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Character analysis essay meursault in the stranger by camus
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Meursault in The Stranger
Meursault, the main character and the narrator of the story, is a 30-year-old shipping clerk who lives an ordinary day-to-day existence. We see him as a son (at his mother's funeral); as a friend; as a solitary creature pursuing simple experiences from moment to moment; and as a prisoner, first on trial, then awaiting execution. Physical sensations of sun and wind and physical activities such as swimming or running mean a great deal to him. Larger experiences in his life- the death of his mother, a chance for marriage, and a change in job- mean relatively little. We learn almost nothing about his past, though he is a curiously candid person, speaking of experiences in the present that most of us, if we felt them, might keep silent about. He has a detached attitude toward other people. This annoys most people, but some are attracted to him because of his silence and his habit of not offering judgments. The central event in his life, at least as far as it influences others, is killing an Arab. His most intense experience, however, is his attack on a chaplain while in prison.
Many readers see Meursault as a hero and as a martyr for the truth. He refuses to disguise his feelings and by doing so threatens society. He accepts death for the sake of truth rather than play society's games and conform to what he sees as society's illusions, lies, and hypocrisies. At the same time, he doesn't judge other people but attempts to understand why they act and say the things they do.
Some readers note, however, that Meursault occasionally compromises his loyalty to the truth, for example, by writing a letter to Raymond Sintes's girlfriend. He also lies to the police to win Raymond's release after he has beaten the girl.
Other readers see Meursault's feelings as callous, not heroic. For instance, when Raymond is beating an Arab girl, Meursault refuses to send for the police because he dislikes them. His feelings take precedence over the immediate danger to the girl.
Meursault is a complex- in some ways contradictory- character, and one of the most rewarding challenges of reading The Stranger is trying to figure out his personality. You'll have to sift through a lot of evidence as you try to get a grip on Meursault, and as you do you'll probably need to rethink some basic assumptions you have about people.
Second part of the novel begins with the interrogation, (after killing the Arab for no reason) and illustrates Meursault’s unique personality of not caring about the society's customs and practices,” I didn’t take him to seriously”.(63) During this process, Meursault is presented as a human with no soul, not reacting as expected by the magistrate when he waves the crucifix at him, and indifferent to prison. Once again, like at his mother’s funeral, Meursault focuses on the practical details of his new life, rather than on its emotional elements. His imprisonment does not incite any guilt or regret whatsoever and even worst he doesn’t think about the implication of his crime, but instead he selfishly goes back on analyzing his physical state and the case trial from the outside with no emotional implication. He notes that getting an attorney appointed by the court is “very convenient”, he also enjoys the examining magistrate’s friendly attitude and does no t...
Efforts to engage Meursault in secular structures of meaning are equally futile. When Meursault's boss offers Meursault a position in Paris, he expects Meursault to embrace the opportunity for career advancement. Meursault, though, lacks all ambition and turns down the boss' offer without considering it. As a student, Meursault recalls, "I had lots of ambitions…But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered." When Marie asks Meursault whether he wants to marry her, she expects him to take the institution of marriage seriously. Yet Meursault is indifferent towards it, thinks "it didn't mean anything" to love a person, and agrees to marry Marie simply because she wants to marry him. Though he grows fond of her, he doesn't cultivate any attachment to her more meaningful than superficial attraction. Throughout his trial, Meursault is equally bemused by the meaninglessness of the justice system and finds its attempts to impose rational, meaningful structure on his actions ridiculous. He considers the guilty verdict he eventually receives entirely arbitrary, and describes its "certainty" as "arrogant."
Meursault resists being typecast into an archetypal moral category in many of his deeds and actions. Many of his actions in Part One of the novel help contribute to the fuzzy picture of the character. For example, at his mother's funeral, Meursault does not cry or weep in the typical mourning fashion, but rather sleeps during the vigil and entices one of the other mourners present to smoke a cigarette with him. This would be typically considered "evil" behavior, in the context of the story. He could easily been seen as disrespectful and seditious toward his mother and the established procedures of mourning, which seem to be fairly definite at that era in France. However, this "evil" mold can easily be shaken if one considers that Meursault may be more shaken than anyone else present at the funeral. Considering the other events in the novel, it seems as though he does not have a large capacity for emotion. Based on this, it is not unreasonable to assume that the events leading up to and including his mother's death may have overtaxed his limited scope of emotion, and he was therefore nearly incapable of mourning in the "normal" or expected way for his mother, but rather had to resort to his own, more c...
While coming to terms with the absurd was a gradual process for Meursault, his final days and his heated conversation with the chaplain, and his desire for a hateful crowd of spectators show that he was able to accept the absurdity, and revel in it, finding satisfaction in spite of those around him and justifying his murder. His ego had reached an all-time high as he neared his execution, and his satisfaction left him prepared for the nothingness awaiting him. This process was a natural psychological response to his mortality, for his peace of mind. Therefore, Meursault is not the Stranger, an alien to society, but a troubled man seeking meaning and satisfaction in a life and a world that was overwhelming unsatisfactory and absurd.
Often one wonders what it would be like to completely close off all connections to society and live in exile. What it would be like if your thoughts were the only thing to keep you company. For most; the idea of being all alone with just your thoughts is enough to drive one crazy. However not for Meursault. Meursault is already so detached from society that his experience of exile is less of a punishment, and more so enriching. His time in captivity cuts him off from his “home” or better yet, his comfort zone of being an introvert and gives him a chance to create a different appearance in front society, apart from a stranger.
In the book he is perceived as a mystery, or someone unfamiliar to those who do not know him, but those close to him adore and respect him, because they took the time to get to know him. Those who are strangers to Meursault have a difficult time understanding him so either try to force their morals or customs on him, such as his lawyer, or they just try to find a label that best fits him, like they did during the court case, or how his lawyer labels him an antichrist. Those within that particular society do this because they fear what they do not know, so they feel they must somehow familiarize themselves with him in order to be content with themselves, but because he brings this frustrating situation to those in the society, they tend to label him negatively. On the contrary those who actually get to know meursault, see the pureness and honesty in him, and they respect that he refuses to be other than himself, and speak nothing but his truth. For example, when Marie asks Meursault if he loves her, he tells her that it did not mean anything but he did not think so. Despite his telling her this she still continues to surround herself with him. This is a display of the light that Meursault provides to the people around him. The only issue with Meursault's character is that he cannot successfully reach everyone in his society with his light, because they are too busy trying to
Meursault felt isolation from everyone and himself against himself against the world, the feeling that he was not belonging to the world was destroying him. Meursault is indifferent from people in society, his sense of significance to the community was lacking and made him feel betrayed and depressed. However, when he found others that were similar to him, Meursault found kinship in humanity and how there are others like him.
...immediately gives an impression of a lack of emotion towards the demise of his mother. This lack of emotion highlights the existentialist ideal that we all die, so it doesn't matter what life we have while we are alive. We simply exist, as did Meursault. It becomes apparent, as the novella unfolds, that Meursault has acquired an animal like indifference towards society. His interactions with his neighbour Raymond are an example of his indifferences. It never dawns upon Meursault that society does not condone his interactions with the pimp, avoided by his community. Meursault simply acts to fill his time. Being a single man, he has a lot of time to fill, and finds the weekends passing particularly slowly.
... mother, he does not react in a way most people do. He does not cry but instead accepts what has happened and realizes that he can not change it. He goes back and does physical things he would do on a normal day. When the caretaker offers him coffee, he accepts it, he smokes a cigarette and has sex with a woman he just met. Meursault also does not lie to escape death. He refuses to conform to society and lie. He would rather be seen as an outsider than do something that he does not believe in. Finally, Meursault, will not believe in G-d or Christianity just because it is the only thing to turn to before he is put to death. When Meursault decides not to cry at his mother’s funeral, he accepts himself as an outsider. When he is considered an outsider, it does not matter if he is guilty or innocent; at the end of the day he guilty just for being different.
The strange attitude and the lack of emotion in Meursault is what make the story interesting. Meursault is a different character than what is expected of a protagonist.
Every character that revolves around Meursault seems to be in direct contrast to him. Meursault is an amoral person who does not seem to care passionately about anything. He acts in accordance with physical desires. In other words, Meursault is a sensualist person. At this particular time in his life, his path crosses with his neighbor, Raymond, who feels as though his girlfriend is cheating on him. He decides to take revenge with minor aid form Meursault. Meursault helps him only because he thinks he has nothing to lose if he does. As things lead into one another, the first major violent act of the book is committed.
To Meursault, everything in life has an inevitable end and lack of meaning. Because of this belief, a potential reason for Meursault’s inability to care about his actions and emotions is because he believes that the ultimate justice is death. No matter whether he kills a man or contributes to society, the overall verdict for all goods and crimes is death. After Maman died, Meursault lacked emotion towards the loss of his mother. He claimed that “[he] probably did love Maman, but that didn’t mean anything.” The love for his mother or lack thereof has no contribution to the justice he will serve, therefore he doesn’t care whether or not he is able to love her.
...ists, Meursault has his own values which are incompatible to the values of the world. Values that would be very significant for most people, such as love for someone or suffering at a parent’s death, do not matter to him, at least not on a sentimental level. He simply does not care that his mother is dead, or that Marie loves him:
At the end of the book, after coming to a realization, Meursault does not want to die and for the first time, he shows emotion. He shakes and screams at the chaplain and says, “It was the first time in my life I wanted to kiss a man,” when Celeste speaks up for him at the trial.
Meursault is distant from set plans, ambitions, desires, love, and emotions in general. He has a difficult time with emotions such as regret and compassion. The reader sees the nature of his personality in the first few lines of the novel: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know." When he hears of the death of his mother through a telegram, he is unattached, and can be considered uncaring.