The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Stranger by Albert Camus is a novel about a man named Meursault who sees the world as a place of no hope for the living human being. The setting of the story takes place in 1940s Through Meursault’s selfish behavior, he goes through a series of events that are formed by his nonchalant attitude. On one day in particular, when he's out with a couple of friends he decides to shoot an Arabian man and soon after being charged guilty of murder. Camus is an Existentialist philosopher, but also an Absurdist as well. Existentialism focuses on free will and expressing the individual to be oneself to choose their own actions. Existentialist’s tend to back out with the belief

I ask you for a man’s head… and I do so with a heart at ease… Never as strongly as today have I felt this painful duty made easier, lighter, clearer by the certain knowledge of a sacred imperative and by the horror I feel when I look into a man’s face and all I see is a monster (Camus, 1988). “The stranger” by Albert Camus a creative and deep novel about a human being named Meursault who is a man that makes no normal assumptions about life. This novel deals with the issue of nonexistent belongingness in Algerian society. He is a man without social ambition, no beliefs in religion or meaning of life, and whose only desire is to live a simple life free of any meaning (Gnanasekaran, 2014). He is a man who is living on the earth with no purpose and is indifferent to everything that happens around him.

“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.” (1.1.1) In The Stranger, Albert Camus sets the stage for the character of Meursault. Meursault, being the main character, portrays an individual who struggles with himself in functioning and reacting to daily situations. Meursault views the world with lack of meaning and disregard to the meaning of human life. His lack of remorse for his mother’s death is just one example of Meursault 's absurd behavior. However, the absurdity is heightened when he is put on

In the beginning of the book Camus shows Meursault’s morals and beliefs and how he as a man processes events in his life, when Meursault’s mother passes away he simply has no reaction and does not seem sad or affected for example Meursault doesn’t want to see his mothers

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.

While at his mother's funeral, Meursault is frequently described as being in pain from the heat and glare. While at first glance this may seem unimportant as the setting is Algeria which is known to be extremely hot during the daytime but when more closely examined the reader can see that Camus is using Meursault as a vehicle for absurdism. It is heavily implied that Meursault did not want to attend his mother's funeral as he complains about the whole ordeal but instead of simply not going Meursault goes to the funeral because it's expected of him.

The prosecutor accuses Meursault of, “Behaving at his mother’s funeral in a way that showed he was already a criminal at heart” (Camus 122). This statement shows how closed-minded society is in the book.   The fact that the prosecutor is using this as one of his main arguments, is one of the many reasons that Meursault is sentenced to death. With laws being rules and guidelines that are set up by the social institutions to govern behavior (www.), Meursault did not break any law by acting with no emotions at his mother's funeral.

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

The story begins with “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know” (3). The lines introduce Meursault’s key personality trait, his indifference. He simply states the facts and has little emotional expression when talking about his mother’s passing. At his mother's funeral, he felt others expected him to talk and show emotion and it made him uncomfortable.

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 change of tone is illustrated by how initially he says, “A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.” (Camus 24) Meursault when talking to Marie shows no true interest even though that’s one of Meursault’s most intimate relationships. Contrary to the beginning where Meursault doesn’t understand certain emotions or how to display them, towards the end of the novel he has plenty of emotion, seen by how he states “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself—so like a brother, really—I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again.”

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 vigil, one of Maman’s friend starts crying. When Meursault sees this, he “wished [he] didn’t have to listen to her anymore. But [he] didn’t dare say anything” (10). Meursault’s grieving towards Maman is so little that he is distracted and irritated by a woman who is in mourning. In addition, he takes no response to calm the woman or to think back about Maman. This situation illustrates two of Meursault’s shortcomings: his lack of remorse, and the inability to take action following the little sentiment he has. Despite his insensitiveness throughout most of his life, he experiences change when he starts yelling at the chaplain. He notes that “something inside me snapped. I started yelling” (120). His howling towards the chaplain shows intense frustration as he makes the “cries of anger and cries of joy” (120). He recognizes that he is experiencing pure anger and joy, not a mild feeling of annoyance or satisfaction. This shift in his behavior shows that he is finally capable of having and expressing strong

Meursault's character shares with the reader’s the importance of having others. He never fully truly understands the importance of others and the significance of having them in his life. Until, Meursault came in contact with his mother’s friends. Each and everyone one of them seemed to leave an important mark on Meursault that he seemed to never forget. “I saw them more clearly than I have ever seen anyone, and not detail of their faces or their clothes escaped,” (Camus 9). I think this

I wished I didn’t have to listen to her anymore” (10). Meursault’s exclusive focus on the present leads him to even lose the ability to comprehend emotion in others, and ironically he questions the necessity of crying at his mother’s funeral, a setting in which emotional outbursts are customary. In Camus’ depiction of Meursault, emotional indifference is not rude or