Morality In Friedrich Nietzsche's The Stranger
“A moral system valid for all is basically immoral.” (Friedrich Nietzsche). As Friedrich Nietzsche claims, the morality does not have a definite boundary between moral and immoral. The morality, “the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong” (Oxford Dictionaries), cannot be defined like two different sides of a coin, but like a sphere, it cannot be told apart. In The Stranger, the concept of morality was approached several times through various incidents, which Monsieur Meursault faces. Monsieur Meursault, the protagonist, places barely any importance on morals and judging behaviors between right and wrong. Within all the events in The Stranger, the meaningless world that Meursault living in and, how he behaves show …show more content…
In the process of the trial, he does not particularly try to defend himself, even though the prosecutor gives salience to Meursault’s indifferent behavior in his mother’s funeral, and drive him as an amoral person. Nevertheless this trial judges Meursault’s life, his behavior in the court is quite the same, showing indifference all the way, not discarding his belief towards meaninglessness of the world. More than anything, Meursault hopes to go back to his jail from the ridiculous trial and be alone. However, due to the realization of the juries about Meursault that he is an amoral person, who displays apathy towards his mother’s death, and murders an Arab, he is eventually sentenced to death. Meursault refused chaplain’s visit, and when the chaplain unilaterally visits him and tells him that he shall pray for Meursault, he startes yelling. Meursault hurls insults at the chaplain, and tells him that everyone is eventually dying and he has stronger certainties than the chaplain. The most important faith of Meursault is that nothing is important. After the chaplain leaves, Meursault calms down and hopes “that on the day of [his] execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet [him] with howls of execration” (76), noticing that he is a stranger in the society to realize that nothing matters in the
Meursault Dialectical Journal
395 Words | 2 PagesMeursault is eventually convicted and sentenced to death because of his inability to conform to the societal expectations of French Algeria in the 1940’s. 3. Characters: Meursault- the protagonist and narrator of the novel, Meursault is a young shipping clerk who has detached himself from the world around him. He is indifferent
Albert Camus The Stranger
1353 Words | 6 Pages(3), suggest that Meursault was not very close to his mother. These two sentences are the first impressions of Meursault. This point it is where readers can notice something is indeed wrong with him. The disconnection between Meursault and his mother provokes a hatred towards Meursault, especially from the prosecutor. The prosecutor argues against Meursault for his relationship with his mother than for his actual crime.
Nihilism In Holden Caulfield
2595 Words | 11 PagesMeursault constantly has varying thoughts dancing around his mind, one of which is the environment. The environment is behind all of Meursault’s struggles and problems in his mental world and interferes with his physical world as well, causing him to think that the world is irrational. Holden’s attitude toward the world is particularly similar to Meursault’s because nihilism and absurdism are quite similar. Both believe that the world is irrational and out to get them. The only difference between the two is that Meursault discovers that even though he believes that the world manipulated him and demanded to kill the
Diction In The Stranger
932 Words | 4 PagesThrough the use of diction, Meursault perceives life is meaningless, which leads him to have the absence of strong bonding with acquaintance around him. He indicates that he lacks empathy from personal and social level. Meursault is a simple man who lives his life in a stickler type and changes annoy him. As the novel introduces Meursault mother being dead, he shows lack of concern and a burden to visit his mother for the last time. “Maman died today...
Meursault's Apathy
1542 Words | 7 PagesMeursault’s apathy for his mother’s death, isolation and indifference to others, and disregard for interpersonal relationships negatively impact his trial and eventually bring his demise. His character traits make him into a cold, heartless man, which serves as the basis for the prosecutor’s argument during the trial. Meursault is repeatedly condemned for showing no emotion and feeling no remorse, both for the death of this mother and killing someone. His detached attitude leads him to make little effort to defend himself in the court. His neglect of relationships with his mother provides testament for the prosecution that he is a monster.
The Stranger Rhetorical Analysis
731 Words | 3 PagesOne of the most important passages within the novel is when Meursault repeatedly defies the chaplain in the cell. It serves as a pinnacle for the entire story, and grants readers a look into the main characters state of mind. In this passage, Meursault comes to a dramatic realization of who he is through an existential epiphany, and with thorough analysis the overall significance of the passage to the story is revealed. In the passage the chaplain visits Meursault much to Meursault’s displeasure.
How Is Meursault A Bad Person
998 Words | 4 PagesMeursault attempted to alleviate his loneliness in prison by saying, "I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated and for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there would be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they would greet me with cries of hate." Meursault showcases one of his interesting ways of thinking about a situation in this scenario. Rather than fearing the execution, he thinks that the day it happens, he will feel less alone due to being surrounded by people. This shows how he cannot feel lonely in situations where almost anyone would.
Examples Of Violence In How To Read Literature Like A Professor
249 Words | 1 PagesDuring the beginning of the novel, Meursault goes to his neighbor Raymond’s house. The visit results into a physical fight due to insults made towards Meursault. Relating to aspects on violence, this scene was made to show simple
Meursault's Emotions In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
724 Words | 3 PagesMeursault is not an emotional person. Meursault often seems not to react to major events that happen to him. For example when his mom dies, he says, “Really, nothing had changed”(24). There is an obvious emotional disconnect. Either he was not close to his mother or her death had little to no effect on him.
The Stranger Research Paper
336 Words | 2 PagesIntroduction: In the novel The stranger, written by Albert Camus Meursault kills a man, “The Arab” in act of self defense. After Meursault is put to trial, his lawyer becomes more focused on Meursault's attitude and believes. When meursault mother died, he had a very unemotional attitude, which causes problems later on in his trail. He is later sentence to the death penalty.
The Stranger Character Analysis
1437 Words | 6 PagesMeursault notices that during the trial, “there was a lot said about [him], maybe more about [him] than about [his] crime” (98). By having Meursault 's personality be the focal point of the courtroom 's dialogue, Camus implies that Meursault 's persona plays a crucial role in his trial. Instead of focusing on the murder of the Arab, the prosecutor repeatedly mentions Meursault 's "dubious liaison"(94), his "insensitivity" (99) during Maman’s funeral, and his friendship with Raymond, who is a man "of doubtful morality" (99). Through the emphasis on Meursault 's -according to society- 'immoral ' ways, the prosecutor eliminates any sort of sympathy the jury has for Meursault. Following Marie 's testimony, the prosecutor once again exhibits his confidence that bias against Meursault will stem from hearing about his behaviour.
Meursault Quotes
671 Words | 3 PagesThis fight leads to Meursault going to a murder trial because he shoots one of the Arabs four times and kills him. Meursault shows importance of the physical world when he is at Maman’s funeral, while in a fight with the Arabs and when he is at his murder trial. Meaursault connects more to the physical world rather than to the
Social Norms In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
1196 Words | 5 Pages(59) After long passages describing the painful violence of the sun, Camus’s transition into the murder is shockingly abrupt, provoking a sense of bewilderment at the unexpected randomness of the murder, conveying effectively the irrationality of Meursault’s murder of the man. However, during the trial, when Meursault reveals that he murdered the Arab only because of the sun, refusing to allow others impose their logical but false interpretations upon his life, “people laughed” (103) and even his own “lawyer threw up his hand” (103) as they are unable comprehend and accept such an irrational motivation. To protect themselves from this harsh reality of the universe, they can only fabricate and impose their own logical explanation for Meursault’s behavior. The prosecutor, for instance, is convinced Meursault murdered the man in cold blood, certain in the narrative he has constructed out of events completely unrelated to the murder, from Meursault’s “ignorance when asked Maman’s age” (99) to his association with a man of “doubtful morality” (99). In both cases, Meursault’s indifference for societal standards of morality has painted him as a man immoral and cold-hearted enough to premeditate the murder.
The Stranger By Albert Camus Research Paper
1474 Words | 6 PagesAll of themes are evident with Meursault’s emotionless nature. Meursault lives his life as if none of the actions he commits or the events that happen to him will matter in the end. This is shown when Meursault’s mom dies. When this occurs, Meursault doesn’t appear to be sad or even care about his mother's passing, which is the main subject of his trial. Meursault was unable to communicate how he really felt about his mother's death which meant that he continued
The Importance Of Existence In The Stranger By Albert Camus
1491 Words | 6 PagesEverything he will say; the magistrate will not believe him, he even feels there is no need for a lawyer because he thinks everything he does, is right and there is not something to question. He comes to understand that he trying to find meaning in his own life, make him impotent to society’s eyes, he only murdered an Arab and that is it. During the trial, there are investigators that learn that Meursault does not feel any remorse at his mother funeral. As Meursault does not have any evidence why he kills the Arab man, the lawyer thinks that it will be a strong argument if Meursault can come up with some answers for the questions. The investigator asks,” If I had felt any sadness that day” (Camus 65).
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