The Stranger
In the book "The Stranger," the main character, Meursault, is a stranger to himself, and to life. Meursault is a person who is emotionally and physically detached from the world. He seemingly cares only about himself, but at the same time could be concerned little about what happens to him. The title, "the Stranger," could indicate Meursault's disconnection and indifference to the world that surrounds him and, therefore, his role as a stranger in the book. The title could also imply that he is simply a stranger to experiencing emotion and expressing feeling: that he is detached from himself and doesn't know what it means to be a human. Meursault show that is far more interested in the physical aspects of the world around him, than the social or emotional aspects of life. Throughout "The Stranger," Meursault's attention is centered on his physical relationship with Marie and physical elements of his surroundings.
Existentialism is a belief that is centered on man's freedom of choice and his responsibility for the consequences of his actions. It is the view that we create moral and ethical values though the choices that we make, that nothing is right or wrong until we make a choice, and the refusal to choose is a choice. Existentialism holds that there is no intrinsic meaning or purpose: therefore, it is up to each individual person to determine his own meaning and purpose, and to take responsibility for his actions.
According to Soren Kierlegaard, a nineteenth century Danish philosopher, an individual's response to a situation must be to live a totally committed life and this commitment can only be understood by the person who has made it. That person must always be able to defy the norms of society for the sake of the higher authority of a valid way of life.
In comparison to Existentialism, Meursault, in "the Stranger," exhibits these characteristics that are unique to his life experiences.
Detachment From Emotions
Meursault responds to situations in a way that is not normal in out society. He doesn’t distinguish right from wrong. Meursault clearly doesn’t judge one’s behavior to be good or bad. For instance, if there were a man abusing his dog, one would try and stop the man from abusing the dog. When Meursault encounters a similar situation, he sees this action, not as right or wrong, or good or bad, but as a man abusing a do...
... middle of paper ...
...I knew why. So did he. Throughout the whole absurd life I’d lived, a dark wind had been rising toward me from somewhere deep in my future, across years that were still to come, and as it passed, this wind leveled whatever offered me at the same time, in years no more real than the ones I was living.
(Pg: 120-121)
The Realization in the culmination of all the events of “The Stranger.” When Meursault accepts the gentle indifference of the world, he finds his peace, his center with himself and within the society around him, his development as a person, not just as a human being, he becomes complete.
In “The Stranger,” as is in Existentialism; Meursault convincingly accepts a responsibility for his act in killing the Arab. He realized that he had freedom of choice that it is up to him to determine the meaning and purpose of his own life.
(Remember there are 2 ways of Existentialism, “there is no mean to Live and There is Meaning”) there are 2 Existentialists that say that there is no mean to live and the rest DON’T I cant remember who pacifically but you can find out my teacher told me this in class. Thank you for reading I hope you in joyed my paper and much as I wrote it.
In “The Stranger”, the protagonist, Monsieur Meursault, is characterized as cold, uncaring, and emotionally detached. Throughout the novel, Meursault expresses no emotions toward the death of his very own mother, the proposed marriage between the woman, Marie Cardona, who became his lover, and to the actual murder of a man he didn’t know. While the jury at his trial sees him guilty because his uncommon and disassociated demeanor shows that he willfully intended to murder the Arab on the beach, a variety of psychologists would instead diagnose Meursault with Major Depressive Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Asperger’s Syndrome in order to characterize his indifferent thought patterns. If Meursault is suffering from Major Depressive Disorder, he is unable to function as a normal person would which ultimately leads the jury to believe that he is actually a cold blooded killer. Antisocial Personality disorder, like Major Depressive Disorder, causes Meursault to communicate a disregard for the lives of others and lacks remorse when he harms and even kills the Arab.
Meursault is a fairly average individual who is distinctive more in his apathy and passive pessimism than in anything else. He rarely talks because he generally has nothing to say, and he does what is requested of him because he feels that resisting commands is more of a bother than it is worth. Meursault never did anything notable or distinctive in his life: a fact which makes the events of the book all the more intriguing.
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.
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 ...
In The Stranger, Albert Camus describes the life of the protagonist, Meursault, through life changing events. The passage chosen illustrates Meursault’s view during his time in prison for killing the Arab. In prison, one can see the shifts in Meursault’s character and the acceptance of this new lifestyle. Camus manipulates diction to indicate the changes in Meursault caused by time thinking of memories in prison and realization of his pointless life. Because Camus published this book at the beginning of World War II, people at this time period also questions life and death similar to how Meursault does.
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?
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
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.
In Part One of The Stranger, Albert Camus avoids religious confrontations with Meursault in order to subconsciously place blame on Christ for his criminal actions. Camus restricts Meursault’s relationships to further distance him from his mother. Meursault then alienates himself from the typical spiritual ceremonies and actions to demonstrate his distrust of religion. Simultaneously, Camus uses diction of clear and bright elements to characterize people in the novel, excluding Meursault. Camus associates dark colors with Meursault to depict a sadistic persona. To conclude, Camus places Meursault in recurring situations which result in him being distracted by “the light”. Camus uses these literary techniques in The Stranger to demonstrate man’s condemnation of God.
The Stranger, a novel written by Albert Camus shows a world were being authentic is impossible. Meursault, the main character, is a strange person from the point of view of society and at the end of the book he is sentenced to death “for killing an Arab.” The society that judges Meursault as a stranger is the representation of our world, and Meursault is a person who tries to live his live following what he thinks is important in life; he is authentic. Meursault lives in a world really different from the real world. At the end of the book it is seen how the prosecutor, a “lawyer” of the state, defines Meursault as a person that is very different from the rest of society. The reason why Meursault is different from the rest of the world is that he doesn’t have the same ideals than society, and the things that society things are important Meursault considers them as unimportant. By having different reasons to live life, Meursault lives separated from society; he lives in a separate world. At the end of the book Meursault is obligated to come to reality. The judgment of Meursault let us see the impossibility of the. Meursault is not only himself but also a representation of the people how try to be different, and the prosecutor and the rest of the society are a reflection of our own world. The whole book is a reflection of our world.
Meursault (the narrator) in The Stranger only sees and only wants to see the absolute truth in society. The readers first encounter with him...
During the first half of the novel, we see many examples of Meursault’s freedom and how he exercises it. He does what he wants, when he wants to with no regard to how he affects the people around him. Meursault lives his life with no restrictions. He is his own boss. Relaxed and free.
His beliefs began to form during his experience of World War II and after the terrors of the war; many other people believed that the human existence had no meaning. The Stranger could be classified as an existentialist novel because the protagonist of the story, Meursault, also seems to have existentialist beliefs. Meursault is a character that is very out of touch with the world. His attitude and morals were not accepted by the people of the society in the story, which leads to his death sentence. When people deal with a death, they grieve by crying or showing some type of sad emotion.
Camus writes in a simple, direct, and uncomplicated style. The choice of language serves well to convey the thoughts of Meursault. The story is told in the first person and traces the development of the narrator's attitude toward himself and the rest of the world. Through this sort of simple grammatical structure, Camus gives the reader the opportunity to become part of the awareness of Meursault. In Part I, what Meursault decides to mention are just concrete facts. He describes objects and people, but makes no attempt to analyze them. Since he makes no effort to analyze things around him, that job is given to the reader. The reader therefore creates his own meaning for Meursault's actions. When he is forced to confront his past and reflect on his experiences, he attempts to understand the reasons for existence. At first, Meursault makes references to his inability to understand what's happening around him, but often what he tells us seems the result of his own indifference or detachment. He is frequently inattentive to his surroundings. His mind wanders in the middle of conversations. Rarely does he make judgments or express opinions about what he or other characters are doing. Meursault walks through life largely unaware of the effect of his actions on others.