Why Is Meursault Exiled

She doesn’t say anything now,” but is still lingering, refusing to leave (Daoud 1). The narrator’s mothers play a large role in both The Stranger and The Meursault Investigation. The nature of the relationship between mother and son defines the killers, ending one man’s life at the gallows, while also ending a boy’s chance of a childhood. Meursault, unable to arouse emotions following his mother’s death, put on trial for the way he reacted at his mother’s funeral: Harun’s childhood taken away from him, his mother chaining him to live life his brother had snatched away.

"The day after his mother's death, this man was out swimming, starting up a dubious liaison, and going to the movies, a comedy, for laughs. " The prosecutor uses Meursault's previous unusual actions as evidence that he is a threat to society. His actions are deemed monstrous by the jury and subsequently end in Meursault's conviction. Society uses the past in order to justify the present. It is incorrect for one to assert that Meursault has no emotion or incapable of emotion; it is simply that he fails to exhibit it for he feels it is meaningless.

He has no initial reaction to the news of her death, and at her funeral service he did not bother to even see her before she was buried. His lack of emotion is evident in the very first lines of the book, “Mother died today. Or maybe it was yesterday, I don’t know.” This shows that Meursault is hardly caring for his mother. Society’s standards would result in him to be in absolute mourning and wanting to go as fast as possible to her body. This is not the only example of Meursault’s lack of emotion and care for factors in his life. He does not care for love and marriage after having intercourse with someone; the society standard at this time was to get married if two partners had intercourse. He does not care for promotion and career advancement when his boss offers him a better job opportunity; the standard at that time and right now is to pursue the best career possible. In these scenarios Meursault is living free from the chains, and does whatever he thinks is right to do. Eventually, society rejects him and his ways, and he gets in trouble with the law. He is judged by society and his ways are ridiculed, making Meursault appear to be a monster.

Meursault is an independent and absurd guy who refuses to lie about himself to save his life. At the beginning of the book he avoids conversation and showed existentialism. For example, when the caretaker asked him, why he doesn’t want to see his mother’s body, he just simply said “I don’t know”. Another reason is when he would say, “marriage, no marriage, who cares.” Towards the ending of the book he starts to open up. In order for him to realize how wrong he was, he had to suffer the consequences. Meursault states, “For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone; 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(2.5.165). “Meaning, he finally has awareness and is open-minded about his life.

“It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Mamam was buried now, that I was going back to work and that really, nothing had changed.”(1.1.15) These are some of the words that ran through Meursault’s mind after his mother’s death. He was very isolated from her so he felt as if nothing had changed. He was not the most outgoing person but the same cannot be said about his love interest, Marie. Throughout the novel, The Stranger, Meursault and Marie reveal just how many similarities and differences they share in the topics of emotion, actions and mannerism.

These lines clearly show the fact that Meursault answers Marie will complete honesty. He doesn’t show fake feelings or pretend emotions and so that’s why the society is against him. He accepts his death because he is honest rather than obeying the society's actions and dissimulations. Meursault doesn’t make opinions about other people instead he tries to understand why people act the way they do. He says, “he asked me again if I wanted to be pals.

Within the context of The Stranger, the character Meursault, makes an interesting statement as a man who thinks that life is pointless. Under theorization, Meursault states, "I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily for a hundred years in prison." (Meursault 79)With this quote, there are many various topics to elaborate on, such as, how Meursault reached this conclusion, the meaning of the quote, and what the realization means for a man who thinks life is meaningless. Meursault wanders about his cell looking to kill time when he begins to use his imagination , mentally noticing every small detail that was in his old room. "I would remember every piece of furniture; and on every piece of furniture, every object;

Meursault is truthful to himself and others throughout The Stranger. Unlike most, he doesn’t feel it necessary to lie in order to make others feel better. He is truthful, regardless of whether or not the truth may hurt. For example, in chapter four Marie asked Meursault if he loved her. Instead of lying to her or giving a vague answer Meursault told her that he probably didn’t love her, but it wasn’t important anyway.

Throughout the book he exhibits behaviors that are while socially acceptable are not necessarily appropriate for every situation. With seemingly hallow relationship, Meursault is content with life as it is. Readers are left to decipher weather or not this man’s actions and emotions are typical characteristics of a sociopath. Meursault is not a sociopath because he lacks a grand sense of self, lacks a will to manipulate or lie and he has real relationships.

Through his behavior towards others, it is possible to asses that Meursault is not unable to feel emotion, seen in his recognition of separation from society and feeling ashamed of it as observed through his constant apologies and justifications to others. Despite this, he is still detached from human feelings and experiences such as empathy, love, and affection. This quality is one of the main reasons that he cannot conform with societal norms as he is unable to form stable and healthy relationships with others. Two main examples of this include Meursault’s relationship with Raymond and Marie. When Meursault and Raymond first meet, he shows no interest in the emotional aspects of a friendship such as support and trust, but instead he assesses the quality of their connection by the physical benefits he can earn from Raymond.

On page 102 Meursault said, “That I had no place in society whose most fundamental rules I ignored.” He doesn’t hang around with everyone he sees, and keeps himself isolated from the common crowd. He does take advantage of people, especially woman, when he sees fit. If he’s getting satisfied, then that’s all that counts. He is a stranger from the rest of society.

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.

Not only does she suffer the loss of her husband, but also she cannot even have his body for a proper burial since he was lost at sea. She therefore is pictured in the eternal absurd state of mourning without even a physical body to mourn and with an existence as empty as the tomb beside her. There is no way out of her misery. Camus’ Meursault experiences this exact same feeling of hopelessness during his time in prison, “Now, there was no way out, and no one can imagine what nights in prison are like” (Camus 81). During his time in prison before his hearing, Meursault spends much time pondering those words that resonated so much with him from a conversation with one of the nurses at Maman’s funeral, “there was no way out” (Camus 17).

The simple sentences in The Stranger reveal Meursault’s emotional detachment from society, while the more complex sentences are assigned to objects with authority. Throughout the entire novel, Meursault’s simplicity and disinterest in the world can be identified with the incorporation of his simple statements. Especially in this particular passage, Meursault finds it unimportant to challenge himself in a way that makes sense. Although Meursault recognizes the sensibility of walking

In addition, Meursault cannot find a solid place in society. He lives alone due to the death of his mother. Society cannot accept the manner in which Meursault addresses his mother’s death. Since he thinks that “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, [he doesn’t] know” (Camus 3), society believes that he does not care that his mother dies. Everyone judges him because he does not relate to the rest of the people. Meursault receives immense criticism at his trial concerning his murdering another man. At his trial, Meursault can “feel how much all these people [the jury] hated” (Camus 90) him. The jury does not commend him or even regard him with understanding about his mother’s death. Some people react to death without actually reacting to it; Meursault subconsciously chooses to do so but receives condemnation. Both characters experience isolation from society.