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Internal Conflict In The Stranger

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Albert Camus’ The Stranger depicts an apathetic narrator’s journey to self-discovery while on death row. Throughout the novel, Camus utilizes personification of the sun to display the narrator’s gradual evolution towards electing to experience emotions, rather than suppressing them. As Meursault experiences societal pressure to display grief over the death of his mother, love for his girlfriend, and remorse for the gruesome murder, the sun becomes an aggressive force that has a physical effect on him. Gradually, as those around him begin to disappear, the sun becomes a soft force, driving anxiety and discomfort instead of searing pain. Camus personifies the sun through a man versus nature conflict to represent Meursault’s internal conflict …show more content…

He fails to recognize that his imprisonment is a punishment until he is forced to quit smoking. However, his delayed reaction allows him to realize that he “had gotten used to not smoking and it wasn’t a punishment anymore,” (78). Meursault’s inability to recognize the severity of the situation highlights his inability to recognize societal norms and reinforces his apathetic nature. Camus utilizes the lonesome setting of the prison to force Meursault into becoming more empathetic. A primary example of this can be seen prior to the trial, where Meursault is content in his surroundings. Marie visits frequently, allowing Meursault to vicariously experience her idealistic vision of the future. The depiction of the couple frolicking on the beach, basked in sunlight, contrasts the darkness of Meursault’s actual situation. Following the trial and Marie’s absence, the only company available to Meursault, the Chaplain becomes his only link to the real world in his determination to convert Meursault to a believer before his death. Gradually, Meursault’s apathy subsides, beginning with general annoyance before he experiences an emotional breakdown. The Chaplain, who had become determined to convert him into a believer before his death, had become the only member of society who had yet to abandon him. After multiple visits, Meursault states that he does not understand why, but he “started yelling at the top of [his] lungs, and [he] insulted him and told him not to waste his prayers on [him]…[He] was pouring out on him everything that was in [his] heart, cries of anger and cries of joy,” (120). The emotions displayed within this scene allow Meursault to completely rid himself of all his ties to society, and thus all expectations to display grief. It is

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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.

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Right away the death of Meursault’s mother joined with other very random occurrences seem to be everyday occurrences. Once again I noticed the similarities of the two main characters of the book, acting as if all the events in their lives seem to be normal. Meursault views life so simply, despite its irregularity. This can be seen in the quote in which he talks about life, “I said that people never change their lives, that in any case on life was as good as another and that I was not dissatisfied with mine her at all”. He really exerts no emotion towards anything in this life.

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Meursault 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.

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"To what extent does Albert Camus utilize the sun as a metaphor and explore its allegorical significance in relation to the act of murder in 'The Stranger'?" "The Stranger," by Albert Camus, is a monument to the effectiveness of original storytelling and symbolic investigation in the field of literature. The novel, which was published in 1942 during a time of social and political instability, explores existential issues and questions accepted moral standards and social norms. In this context, Camus uses the sun as a profound metaphor that quietly infuses the story and gives it deeper meaning. Camus invites readers to consider the intricate interplay between personal autonomy, societal expectations, and the pursuit of existential truth through

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Through 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...

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Meursault is not like many people in Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”. He in fact is very unlike many people in the world. He goes about his life with little to no care about the happenings of others. He almost completely emotionless, as can be seen when he felt nothing upon the death of his mother. He is unafraid to hurt other’s feelings because he does not himself understand what feeling is.

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Throughout the whole novel, Meursault has shown no sign of remorse or reason for any of his actions. He displays psychotic behavior and commits evil crimes with a lack of reasoning. This causes the audience to feel emotion in a way that we may not have felt in the beginning. In the beginning of the story we could interpret Meursault’s behavior as a coping mechanism for the loss of his mother, but when he continues to show apathy in every setting he is in we begin to realize how evil

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So even though Meursault is alienated from the understanding of the desires of “Other”, his life is still bound to the desires of society for which he will be judged by in his trial (Chaitin). In fact, Meursault’s biggest conviction in his trial is for not crying at his own mother’s funeral.

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Meursault begins to take in everything that has been going on throughout his life and has realized the situations that lead his death sentence. After Meursault's trail, he only cared about escaping the machinery of justice, hoping there is a way to avoid this problem. He blames himself every time for not paying attention or being aware to accounts of executions. Mesursault believes he could of found a way to prevent himself from dying if he was more curious about it. Times at the cell he remembers a story Maman used to tell Meursault about his father how he watched a murder get executed.

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(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.

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When Meursault arrives to keep vigil before his mother’s funeral, the director assures him that he should not feel guilty for having sent her to the home. However, by raising the issue, the director implies that perhaps Meursault has done something wrong. When Meursault goes on trial, the director becomes suddenly judgmental. During his testimony, he casts Meursault’s actions in a negative light.

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Meursault is infuriated with the chaplain as he continues to talk about how he should turn to God. He states that he has had enough. “... something inside me snapped. I started yelling at the top of my lungs, and I insulted him and told him not to waste his prayers on me. I grabbed him by the collar of his cassock…

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(69) the examining magistrate bellows Meursault's unwavering indifference and rationalism when he denies accepting his faith in God. To the nihilist, hope is just another way to avoid the belief in meaninglessness. Analogous to Camus’ emphasis that avoiding the belief of higher powers allows one to live one’s life to the fullest, Meursault refuses religion, thus emphasizing his absolute acceptance of nihilism. Subsequently, the prosecutor intensely enunciates Meursault’s “emptiness of...heart…[that threatens] to swallow up society” (101), elucidating Meursault as a threat to social

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(Moser) This quote displays that only the current state of the character Meursault is his concern. Meursault does not believe in a god, as emphasized many times in the novel, and therefore has only today to live for. His lack of something to live for and look forward to causes him to become detached from the ambitions of the people around him, and lose control of major event in his life while he focuses on the small details he controls to keep his freedom.     Meursault is not self-aware of his actions, causing him to murder the Arab.

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This scene also provides a foil of the magistrate and Meursault. They have two very different standpoints on religion. The magistrate believes that the reason for his existence is to serve his higher being through worship, but Meursault feels as if there is no real reason to life other than

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