People have the ability to form emotional connections to others, to relate to another person's situation and empathies. Even when were are not talking about a close acquaintance, these feelings, these connections are always present. The way in which someone expresses emotional connections, emotions and feelings is what defines a person, what makes them who they are. Are they over emotional or not at all, are they easy to talk to, to relate, to befriend, are they trust worthy, are they good or bad? If a person is "normal" they are able to experience at least some of this feelings, but in Albert Camu's The Stranger, the main character Meursault portrays feelings of extreme detachment that is deemed as strange in our society. It is expected, from every human being, a level of sensitiveness towards others which Meursault seems to lack. Grief is part of all human life, everyone goes through it because we form connections to the …show more content…
There are many reasons as to why a persons might be forced to take someone's life but in the story Meursault doesn't seem to have a reason for what he did. He didn't have a motive, the victim didn't attack him directly, he didn't have any problems or anything personal against him, he just lost control. If he would've felt emotions maybe he would've felt sacred or compassion or grief or anger or anything at all that would've stopped him from committing the murder . He doesn't even feel remorse after he has killed him. I think that those feelings of detachment, of indifference, of dispassion and his inability to create connections led him or facilitated him to commit the murder. "Normal" people with real feelings and emotional connections commit murders all the time but what is different about him is that since he's unable to connect, to feel, I believe that this makes him a danger to society. He lost control once what makes us think that with a provocation he wouldn't do it
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...
Meursault doesn’t conform to society such as understanding what we would call normal human emotions such as the emotions of love or death. The reason Meursault may seem disconnected from the felling of love is shown when his girlfriend ask about marriage. Meursault answers without caring by saying “it doesn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to” (Camus, 156). Meursault also show the disconnection of normal human emotions after his mother’s death. “… Maman’s death, but that was one of those things that was bound to happen sooner or later” (Camus, 123).
In The Stranger, Meursault is not able to tolerate intensive light which causes him to think narrowly and furthermore behave according to such thoughts. He does not seem to feel any emotions at his mother’s funeral as he shows more interest in the details of her death than his emotional connection to her as his mother. He is more bothered by the intensity of the light than the fact that his mother died. He portrays this kind of attitude at his mother’s funeral and then later on ...
Later, Meursault goes to the beach and ends up walking to the spring to cool off, when he arrives, he spots the Arab. The Arab draws his knife, “The light shot off the steal was like a long flashing blade cutting at my forehead.” (Page 59) and Meursault shoots him. “I fire four more times into the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace.” (Page 59) Meursault has no recognizance of the crime he has caused at this point and shows no feeling towards it. “It was like knocking four times at the door of unhappiness.” - Meursault states on page 59; which says that he knows he should feel bad about what he had done but in reality he just can’t, he is just used to finding ways around his
At first glance, Meursault could be seen as an evil man. He shows no grief at his mother’s funeral, worrying more about the heat. His first reaction to his mother’s death is not sadness, it is a matter-of-fact, unemotional acceptance of the situation. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” Later on in the story, Meursault kills an Arab on the beach, and his only concern is that he has ruined the calm, pleasant day he was having. When he is in jail, the magistrate comes in an attempt to save Meursault’s soul, but instead of cooperating, Meursault simply confounds the magistrate by refusing to believe in God. Even at his trial, Meursault doesn’t show any remorse for having killed the Arab. Based on this evidence alone, how can we not see Meursault as evil?
...n both novels, dysfunction tears apart each family. Lack of communication emerges as the main motif in both novels. In Equus the disconnection between the parents and also between Alan’s parents and himself adds to Alan’s social awkwardness. In The Stranger detachment results in an unloving relationship between a mother and her son. In contrasting the two novels, in Equus Alan’s parents attempt to have a relationship and communicate with one another while in The Stranger the relationship between Meursault and his mother is non-existent. The controversial matters in both novels mirrors the societal issues of the time period that in return contributes to the crimes committed by both Alan and Meursault.
Society believes Meursault as an emotionless killer or a stranger to society’s morality, Meursault then can’t explain why he couldn’t feel any emotion, drive, or thoughts of remorse for his murder. Lastly, when the chaplain visits Meursault against his wishes, this scene shows how society expects everyone to ask for forgiveness from God when near death. Meursault then thinks it is absurd and refuses to believe it because he says it’s ridiculous and there’s no time at all.
Since he cares little for the affairs of the world, claiming they do not mean anything, then justice—a major concern of the world—also means nothing to him. His actions both before and after his decision to kill a man without provocation demonstrate his apathetic view of the world, and his indifference to justice. Therefore Meursault’s search for justice, culminated by the court’s decision to execute him, remains an example to all of the inability of society to instill justice in criminals. Meursault’s perpetual refusal to acquire a sense of morality and emotion instigates skepticism in all who learn of his story of society’s true ability to instill justice in the
The conflict is established at the end of Part I, when Meursault kills an Arab; an action not uncommon in Algiers during this period of social unrest (the 1930’s). He does not do it intentionally, but rather because of the intensity of the moment and the blinding sunlight reflecting off of the Arab’s blade. The fact that Meursault kills an Arab is of little importance in this novel. The jury and the general population despise him because he is different, not because of the murder. Even Meursault’s lawyer predicts that the punishment will be minimal. Throughout the entire trial, the prosecution stresses Meursault’s lifestyle and his indifference to everything. They bring up his mother’s funeral and say that he showed no signs of emotion. To make things worse, he went to a Fernandel comedy and had sex with Marie on the very next day. The prosecutor once states, “...all I see is a monster.”
Throughout the novel, coincidence also plays a part in Meursault’s murder of the Arab. His encounter with the Arab shows how the presence of other people in his life makes absolutely no impression on him. His entire life is shaped by happenstance. Taking the Arab’s life was something he did as a natural reaction; he pulled the trigger thinking it was justified. For Meursault it was as simple as asking the Arab to stop, but instead, Meursault kills him, without remorse. Albert Camus portrays Meursault, as aloof, detached, and unemotional. He does not think much about events or their consequences, nor does he express much feeling in relationships or during emotional times. His satisfaction comes above everything else in his life and controls everything he does. Anything that occurs without being a direct plan of Meursault’s is sheer coincidence. He is never concerned with what is going on in other areas of his life or others. He displays impassiveness throughout the part 1, in his reactions to the people and events.
A stranger is also someone who looks and acts strangely which is fitting to Meursault. Meursault never shows emotion and finds it annoying when people do. At his mother’s funeral he gets annoyed of a lady he didn’t
Finally, it can be asserted that the suffering of Meursault is a result of his disbelief in God. As he does not believe in God, he cannot find out any meaning in his life. Consequently, he is aware of the fact that no matter what choices he makes, the ultimate result is death. To him there is no life after death, so he has neither any fear for punishment nor any hope for reward.
.... He wanted to file a legal appeal but he knew they would all get rejected. Meursault was not sentenced to death because he killed the Arab but because of his absence of emotion to his mother’s death. The people wanted him dead because he posed a threat to the morals of the society. But when he accepts the fact that he is going to die he feels a sense of freedom and he looks forward to his execution. By rejecting to believe in God, it shows that he does value any hope of life after death. Then when he accepts his death sentence, he also takes the punishment away from it either. He is neither depressed nor hopeful when it comes to his death, which overall proves how he lacks morality in the story.
In the beginning of The Stranger Meursault first showed himself as a numb, emotionless person, who goes through the motions of life simply driven by his instincts when he attended his mother’s funeral. When at the funeral he showed no emotion whatsoever, here his mother lies dead and he should be grieving, yet all he really notices is how hot the room was they were holding the funeral in. He didn’t even wish to see her body before she was buried to say his goodbyes. This shows me that he has no moral bind to anyone or anything, and the only feelings he has is those given to him from primal instinct, of which are just needed for survival like being hungry, tired, hot, and so on. Freud would say that’s depicts how all humans are. According to James Strachey, Freud believes that the way we as humans conduct ourselves throughout our lives is directly related to the Id, which is everything that is inherited from our ancestors and is fixed into us at berth, and it’s the force caused by the need of our Id that is our instincts (14...
Albert Camus wrote The Stranger during the Existentialist movement, which explains why the main character in the novel, Meursault, is characterized as detached and emotionless, two of the aspects of existentialism. In Meursault, Camus creates a character he intends his readers to relate to, because he creates characters placed in realistic situations. He wants the reader to form a changing, ambiguous opinion of Meursault. From what Meursault narrates to the reader in the novel, the reader can understand why he attempts to find order and understanding in a confused and mystifying world.