ipl-logo

Analysis Of Meursault In The Stranger

1190 Words5 Pages

In the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, we see the protagonist Meursault as an outcast and someone who does not fit with societies standards. He is someone who is rejected by society because of his philosophy and his way of life. Meursault is a man with a very straight and blunt personality, and is not afraid to say what is on his mind. With such a strong and independent mindset, he does not allow anyone to change his view or opinion on the world. His meaning of life is much different than the rest, he is a man with no care in the world and believes that the world has no meaning or purpose. He believes that life’s inevitability is death and that one day we are all going to die, which means that all our lives are equally meaningless. With …show more content…

In similar fashion, we see Meursault 's friend, Raymond, getting himself into trouble with his mistress for abusing her. After hearing about this, a police officer comes to stop the conflict and slaps Raymond across the face for not cooperating. Eventually, the mistress’s brother, who Meursault refers to as “the Arab” comes to get revenge on Raymond for beating up his sister by slashing Raymond 's arm and mouth with a knife. After getting wrapped up and with bandages, they go back to the beach where the Arab last was, but this time Meursault gets into the fight and shoots the Arab five times until he was motionless. Meursault 's explanation to this was that, “My eyes were blinded behind the curtain of tears and salt...my whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave.” (Camus 59). Although we assume that he had killed the Arab after the first shot, Meursault shoots him another four times after because he does not think it matters. He uses the sound and feel of the gun firing those shots to give him a brief break from the heat and pressure of the day. With this perspective on life, Meursault understands that not only does he not care about the situation, but the world does not care either. There was no difference to him whether he shot the

Show More
Related

Meursault Dialectical Journal

395 Words | 2 Pages

2. Summary: Meursault, a shipping clerk living in Algiers, receives news of his mother's death. After hearing about the death of his mother, he travels to the nursing home that that he put her in after no longer being able to financially provide for the both of them. Unlike the traditional response to death by grieving for the deceased, Meursault continues on with his daily tasks as if his mother had never died. During a trip with Raymond and Marie, Meursault shoots the Arab, the brother of the mistress that cheated on Raymond, and is imprisoned.

Read More

Examples Of Violence In How To Read Literature Like A Professor

249 Words | 1 Pages

During 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

Read More

Meursault Color Red Quotes

675 Words | 3 Pages

The heat is also very important in this novel. Both times that death was in front of Meursault, the heat was unbearable for him; his mother’s funeral and the murder of the Arab. The heat is very uncomfortable for him, because he mentions it many times. Sometimes it is so bad, he becomes dizzy and is unable to think properly. When he is in court, every time he is questioned about the murder, he alway relates back to how hot the scene was.

Read More

The Stranger Rhetorical Analysis

731 Words | 3 Pages

One 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.

Read More

How Is Meursault A Bad Person

998 Words | 4 Pages

Meursault shows his lack of emotional attachment to people: "I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings"( page 41). Meursault shows the regrets of his nature but also, at the same time, explains that it’s not going to change. Rather than focusing on finding someone to spend his life with, Meursault would rather find someone who can always keep him pampered. Meursault again shows his regret for his actions when he says, "I wanted to try to explain to him that it was because of the sun, the sea, the light, in fact, everything, that I had simply loved him with no personal motive" (Page 68). Meursault shows his lack of care for those whom he loved, but at the same time shows that Meursault might not be able to fully control what he does, but rather does everything out of impulse, therefore making him regret his actions in some situations.

Read More

Nihilism In Holden Caulfield

2595 Words | 11 Pages

Meursault has an absurdist attitude toward his world inside of his mental and physical world. Meursault blames his rash actions on the world and environment. At Meursault’s trial, after he killed the Arab, he defended himself by saying, “it was because of the sun.” (Camus, 103) Meursault actually believed that the sun made him kill the Arab man. In The Stranger, the sun is the main antagonist.

Read More

Albert Camus The Stranger

1353 Words | 6 Pages

Those who don’t know their purpose may feel that their daily lives are ridiculous. Camus’ The Stranger, portrays an inexplicably nonsensical character, Meursault, who winds up in a unanticipated situation. Similar to real life struggles, the character perpetually repeats insignificant actions not accordant to any essence.

Read More

Meursault's Emotions In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

724 Words | 3 Pages

The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, It follows the story of our tragic hero, Meursault, shortly after his mother dies through the events that lead to him being sentenced to death. Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions. The Stranger shows how even when a person does not explicitly express emotion they are shown in some way. How emotions are expressed is a window to a person's personality. I will first discuss how Meursault appears emotionless, than how Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions for him and lastly what impact this makes.

Read More

Meursault's Neurotic Traits

188 Words | 1 Pages

Even when he shot the Arab on the beach, Meursault was not anxious

Read More

Life Matter In The Stranger

747 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel, a majority of Meursault 's actions are based upon his attitude that his presence ultimately does not “matter”. “‘But,’ I reminded myself, ‘it’s common knowledge that life isn’t worth living, anyhow.’ And, on a wide view, I could see that it makes little difference whether one dies at the age of thirty or threescore and ten—since, in either case, other men and women will continue living, the world will go on as before,” (Camus 70-71). The aforestated quote captures the quintessence of Meursault’s character and illustrates the reason for his disinterest with the injustices around him. With purely factual considerations, it is true that each human life is proportionally negligible.

Read More

Diction In The Stranger

932 Words | 4 Pages

As Meursault perceives life contains no meaning, he is a hollow man who can not see the reality of life. He is much ignorant and lives in the present. “whole landscape shimmer with heat, it was inhumane and oppressive”(Camus 15).The sun represents the intimidating power of the natural worlds over human action. The sun is not repeated once, but many times during the funeral, which distracts Meursault’s attention and prevails the emotions, Meursault is unable to deal with himself. The sun is also the driving force, which makes Meursault murder the Arab man at the beach.

Read More

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.

Read More

The Stranger Essay

912 Words | 4 Pages

Where here Arab uses a knife to shine the sunlight to Meursault’s face. And the sad part here was that due to the sun he was forced to shoot the Arab four more times so that he could make sure that the sun is dissipated for the

Read More

The Stranger Character Analysis

1437 Words | 6 Pages

Meursault 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.

Read More

The Importance Of Existence In The Stranger By Albert Camus

1491 Words | 6 Pages

Everything 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).

Read More

More about Analysis Of Meursault In The Stranger

Related Topics

Open Document