The Stranger Albert Camus Essay

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Recommended: The character analysis of Meursault in outsider

In The Stranger, Raymond appears several times but never grows throughout the text, making him a flat character. Raymond is know to be a “pimp,” and repeatedly assaults his mistress, which eventually leads him to have problems with her brother, an “Arab.” Raymond also uses Meursault throughout the story and persuades him to help punish his girl friend, which leads to a scuffle with the police. Raymond pulls Meursault into his conflict, which eventually causes Meursault death’s sentence, leading to his fall. He hands Meursault the gun that Meursault uses to shoot the Arab. This entire scandal further emphasizes the theme of the purposeless of human life.

C) FOIL
In The Stranger, there are a few characters whose contrast highlights the distinctive …show more content…

The novel begins with “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know” (1). The “I” in the opening lines introduces the first person perspective, which is carried out throughout the novel. Meursault strictly limits his point of view to his own thoughts and not those of others. Therefore, he writes about the isolation and absurdity he feels in his own life. After the judge questions Meursault is court, he asks if Meursault believes in a divine power. Meursault responds honestly to the judge that its very hard for him to believe in God “because I was hot and there were big flies in his office that kept landing on my face, and also because he was scaring me a little” (68). According to Meursault such trivial objects seem to be more important topics of debate than God, showing that Meursault had no interest in God. He doesn’t even consider the magistrates theology, only his …show more content…

After his meeting with the chaplain, Meursault emphasizes and adopts the existential belief that the world is irrational and that life lacks order and meaning. In the closing lines of the novel, Meursault declares that “For the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself - so like a brother, really - I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again” (122-123). After Meursault opens himself and listens to the words of others, he is finally satisfied with his place in society. He now understands that just as he is indifferent to everyone else, everyone else is also indifferent to

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