Analysis Of ' The Stranger1 ' By Albert Camus

In the novel, The Stranger, author Albert Camus confronts some important issues of the time, and uses the singular viewpoint of the narrator Meursault to develop his philosophy and effectively weave together themes of absurdity, colonialism, and free will. Through the progressive disruption of Meursault’s life and his characterization, Camus presents the absurdity of the human condition along with the understanding that a person can actually be happy in the face of the absurd. Camus also intentionally sets the story in the colonized country of Algeria, and hints at the racial tensions that exist between French-Algerians and Arabs.

In The Stranger, Camus employs lucid imagery, emblematic metaphor, and the personification of nature to demonstrate the transformatively humanizing effect that the murder had on Meursault, both revealing the pent-up troubles throughout his life and illustrating the true lack of emotion and care that has been a highlight of his existence. This passage exhibits the culmination of Meursault’s disposition throughout the first part of this novel. From the opening line of the novel that references his mother’s death with a notable lack of feeling or sorrow, it is apparent to the reader that Meursault outwardly expresses his lack of emotion or purpose in his life – a motif that carries throughout Part One. As this section comes to a close, Camus uses

The French philosopher Roland Barthes once said, “Literature is the question minus the answer” (Barthes 2). This statement hold true for most works of literature that explore a central question. According to Barthes, literature often raises a question, but leaves it up to the reader to determine the answer. The Stranger by Albert Camus is an excellent example of how a central question, “Is there value and meaning to human life?” is raised and left unanswered, resulting in different interpretations of the answer, depending on the viewpoint of the reader. Although the question is never explicitly answered, Camus offers perspectives on what French society regarded the answers to be, such as connections with others, elusion to freedom, and faith in religion and God.

Flat characters play a significant role in all novels. For instance, the brother of Raymond’s mistress is a key flat character. The Arab never grows throughout the novel; rather, he remains a stalker, stalking his prey, tempting a fight. Without the role of the Arab, Meursault, would never have gone to prison, and never be tried for murder.

In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault the protagonist, becomes drawn into a “senseless” murder that has to face the absurdity of life and because of his actions, Meursault is presented as a danger due to his lack of “morality” to society. Meursault who is not able to take control of his life but respond to what life offers him believes in the simplicity of life. He tries to understand the living through logic and objectivity, which ultimately turns futile, as he himself cannot maintain proper control over his thoughts and emotions. From the interactions between Marie, to the murder of the Arab, and the meeting with the Chaplain, Meursault overcomes his indifferent views to form an opinion about what life really means. The central theme presented by Camus is how the threat of mortality becomes a catalyst for understanding the significance of life.

The world over, much significance has been placed on the value of human life. Death, which signifies an end to the journey of one’s physical existence, is often greeted with grief, sorrow, high emotions and mourning. This is, however, not the case for Meursault, the main character in Albert Camus’s “The Stranger.” In the book’s opening paragraph, Meursault says, “Mother died today, or maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure. The telegram from the Home says: ‘Your mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow, Deep sympathy,’ which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday” (Camus, 1942). Based on this excerpt, it is clear that after receiving the news regarding his mother’s death, Meursault shows more interest in the day of the death. He further speculates that the death could have taken place the previous day. There is little evidence to show that he actually cares about the fact that his mother has passed on solely based on his reaction on receiving the information. From this perspective, it is evident that human life is overrated. Indeed, while childbirth calls for celebration and brings joy into the world, the certainty regarding the end of human life is greatly overlooked. I argue that Meursault’s indifference to the news of his mother’s death as intimated from the opening monologue of the novel embodies a critical element of his personality, which is greatly denoted by nonchalance, as well as detachment.

As Meursault initially approaches the man, he comes to the realization that “The sun was the same as it had been the day [he’d] buried Maman, and like then, [his] forehead especially was hurting [him], all the veins in it throbbing under the skin” (Camus 58-59). The connection between the sun on the day of his mother’s death to the day he killed the man supplements the symbol of death, as the two events become increasingly intertwined, making the presence of the sun undeniably significant. For instance, following his mother’s death, while Meursault attends the vigil, he notes that the room is too bright and too loud. Later in the book, his discomfort with the sun is again repeated and amplified, as Meursault is driven to a point of near delusion as he walks towards the man on the beach through torturous heat, “pressing down on [him] and making it hard for [him] to go on. And every time [he] felt a blast of its hot breath strike [his] face, [he] gritted [his] teeth, clenched [his] fists in [his] trouser pockets, and strained every nerve in order to overcome the sun and the thick drunkenness it was spilling over [him]” (Camus 57). In both instances, the surroundings are filled with a heavy feeling of suspense and heat, the sun inflicting horrible pain on Meursault, making him practically incapable of rational thought until he ultimately acts

In the beginning of the book the main character who's name is Meursault is asking his boss for time off to attend his mother's funeral. In the first line he says “maman died today”. Meursault sees that the coffin has already been sealed. Meursault meets with the caretaker of his mother rushes in and offers to open the casket, but Meursault tells him not to bother. The next morning, the day of the funeral, Meursault again meets with the director of the old persons’ home. The director asks Meursault if he wants to see his mother one last time before the coffin is sealed permanently, but Meursault declines. Instead of grieving at the news of his mother’s death, he is cold. It's a little absurd and weird meursault has i interest in the death of his mother but rather he worries about borrowing appropriate funeral clothing from a friend, and is interested in the caretaker’s anecdote about the length of avigil depends on how long it takes before the body begins to decompose. Meursault takes off

In Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Meursault, the protagonist, could be seen as amoral if he was judged on the basis of his actions alone. However, through Camus’s use of a first-person narrative, one can began to understand Meursault as not an amoral man, but simply an indifferent one that did not fit within societies expectations. It took a tragedy in order for Meursault to realize that he needed others.

Meursault ends up with a gun in his hand and proceeds to shoot and kill an unarmed man. Though understanding the first-person narrative its seen that Meursault feels that the loss of a life would have no significance, neither will it affect life and of how the universe itself is apparently totally indifferent to everything and anything. Here one can appreciate how Camus incorporates his belief of the absurd through the character of Meursault in how all things has little to no significance. Meursault kills an Arabs in a moment that appears to be caused by confusion or even arguably out of self-defense, but still does not even seem to regret it even though it means going to prison, being tried and, ultimately being executed. Interestingly he has this rather bleak and nonchalant feeling of "what's done is done," and later confesses that he has never regretted anything he’d done because he has always been to submerse by the present or the immediate future to focus on relevance of events of the past. This statement may also be Camus’s beliefs being displayed in the writing on how an individual should only focus on the present rather dwell on the

Death plays many roles in books it is often used to develop major themes. This is especially the case in Albert Camus’s book, “The Stranger”. Meursault's death is a vital aspect to show the book's theme. Without the message his death brings the story would not be the

Widely recognized for philosophical writings as a French essayist and playwright, Albert Camus is a major contributor to exploring the absurd in modern Western literature. Characterized by highlighting the human condition, Camus’ writing style focuses on the everyday lives and inner psyche of individuals in both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. Such a character-driven writing style is most notably displayed in his 1946 work, The Stranger, a tale of an emotionally-detached man known as Meursault, who lives in French-colonized Algiers during the intermission of the two World Wars. Consisting of two parts—The Stranger first explores his daily life as a free man, and in the second, delves more into the character’s own philosophy as Meursault contemplates during his remaining time in jail. At its core, the story explores the relationships and interactions of the odd Meursault through the character’s inner monologue and dialogue with those around him. The story itself is very ambiguous in its’ nature, and the idea of contemplating the meaning of life and purpose is prevalent throughout The Stranger. Evidently, Camus writes Meursault as a man who believes that life has no meaning, and therefore people are free to do as they please. To supplement the protagonist’s view, the author also presents Meursault alongside various personalities of key supporting characters, each with their own unique personality, and differing outlooks on life. Doing so thus enables Camus to get readers to contemplate about meaning through multiple perspectives. Stylistically, through many devices that emphasize diction, imagery, and story themes. Ultimately, The Stranger is a way for Camus to convey that there are multiple ways to perceive the meaning of life, using Meursault to directly project a different view than what readers are used to. Surely, with the intent of crafting a protagonist so strange, that Meursault becomes comparable to other characters; less so as a reflection of what the author personally believes the meaning of life is, but more of what such exploration of the idea could be.

Albert Camus introduces the novel The Stranger in an absurd way. He purposely lets the reader know that the main character Meursault has no care for life. To him the only thing that derives from life is death, so what does, or does not happen is of no concern to Meursault. Not only does he not care about the life of others, he especially does not care about his own. This state of mind ultimately leads him to his own demise and death, which is ironic but yet revealing of Albert Camus's message.

“Life has to be given a meaning because of the obvious fact that it has no meaning.” Henry Miller

Albert Camus’s novel, The Stranger is regarded to the philosophical ideas of Existentialism, yet seems to also incorporate Absurdist tenets throughout the book that show ideals of being a unique type of individual with different actions that society disagrees with.