The Character Of Meursault In Albert Camus The Stranger

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The Stranger by Albert Camus tells a story of a man who is wrongly accused and convicted of premeditated murder. The leads the main character, Meursault, to question his existence on Earth and what it really means to himself and those around him. “It is not true that life is one damn thing after another—it’s one damn thing over and over.” This quote by Edna St. Vincent Millay clearly expresses the idea that Meursault feels so strongly about. Initially, we are brought to believe that Meursault is an uncaring, selfish man. The first few sentences of that he speaks to the readers are, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” He has no remorse for his deceased mother, Meursault truly believes that all lives are equal and death …show more content…

Meursault’s lawyer asked if he had felt sadness during the day of the funeral, to which Meursault responded, “I probably did love Maman, but that didn’t mean anything.” The lawyer then made Meursault promise to not utter a word of this during the trial as it would only hurt him. Meursault displays complete apathy in this scene and many others. It is very similar to how Millay feels about life. It is one thing over and over, life is a cycle that will never end. Meursault understands that death is inevitable and at one point everyone’s existence in the world will disappear. He does not value his life or anyone else’s. Meursault runs into further hiccups when he refuses to turn to God for forgiveness as advised by the magistrate. The magistrate goes as far as calling Meursault, “Monsieur …show more content…

The reporter's reasoning for this is that news is quite slow during the summer season and so they have to get the most out of the few cases that they have, even if that means exaggerating a few things here and there. The media does not value Meursault’s life in the least, to them it is just another scoop that will quickly be forgotten. The prosecutor spends most, if not the whole trial talking about Meursault’s behaviour towards his deceased mother. How could a man be so soulless to not even cry during his own mother’s funeral. The prosecutor states that Meursault's dark abyss of a soul would any influence others to commit crimes. The trial ends and a decision is made. Meursault is to be beheaded by guillotine. Meursault spends a bit of time in disbelief, going through all the possibilities in which he would be able to survive. He soon accepts his fate, that he will die and no one around him care. They will all move on with their lives as if he had not even existed in the first place. All beings are worth the same regardless of what society believes. Meursault’s only wish is that there would be a large group of spectators at his execution greeting him with words of hate. This last line in The Stranger shows that Meursault only wants to be acknowledged by the world one last time before he is completely

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