveys the degree of confidence the speaker has in the truthfulness of a proposition. It is concerned with conveying concepts related to knowledge, belief, and cognition. This system of modality is indicated through modal auxiliaries including ‘could’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘must’, ‘shall’, ‘should’, and ‘will’. Additionally, these auxiliaries can convey different types of modality. For instance, ‘must’ can indicate deontic modality in a sentence like ‘You must leave!’ or epistemic modality in a sentence like ‘It must be finished.’The type of modality conveyed is largely determined by the context in which the modal auxiliary is used. It is also conveyed through modal adverbs like ‘allegedly,’ ‘arguably,’ ‘certainly,’ ‘perhaps,’ ‘maybe,’ ‘probably,’ ‘possibly,’ ‘surely,’ and ‘supposedly.’ It can also be expressed using adjectives in constructions like ‘BE . . . TO’ and ‘BE . . . THAT,’ such as ‘sure to’ and ‘doubtful that.’ , as well as, lexical verbs like ‘think,’ ‘believe,’ and ‘know’ can indicate epistemic modality (Gibbins and Whiteley,2018,p. 111).

5.4 Perception Modality

This type, which is regarded as a subcategory of epistemic modality, indicates how committed a proposition is to being true based on human (visual) perception. Adjectives in constructions like BE…THAT and phrases with modal adverbs or perception verbs are utilized to trigger a perception modal world (Simpson, 2005,p. 46).

Simpson (2005, 39) argues that although Fowler’s taxonomy represents a good illustration of the linguistic basis upon which categories of narration can be distinguished, it needs some modifications and expansions. Simpson (2005,p.p. 50-51) emphasizes that explicit linguistic specifications must be used to distinguish between what he calls category A narratives and category B narratives. Category A narratives are those that are told in the first person by a character who is part of the story. Category B narratives are a little more complex, as they all feature a third-person narrative structure and are narrated by an invisible, nonparticipating narrator. However, category B narratives is classified into two modes based on whether events are described from outside or within the consciousness of a specific character. Additionally, category B in narratorial mode refers to third-person narratives that are told from an unaffiliated or “floating” point of view, independent of any particular character , meaning the narrator’s voice is the only one present. Conversely, when a third-person narrative occurs within the consciousness of specific characters, it is classified as category B in Reflector mode.

Simpson (2004,p.p. 126-27) indicates that both category A and category B narratives are further divided based on positive, negative, or neutral modalities. In narratives with positive shading, the dominant modalities are deontic and boulomaic, which emphasize the narrator’s desires, duties, and opinions concerning the events and other characters.

In addition, verba sentiendi and evaluative adjectives and adverbs are the criteria for identifying such kind. Negative shading in narratives is identified by the prominence of epistemic and perception modalities. This kind is rich in epistemic modal auxiliaries, modal adverbs, and modal lexical verbs, as well as the perception adverbs evidently and apparently. The remaining kind is neutral shading, where the narrator refrains from subjective evaluation and narrates the story solely through categorical assertions.

6. POINT OF VIEW IN ALBERT CAMUS’S THE STRANGER

The present study explores the application of Simpson’s model in Camus’s “The Stranger.” The researchers analyze “The Stranger” stylistically by using a modal grammar of viewpoint in narrative fiction. To conduct a valid study, the researchers divide the plot’s structure into three sections: exposition, climax, and resolution.

In general, readers need to know the overall atmosphere and conditions of the events to get a full comprehension and to realize the reasons for being narrated. Concerning the narrative perspective, it is noted that stories can be told in the first, second, or third person by narrators who are either inside the story (homodiegetic) or outside of it (heterodiegetic).

Results of the exposition analysis show that the narrative mode of the story is first-person, where the narrator represents the events from the perspective of a participant within the story, for example: “ I suppose it was my hurrying like that”. Table (1), and Fig. (1) show the types of modality that are used in the exposition.

TABLE 1. Types of Modality Systems in the Exposition

Perception	Epistemic	Boulomaic	Deontic	Modality Type
	74		13	Modal Auxiliary
167		18		Modal lexical
	7			Modal Adjectives
	44			Modal Adverbs
167	125	18	13	Total
51.7%	38.7%	5.6%	4%	Percentage

The results of the analysis reveal that the exposition shows a general view and description of the characters, their activities and habits, the place and time in which the events have taken place. The stranger opens with an announcement of death: “Mother died”. The narrator received a telegram informing him that his mother had died, “MOTHER died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure ” and how he received the news with the coldest and heartless emotions, due to his belief that death is inevitable. The results show that the writer begins with first person narrator “I-narration “. That is obvious, as if he utilizes a laser beam to show the personality and the psychology of his character’s point of view. Meursault is the protagonist and the narrator of the events in the selected text, as the events are presented through his words and thoughts. The analysis affirms that the dominant modality systems throughout the first section are perception and epistemic rather than other systems , for example: “it could have been yesterday”, ” I suppose you’d like to see your mother?”, ”I realized then”, “I understand.”,” I noticed that”,” he’d never have believed it”, “I seen anyone so clearly”, “Nearly all the women wore aprons” .These examples, which are extracted from the text, clarify Meursault’s visual perceptive, as well as what a person can perceive in a given situation determines how committed they are to the truth of a proposition. The following Fig. shows the prominence of both perception and epistemic modality systems.

FIGURE 1. Types of Modality in the Exposition

The narrator’s attitudes towards other characters or events are extended throughout the climax of “The Stranger”. Meursault’s attitudes are portrayed in the selection of words that express how the speaker is confirmed about other characters . Modality is the distinctive merit of language marked by grammatical expressions to express the speaker’s beliefs whether statement is true, obligatory, desirable, or actual. Meursault’s indifferent personality reflects through his thoughts, attitudes, feelings towards other people. He does not show rational sense to the worldview around him. He realized that he does not care about what happened, but the world does not care too. It is obvious since he committed the crime when Rymond gave him the gun “ I realized you could either shoot or not shoot”. Throughout this section the prominence modality system that highlighted against others are both perception and epistemic , for example:” he could have waited” , “ you could hardly…” , “ I noticed that his dog wasn’t with him “, “ he proposed going to….”, “ Don’t you understand”. The following table and Fig. show the prominence modality system that highlighted within the climax.

TABLE 2. Types of Modality Systems in the Climax

Perception	Epistemic	Boulomaic	Deontic	Modality Type
	44		3	Modal Auxiliary
132		15		Modal lexical
	5			Modal Adjectives
	51			Modal Adverbs
132	100	15	3	Total
52.8%	40%	6%	1.2%	Percentage

FIGURE 2. The Percentage of Modality Systems in the Climax

The results reveal the prominence percentage of perception verbs, which demonstrates that Meursault’s evaluative judgments and attitudes towards other characters , as well as his sensible or insensible thoughts, are portrayed throughout the events.

Furthermore, the resolution part clears the complicated events and sheds light on what ultimately occurred. The resolution reveals Meursault’s indifference towards his mother’s funeral and his killing of “the Arab.” Meursault’s privation of regret combined with his lack of sadness towards the death of his mother. Moreover, Meursault’s trail conveys his internal consciousness and his apathy towards others. It is obvious via the prominence of perception and epistemic modality systems, as in these examples which are extracted from the last section of the novel : “I realized the first was over…” . “ I knew that with the first…”, “ from, what I hear…”, “I knew this was an absurd “,” I realized that it was natural “ , “ I gussed…” , “ I really knew….” , “ I understood it was so natural…”. And throughout the adverbs that emphasize episteme system as “ certainly”, “ still , obviously …” , “ …. Absolutely none “ , “ I was absolutely sure..”, “obviously , I replied “, “ and perhaps it will be required..”, and epistemic modal verbs as in : “ the case would take…” , “ may be , the other policeman …”, “I could hardly believe…” , “ “ it would be a shocking…” “ might seem frightened…” “ when the evidence would be taken ..” “ I would have you note…”, “ I could tell…” , “ I couldn’t even return her smile” . The following table and Fig. show the prominence of perception and epistemic systems over other systems:

TABLE 3. Types of Modality Systems in the Resolution

Perception	Epistemic	Boulomaic	Deontic	Modality Type
			6	Modal Auxiliary
182	82	14		Modal lexical
	24			Modal Adjectives
	64			Modal Adverbs
182	170	14	6	Total
48.9%	45.7%	3.8%	1.6%	Percentage

FIGURE 3. The Percentage of Modality Systems in the Resolution

The frequent use of certain modality systems reflects particular effects, showing a strong influence or a specific impression towards a character in the text. Some narrative features with the epistemic and perception modal systems, which means saying words associated with truth, knowledge, belief, and cognition, are described as negative shading. Negative shading characterizes the narrator’s personal interpretative effort to reveal consciousness or unconsciousness realization towards himself or other characters or situations. The results of the study indicate that ‘The Stranger’ is negative shading, as evidenced by the prominence of epistemic and perception modalities, reflecting the narrator’s doubts regarding the characters, as is shown in the table and the Fig. below.

TABLE 4. Modality Shading in the Stranger

Perception	Epistemic	Boilomaic	Deontic	Types
481	395	47	22	Frequency
51%	42%	5%	2.32%	Percentage

 

FIGURE 4. Percentages of Modality Shading in The Stranger

CONCLUSION

In narrative fiction, point of view can indicate the psychological view from which a narrative is conveyed. The results of the study correspond with Simpson’s clarification of categories of narration. That is, the category of first-person narrative in which events and characters are described or portrayed via a particular participating character in the story. The importance of modal shading is to focus on the impact that modality can reveal “feel” of a particular text. That is obvious, through the presence of words that emphasize the interpretation of the character’s internal or external observation and shed light on the dominance of both epistemic and perception modality systems. The results confirm that it is possible to employ Simpson’s modal grammar to investigate the point of view from certainty or uncertainty situations to the possibility of the narrator recognizing and visualizing the events.

SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES

The further studies can explore the impact of the translation of “The Stranger” into other languages in reflecting the narrator’s perspective.

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