Absurd Actions of Meursault in The Stranger by Albert Camus

In The Stranger, Albert Camus describes the life of the protagonist, Meursault, through life changing events. The passage chosen illustrates Meursault’s view during his time in prison for killing the Arab. In prison, one can see the shifts in Meursault’s character and the acceptance of this new lifestyle. Camus manipulates diction to indicate the changes in Meursault caused by time thinking of memories in prison and realization of his pointless life. Because Camus published this book at the beginning of World War II, people at this time period also questions life and death similar to how Meursault does.

In The Stranger, Camus uses the protagonist Meursault as a vehicle to convey to the reader that in order to find peace of mind one must reject all external influences in order to achieve peace.

The chaplain comes to see Meursault against Meursault’s own wishes and the chaplain tells him that he should turn to God for comfort in his final days. Meursault does not believe in God and he tells this to the chaplain. The chaplain seems so sure about everything in life and about everything that will happen but to Meursault, the only certainty is that everybody dies. If it does not happen today, it will happen tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then the day after. Life is indifferent to everybody and nothing in it is important unless the person makes it important. There are no pre-set values that everyone must believe in when they are born. The choices a person makes are what define him because existence precedes essence. If someone chooses to value love, then it is important to him or her and he or she should care about it. If someone chooses to believe in God, then He is only important to him or her and only he or she should care about Him. The reason that he did not cry at his mother’s funeral is because he does not believe that this is the appropriate reaction since everybody dies at one point or another. The reason that he said that he probably does not love Marie and that it is not important, is because he does not have love as one of his values; therefore, he should not care about that emotion. Finally, the reason he did not show remorse for killing the Arab is because he did not feel that emotion. What Meursault does value is the truth. He

For Meursault life decisions are based on what is most convenient to him, not based on emotions that he may or may not feel. When Marie asks Meursault if he had any feelings of love towards her he “said that sort of question had no meaning” (Camus 24) but that he probably didn’t really feel any love

When prefacing his novel, The Stranger, Albert Camus remarks, “[i]n our society any man who does not weep at his mother’s funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death” (Preface). This quotation draws attention to perhaps the most absurd characteristic of Meursault: his complete detachment from the world around him. Meursault's indifference presents him as a threat to his own society. However, Camus suggests that Meursault's death sentence does not exhibit what is wrong with Meursault, but rather symbolizes what is wrong with his society. Therefore, through the development of Meursault's character, Camus illustrates his perception of man’s unsuccessful search for unity, meaning, and clarity. This paper will analyze and reflect upon Camus’ Meursault through a discussion of his

To start with, Meursault does not show any emotion throughout the book; he is careless and meaningless towards everything. The book starts off with: “Mamam died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know... That doesn’t mean anything.

At the beginning of the novel Meursault is gathered in the the nursing home, sitting closely to Maman’s old friends as they mourn her death. Because Meursault does not know these people, he feels alienated and distant from them. He remarks that, “For a second I had the ridiculous feeling

In the beginning of the book, the main character and narrator, Meursault, is notified that his mother has passed away. She lived in an old people’s home because she was sick and Meursault could not afford to take care of her. The absurd part about this event, is the fact that Meursault did not even shed a tear at his own mother’s funeral. Another ridiculous part is that he did not even know her age! He was asked by one of the undertakers, “Was she old?” And Meursault replied, “Fairly,” then after stating, “because I didn’t know the exact number,” (p.16). It is completely absurd to not know your own mother’s age. Meursault also didn’t want to look at his mother in the casket. Instead, he drank coffee and smoked during the funeral. That is purely absurd to do at one’s own mother’s funeral.

This clearly shows us that he is of a different type of breed of humans, that of a human of very little feelings towards what is supposed to be one of the main characters of someone’s life, his mother. He does not seem to care enough to be sad or even feel bad, but is more worried when the actual funeral is to take place. This is the first hint Camus gives us of the main

The fact that he does not love her is not a problem. I just found the way that he told her he did not was an absurd way to answer. By him saying that her questions is irrelevant shows that he Meursault does not care about the way she feels. What is even more absurd is the facts that Meursault agrees to marry Marie after he made it clear that he does not love her. Meursault disregards for Marie's feelings is not the only cruel thing that he has done to a woman. Meursault and his neighbor come of with a plan to flat out disrespect Raymond's ex-girlfriend. What they planned to do was to right a nasty, inappropriate letter to her, so that Raymond could sleep with her again. Raymond planned to have sex with her, then to spit in her face right after and kick her out. I can understand that Raymond is mad because she cheated but that does not make what they did okay. And what I found to be the most absurd thing about the entire situation was that it has nothing to do with Meursault. He did that for no reason and it was unnecessary.

The way Meursault views life, along with his lack of typical emotional responses and judgment, oppose the very core of society. When he conveys with a factual and calm tone that "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home… That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday" (3), he contradicts the common knowledge of society of such a circumstance being greeted with a display of grief and pain, so the lack of effect on Meursault is abnormal and looked down upon. Another instance where Meursault lacks the expected reaction is when he travels to Marengo for the funeral. At the vigil, his mother's friend bursts into tears; an act which he disapproves of, but knows he shouldn't speak out against. After a while, he harshly conveys how "The woman's sighs and sobs were quieting down. She sniffled a lot. Then finally she shut up" (11). Meursault's silent complaining about the display of emotions at his mother's funeral is a belief criticized in society for its absence of morals,

The Outsider by Albert Camus is a very complex novel. It is concerning the protagonist, Meursault, his life, his approach and perspective on life as well. Meursault is a very controversial character that sparks a lot of interest in many readers. His atypical behavior and peculiar manner of interacting with his environment and the people around him is also quite interesting. Meursault is a lonely character that has trouble fitting into society and following through with society’s code of conduct. His personality is far from what we would deem as “normal”. Meursault is a character that is influenced by the physical elements such as time, place and setting, which compel him to commit certain actions and make specific decisions.

Absurdity in “The Stranger” can be found Expressed through the main Character Meursault, the first time we see Absurdity through Meursault is with the death of his mother which is off no significance to his own life. The idea of death means nothing the Meursault it is neither scary nor enticing. After the funeral procession to the cemetery, he begins to make mental notes of physical objects that catch his eye.The next day in Algiers Meursault goes swimming in the sea and meets a woman. The woman's name is Marie, Marie Cardona whom he knows vaguely. That evening Marie and himself go out to the cinema to see a comedy. One day Marie asks Meursault to marry her and he accepts. Meursault works in a office in Algiers, he has little interest in his career and shows disinterest to the news of a promotion and the transfer to Paris that is joined with the rise in position. Meursault who shows no interest in emotional matters does however show interest in physical sensations which include enjoying the cool freshness of the hand-towels and comparing this feeling to the warm towels at the end of the day. At home along with his relationship to Marie he develops a relationship with his unsavory neighbor Raymond Sintes who is known for being a gangster who beats and abuses women. Meursault is just as disinterested in his friend ship with Raymond Sintes as he is with his romantic relationship with Marie. His “friendship” with Sintes leads Meursault to his next moment of absurdity where Meursault sees the same outcome whether he shoots the gun or not because the loss of this Arab’s life makes no difference to the universe(This shows that Meursault sees no significance of human existence). Meursault shoots the Arab in the head killing him, he then shot four more times into the lifeless body. He shows the same preoccupation with his physical sensations and has the same reluctance in trying to pretend himself having and showing emotions he does not possess. Meursault will not plead self defense in the face of his murder charge. During this time period in Algeria such a plea would probably be seen of him escaping his punishment which has a minimum to no chance at all due to the fact that he did kill someone. He shows no

It is easy to disregard exactly how strange Meursault – the protagonist of L'Étranger – is. A casual reader of Camus’ novel may see Meursault as little more than a social outsider, unable to live within the norms of society. In actuality, his strangeness runs deeper, into his personal life. He has no real emotional life, something which he himself doesn’t find odd. Not only does this make him seem even more like a social pariah, but it shows that he is mentally unable to understand why his behaviours are strange. This essay will analyse Meursault’s lack of emotion, whilst also explaining how it results in his eventual death. I will also analyse how society at the time would have expected Meursault to behave, and how this also contributed to his fate.

Meursault is seen to be indifferent in the beginning of the novel, when he is informed on the death of his mother by a telegram from the funeral home, and he does not recall whether or not it occurred today or yesterday (Camus 1). This introduces Meursault’s lack of emotion and unconcern toward the death of his own mother. It reveals his absurdist outlook on life, and how his feelings are very apathetic towards the death of a family member which has no real significance to him. Later in the story while Meursault is engaging in a conversation with his girlfriend Marie, his absurd emotions become apparent when Marie asks Meursault if he wanted to marry her he responded by saying it doesn’t make a difference to him. When she asks if he loves her he says that it doesn’t mean anything to him, but he probably doesn’t. (Camus 43). Meursault's reaction reveals his emotional detachment in relationships with people, having no compassion towards others. It shows how he feels that there is no meaning in life, and that marriage or love is not important to him. According to Robinson “Meursault is judged instead, because he challenged the convention regarding the proper respect a son shows his mother (Robinson). His lack of sympathy for his mother's death portrays how his emotions are seen as absurd and indifferent to other individuals in society. Later in