Camus And Justice

In Camus’s novel, The Stranger, Meursault demonstrates the characteristics that conflict with the general qualities of a hero which makes Meursault an anti-hero. A hero is usually the protagonist and displays determination, a caring nature, and emotions. Meursault, on the other hand, is emotionally detached and does not care about most things. Nonchalantly walking through life, Meursault appears indifferent towards social interactions and emotions in general. The attitude on life sealed Meursault’s fate as an anti-hero. The title of the novel is very fitting because Meursault is a stranger within his society. The decisions Meursault makes give him an anti-hero persona and truly makes him who he is in the novel. Camus is giving the reader an example of what life would be like without morals through Meursault’s life. The novel presents many examples of how Meursault is an anti-hero, which is disrespectful, insensitive, and detached.

At first glance, one might think that he is a malevolent man with malicious intentions, due to his indifferent, nonchalant demeanor of his actions during the first half of the novel. He shows no grief at his mother’s funeral, but rather a matter-of-fact, unemotional acceptance of the situation. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe… I don’t know” (Camus, 3). Meursault’s love for

Despite his incarceration and soon to be execution “[he] I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again’. Coming to terms and being somewhat satisfied with his position in society and the concept that he is a loathed criminal. Through the scope of justice, teenagers do not value the murderous morals and unthinkable, unprovoked actions such as a senseless murder and just like the Jury, sitting in on Meursault’s trial, the readers believe that “the crime was worse than sordid by the fact that they were dealing with a monster, a man without morals." (96) not only this but a man with no justification for his unreasonable and absurd actions, which seemed to go completely against society’s prevailing attitudes. Another instance where the audience’s values towards

In the novel The stranger by Albert Camus is about a young man named Meursault living in Algiers who loses his mother. Throughout her death and her funeral he shows no emotions over her nor grieve and ends up hanging out with a “pimp” that causes him to get into problems. He ends up killing an Arab and goes to court for his trial but during his trial the prosecutor focuses on him not being sentimental about his mother's death instead of him murdering someone. In the end he gets sentenced to death and Meursault starts to feel sorts of emotions by saying “I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate”(page 123). This means that his life would have some meaning

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

Meursault suffers throughout the novel, and fails to overcome the negative events in his life. When Meursault’s mother dies many people who were close to her-for example Monsieur Pérez-were very solemn, but Meursault did not show much emotion; “... Pérez’s face… Big tears of frustration and exhaustion were streaming down his cheeks… Then there was the church and red geraniums on the graves in the cemetery… the incessant drone of the motor, and my joy when the bus entered the nest of lights that was Algiers” (18). Meursault speaks about Pérez’s pain in short sentences, and then quickly describes the environment around him. He emotes joy when the bus comes, even though it is still the day of his mother’s funeral. Camus’ style of short sentences shows Meursault’s lack of emotion which prohibits him from finding meaning in his suffering; “But, in the first place, it isn’t my fault if they buried Maman yesterday instead of today, and second, I would have had Saturday and Sunday off anyway. Obviously, that still doesn’t keep me from understanding my boss’s point of view” (19). He will not speak about any pain or negative emotions resulting from this event. As the novel continues, he commits a murder, is put on trial, and then sent to be executed. Meursault is constantly suffering, but he continues to stay unattached to his emotions and suffering. When he is about to be executed, he states that the only thing he has left is the end of

In the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, Meursault’s murder of the Arab helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. The Stranger tells the story of Meursault, a man who passively lives his life until he kills a man and is then put on trial and sentenced to death. The murder of the Arab is the climax of the novel and signals a shift in Meursault’s thought and character. Through Meursault’s killing of the Arab, Camus brings attention to the absurdity of social expectations and shows how it is possible to change from passivity to consciousness in order to give one’s life meaning.

Meursault has no reasons for his actions, such as his decision to marry Marie and his decision to kill the Arab. For example Meursault stated, “That evening Marie came by to see me and asked if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn't make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to. Then she wanted to know if I love her. I answer the same way I had the last time that it didn't mean anything but that probably didn't love her.” (Camus, 1946, p.41)Meursault believes in the idea that things sometimes happen for no reason, and that events sometimes have no meaning. In Part Two of the novel the trial sequence represents society’s attempt to building rational order. The prosecutor and Meursault’s lawyer both offer explanations for Meursault’s crime that are based on logic, reason, and cause and effect. These explanations although, have no facts and serve only as attempts to defuse the frightening idea that the universe is unreasonable. The entire trial is therefore an example of ridiculousness of humankind’s pointless attempt to impose rationality on an irrational

He feels no type of remorse for the crime he commits and accepts the consequences without any questioning. As he goes through the process to determine his fate, Meursault begins to analyze what he has experienced throughout his lifetime due to his time in prison. He begins to gain motivation mentally, thinking more about the gray areas of his surroundings instead of only the black and white. However, he loses motivation physically due to his inability to do the things that he enjoys, including going to the beach and smoking. He is stuck in his cell and sleeps a majority of the time. When he discovers that he will be executed, he starts to think about life and death and his relationship with society. Meursault’s meeting with the chaplain causes him to state his opinions on life and death and how he is indifferent towards both ideas. Because he has no concern or issues with his upcoming execution, the chaplain reacts to Meursault’s mindset by insisting on the idea of God in order to repent for his crime. The chaplain pesters Meursault about Christianity and insists that all condemned men turn to God for relief. Because of the chaplain’s beleaguering, Meursault is motivated to stand up for his own belief that God does not exist and begins to attack the chaplain. Meursault’s actions, thoughts, and beliefs were all based on his own experiences and mindset; he did not have any particular

Suffering at the Helping Hands of Society Stemming from their ancient origins and continuing into the modern day, societal standards and moral codes have greatly influenced the development of cultures, nations, and individuals throughout world history. While some believe that these standards are meant to be broken, others feel that breaking these social codes will result in the downfall of the individual. This is the idea that absurdist and existentialist author Albert Camus depicted in his novel, The Stranger. In his novel, The Stranger, author Albert Camus employs the use of point of view in order to convey the idea that those who fail to conform to social standards and moral codes will ultimately fall victim to their societal ineptitudes.

Meursault seems enlightened by the meaningless of life and the universe; he accepts the notion that life happed by chance and was thus not important. As compared to Marie, Meursault seems to be more rational and sensible. She ”bursts into tears” during the trial, after her testimony, saying that the prosecutor “got it all wrong” and he had wrongfully “bullied her into saying” things she hadn’t meant until “one of the court officers had led her away” (Camus 119). Marie contrasts Meursault’s calm attitude in court by acting out of angst. Marie seems to be senseless because she keeps hoping that he will be freed even though he’s abandoned all hope.

After Meursault killed the Arab he explained to the prosecution that he had “never been able to truly feel remorse for anything” because his “mind was always on what was coming next, today, or tomorrow” (Camus 100). Instead of accepting his wrongdoings, he embraces them and refuses to admit what he has done. It is frightening knowing that Meursault has no sympathy or regret for all the bad decisions he has made. The only explanation he gave for killing the Arab on the beach was because the sun had been bothersome. There is nothing preventing Meursault from killing again, which is why he is seen as such a serious threat to others.

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

Camus’s The Stanger follows a man, Meursault, in the days following the death of his mother as well as the months leading up to and including his trial for murdering an Arab man. What is unique in Meursault’s case is that he doesn’t seem upset by his mother’s passing nor the act of killing a man. He is very calm and truthful throughout the events and even refuses to allow his lawyer to use certain defenses because they aren’t the truth, even if using it could get Meursault a lesser sentence. While none of these aspects of Meursault reflect the society in the novel, he is a shining example of the societal whole rejecting that which they don’t understand. Meursault didn’t react the way that society saw fit for somebody who just lost their

After committing murder, Meursault was arrested and put in jail. While in jail, he had to see the magistrate a few times, and in those visits he found himself being irritated because of the heat. As Meursault was being questioned, he felt the air “getting hotter and hotter” (Camus 69), and it creates a mood of irritation. He did not want to hear anymore of the imposing tirade given by the magistrate. Then Meursault stated that he “could see the red sand and feel the burning of the sun on [his] forehead” (Camus 67). In this scene, he got irritated and angry when he was forced to believe that there was meaning in life. He does not want anything that is going to disturb his state and “thoughts...of a free man” (Camus 76). As a free man, the only thing that matters is living life detached from the world because this ensures that he would not have to deal with the irrationality of things. Just like what Sprintzen argued on his article “The Stranger”, Meursault “does not ‘live by the rules’. He does not think like ordinary people. He does not pay his respects, but seems indifferent to everything that is usually taken seriously” (Sprintzen). His strangeness allows his emotional state to be controlled by the sun and the heat. The sun and the heat affect his physical being and it prevents him from acknowledging his emotions. The sun and the weather serve as a controlling force that allow Meursault to escape the irrationality of life.