The Stranger By Albert Camus

The very first sentence of the novel, Meursault says “Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure. (The Stranger Camus, 1)” Immediately Meursault’s indifference comes into play, as he does not know or really seem to care about when his mother died. He does not see the point in dwelling

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.

Meursault’s Mother had passed away. He heard the news by telegram and he does not display any grief for the loss of his mother. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday,”(3). The reader may mistake the first line as a response from a person who would be shocked from hearing the news that a family member had died; not Meursault. His emotions are vacant and he is careless towards the loss of a loved one. When Meursault arrived to the home he had put his Mother in years prior, there was a vigil the night before the funeral he would attend. “We just sat there like that for quite a while. The woman’s sighs and sobs were

Death, as an integral part of life, should be accepted and respected. However, in The Stranger, Meursault views death almost joyously, going through life without care or consideration, as death to him is nothing but inevitable. His opinion on death creates his identity, his own personality mirroring the carefree opinion of death that he holds. Throughout The Stranger, Camus employs symbolism of Meursault’s surroundings to convey the absurdity of life that is central to Meursault’s identity, causing his actions against society’s strict moral code, until his eventual realization when finally faced with death himself.

Starting on the first line of the book “Maman died today. Or yesterday, I don't know.” the very first idea that comes to mind is the very fact that he didn't even know when his mother had passed away and doesn't seem to give too much thought to it either. On page 4 Meursault is taking to the caretaker of the elderly home “Madame Meursault came to us three years ago. You were her sole support… You don't have to justify yourself my dear boy, I've read your mother's file. You weren't able to provide for her.” As in the book Meursault starts to feel like he is being criticized by the caretaker about not being able to care for her, he shows no sign of guilt or remorse as it must have been hard for him to put his mother into home but Meursault does show any emotion in that regard. A couple pages later Meursault is asked if he wants to see his

In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus there are three major themes established by the main character, Meursault. His detachment from his emotions and him essentially being a sociopath set’s a major tone for the novel. In The Stranger, the major themes introduced are Isolation, The Meaninglessness of Human Existence, and Lack of Human Emotions. These are the three most major because it’s all surrounding the main character, Meursault and these themes provide similarities between Lord of the Flies and Macbeth. These themes only exist because Meursault himself embodies and reinforces them all throughout the novel.

When one of his mother’s closest friends stops sobbing, Meursault is glad “finally shut up” instead of having any sympathy for a mourning woman. This shows how insensitive Meursault can be in a time in which most people would be too sad to get upset over such natural behavior. In this way, the mourning friends are used as a comparison between Meursault and the majority of society in this sense, and as portrayed here, Meursault appears to be the lesser of the two. Though Meursault asserts that he loved his mother in her life and tried to take the best care of her that he could provide when she lived with him, once she dies he immediately accepts that she is gone. This is technically a rational way to react, as mourning does bring back loved ones and therefore is pointless, but few people can actually manage to forget about their loved one so quickly. It can be assumed that Meursault feels the same way about the death of his mother as he does the possible death of his girlfriend Marie, that he would not be “interested in her dead,” meaning that if she were gone, he would be able to move on since she no longer plays a role in his life. He may still have had strong feelings for his mother just as he does for Marie, but he bases the feelings he has off of how much of a role these people play in his life. This idea is consistent with the existential view that the only thing that matters is the here and now of life and not the past or

In the book The Stranger, by Albert Camus, the main character Meursault has lot going on in his life that he doesn’t seem to care about too much. His mother or “maman” passes away and he shows a severe lack of emotion before and during the funeral. When thinking about marriage he is not adamant about getting married he is just simply ok with it. The lack of emotion shown is puzzling however, in the final passage of part 1, Meursault consumes himself with the physical world, rather than the emotional truths that surround him, shown in his descriptions of the situations at hand.

Philosophies work to guide behaviors and beliefs of a person and can be found in different forms of literature to develop understanding of a character. In The Stranger, Albert Camus’ narrative style establishes various philosophical principles that influence the reader’s perception of ideas in the novel. While multiple principles are evident, the ideas of living in the moment and creating personal meaning are accentuated through Meursault’s narration. This style, in terms of tense and first-person perspective, helps to underscore these philosophical ideas in The Stranger as they influence Meursault's character.

The difference between cultures and their beliefs proves the theory of moral relativism. Moral relativism is the ideology that moral judgments are valid or invalid relative to an individual’s culture, historic period, or any other factor, which is uniquely privileged over all others. Meursault in Albert Camus’ The Stranger is persecuted by society because of his attitudes and beliefs. After being arrested for murder, he is questioned and judged not for the crime itself, but his atheism and lack of emotion. English Showalter dissects Meursault's character in The Stranger: Humanity and the Absurd.

In the novel The stranger by Albert Camus the body is used to explore the theory of existentialism through two main characters. Existentialism is a philosophy of free creation where one believes that you create your own destiny. Salamano, and Raymond both exemplify characters that pursue legitimacy of their existence through the exploration of the body. From abusing a woman to acting cruelly towards a pet; both of these characters attempt to obtain control of their own lives. Camus conveys the idea that human existence is without order, throughout his work we see a culture that seeks to find meaning in an insignificant word.

Albert Camus’ The Stranger, illustrates the absurdity that Camus himself believes to be true about the natural world. Camus’ view of the lack of control humans have on the world is one that is quite extreme, but undoubtedly hard to argue against. The belief that there is no meaning to life, and no real purpose, and no explanation to anything surrounding the world we live in has eluded its way from Camus through Meursault; our main character.

The response of the funeral director “I understand” leads to another thought. Maybe he didn’t want to see his mother’s corpse because she meant a lot to him, and couldn’t stand the sight of his own mother’s dead body due to his affection towards her. This thought is challenged by the reader when it is revealed that he left his mother while she was ill in a nursing home, as opposed to taking care of her. The details of the relationship between him and his mother while she was alive also reveals or at least raises questions about meursault’s characterization. The first words of this novel are “Maman died today”. Maman is a french term referring to his mother in a childish juvenile term, almost like mama. This word is at a striking contrast to his later and much more frequent use of the word mother because it gives a seam of light of human emotions in a dark cellar of a distasteful, indifferent , and mechanical outlook of the world. Towards the end of this novel he explains how his outlook on life may not have been so

Meursault’s first impression given to the reader is that of ignorance and a nonchalant behavior to indifference of life itself. He is a detached and deathly honest man who refuses to lie about himself to save his life; a simple man, whose moods are painfully dictated by the powers of Nature; and an independent man, one who will not accept God, or any of society’s formulas for happiness. In paragraph one it states, “Mother died today, or, maybe yesterday; I can’t be sure.” This basically shows his emotionless attitude towards love or losing someone close, ensuring the reader of Meursault’s coldhearted vibe and carelessness for human life. The ironic situation of Meursault’s mother being dead Instead of grieving at the news of his mother’s death, he is cold, detached, and indifferent. When he receives the telegram, his primary concern if figuring out which day his mother died. The fact that he has no emotional reaction at all makes Meursault difficult to categorize. If he were happy that his mother died, he could be simply cast as immoral or a monster. But Meursault is neither happy, nor

Albert Camus’ utilizes an existential philosophy, absurdism, in his story, “The Stranger”. Absurdism is when humans live meaningless lives in an irrational universe. Meursault, the protagonist in “The Stranger”, has an absurdist view to life, which the story revolves around. Meursault's unique view of life is unique and different from the ethics of the society. Absurdism plays a key role in Meursault's life as the absurd sun influences his actions while his absurdist philosophies make him a stranger to society.