The Gentle Meursault of Camus’s The Stranger (The Outsider)
In Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Meursault, the protagonist, could be seen as immoral if he were judged on the basis of his actions alone. However, through Camus’s use of a first person narrative, we begin to understand Meursault as not an immoral man, but simply an indifferent one. Meursault is a symbol of the universe, and so in understanding him we understand that the universe is also not evil, but instead a place of gentle indifference.
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?
In the novel, we are given a more complete view of Meursault. The story is told from his point-of-view, which allows us to understand the situation as Meursault perceives it. Looking at the situation in this light, we can see Meursault as not evil, but simply indifferent and detached from life. He doesn’t attempt to get wrapped up in emotion or relationships, he just takes things as they come, doing whatever is easiest for him. He becomes friends with Raymond and agrees to marry Marie simply because he doesn’t have a very good reason not to. Seeing the story from Meursault’s viewpoint, we understand that even killing the Arab wasn’t an act of malice or evil intent. As Meursault puts it, “My nature is such that my physical needs often get in the way of my feelings.” With this in context, things begin to make more sense. Meursault’s seemingly cryptic statement that he murdered the Arab “because of the sun” can be taken as truth. Meursault does things that society judges as wrong not because he is evil or wants to appear immoral, but because the sun and heat, symbols for Meursault’s emotional state, cause him to become uncomfortable and act “inappropriately.
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...
The Stranger by Albert Camus is a story of a sequence of events in one man's life that cause him to question the nature of the universe and his position in it. The book is written in two parts and each part seems to reflect in large degree the actions occurring in the other. There are curious parallels throughout the two parts that seem to indicate the emotional state of Meursault, the protagonist, and his view of the world.
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.
Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person: through childhood and adolescence. (9th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
The entire second half of the novel is set in the courtroom, which symbolizes society’s views towards life and social order. After Meursault murderers an Arab man on the beach while vacationing with his friends, he is convicted and is placed on trial for his crime. But the court system during this time was designed to focus more on the character of an individual as opposed to the crime itself. The fact that Merault killed the Arab is mentioned very few times in court. The prosecutor continuously focuses on how Meursault lacks emotions and normal human reactions to situations, saying, “Gentlemen of the jury, the day after his mother’s death, this man was out swimming, starting up dubious liaison, and going to the movies” (94). Because of this, Meursault comes off as a cold, calculated monster who lacks morals. His personality is what is being tried before the court. The judge is the moral dictator and the jurors are sent to place judgement on the accused. In contrast to the courtroom, Meursault refuses to judge others. He watches people from his balcony, but he is indifferent and objective when describing them. “ A little later, the local boys went by, hair greased back, red ties, tight-fitting jackets,with embroidered pocket handkerchiefs and square...
In many works of literature, a character conquers great obstacles to achieve a worthy goal. Sometimes the obstacles are personal impediments, at other times it consists of the attitude and beliefs of others. In the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, shows the character Meursault who is an emotionless character that let’s other people show their opinions and emotions into him, giving him a type of feeling even if Meursault doesn’t care. Meursault is a victim of emotional indifference between his friends and social indifference. This essay will be about the character’s struggle that contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Albert Camus’ The Stranger offers one man’s incite into the justice of society. Monsieur Meursault, the main protagonist in the novel, believes that morals and the concept of right and wrong possess no importance. This idea influences him to act distinctively in situations that require emotion and just decision, including feeling sadness over his mother’s death, the abuse of a woman, and his killing of an innocent man. In these situations Meursault apathetically devoids himself of all emotion and abstains from dealing with the reality in front of him. When confronted by the court over his murder, he reiterates his habitual motto on life that nothing matters anyways, so why care? His uncaring response inflames the people working within the
Albert Camus is a skillful writer noted for showing aspects of culture and society through the depiction of his characters. In The Stranger, Camus illustrates the existentialism culture and how that comes into play in the life of the protagonist Meursault. The Stranger, as suggested by the title, is a novel revolving around the protagonist, Meursault, who is a stranger to the French-Algerian society as he challenges its values. Camus vividly portrays Meursault’s journey through the use of imagery, irony, and symbolism. In The Stranger, Albert Camus uses the minor character, Raymond Sintes, to illustrate the contrasting nature of Meursault and how his friendship with Raymond leads to his downfall.
All in all, the influence of Raymond is negative towards Meursault and leads to Meursault’s death sentence. The peer pressure put on Meursault to testify against Raymond’s mistress sets Meursault up and was the first of many instances where Meursault was manipulated into doing something. The aggression of Meursault to use violence against the Arab is a forced demand that Meursault is to fight for Raymond in times of hardships, as if Raymond owns Meursault. Finally, the declaration of Meursault as “a pal” influences the jury heavily because Raymond runs a whorehouse and the people one hangs out with have strong affects. Together, these three things lead to Meursault’s downfall, the death sentence, and Raymond is the one to blame.
It is a lesson that we all must learn at some point in life, one stated perhaps most eloquently by Spider-Man shortly after gaining his powers: “With great power there must also come—great responsibility!” Although he may have appeared to be a normal human without any great power to speak of, Meursault held a great power in Albert Camus’ The Stranger: the power of choice. As the comic book axiom states, this great power could not come without an equally great responsibility; Meursault had to have a strong individual moral code and be willing to deal with the consequences of his choices. By characterizing Meursault as a heroic figure who tells the truth even when it will bring certain death, Albert Camus demonstrates the importance of having strong individual morals and atoning for the consequences of one’s actions.
"People & Events Frederick Douglass 1818 - 1895." WGBH | PBS Online. 1998. Web. 21 May 2014. .
The trial portrays the absurdist ideal that absolute truth does not exist. This ideal destroys the very purpose of the trial, which seeks to place a rational explanation on Meursault’s senseless killing of the Arab. However, because there is no rational explanation for Meursault’s murder, the defense and prosecution merely end up constructing their own explanations. They each declare their statements to be the truth, but are all based on false assumptions. The prosecution itself is viewed as absurd. The prosecutor tries to persuade the jury that Meursault has no feelings or morals by asking Perez if “he had at least seen [Meursault] cry” (91). The prosecutor then continues to turn the crowd against Meursault when he asks him about his “liaison” with Marie right after his mother’s death. Though Meursault’s relationship with Marie and his lack of emotions at his mother’s funeral may seem unrelated to his murder, the prosecutor still manages to convince the crowd that they are connected to one another. The jury ends up convicting Meursault not because he killed a man, but because he didn't show the proper emotions after his mother ...
Whitefield, Paul. “Yahoo webcam spying: When Big Brother morphs into Peeping Tom”. Los Angeles Times. (27 Feb 2013). Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Legend has it that Romulus is the founder of Ancient Rome. Romulus and Remus are twin brothers whom were abandoned at birth. They were placed into a woven basket and sent down the Tiber River. When they landed upon shore the two babies were discovered by a female wolf, who took them in and nursed them. A shepherd then found them, he then took them in and rose the two brothers. When the two brothers became adults they decided to establish a city where the wolf had found them when they were infants. In the process of deciding where it would be, the two brothers got into a fight, Remus was killed. Romulus then founded the town and named it Rome, after himself. Of course, we all know this is just a legend and not real, but the children of Rome were taught it in Roman schools as if it were real. Rome was founded in 753 B.C., along the Tiber River and exists around seven hills. The settlement were near the river for a constant water supply. The early people of Rome were from a tribe called 'Latins', whom were from the Plains of Latium (Trueman, History of Ancient Rome, April 21).
Roberts, Cokie. Ladies of Liberty: the Women Who Shaped Our Nation. New York: Harper Audio, 2008. Google. Web. 1 Jun. 2010.