Manipulation In The Stranger

Albert Camus’ The Stranger takes place in a 1940s Algiers where the sun is always blaring red hot and the French think they’re superior to the Arabs. That, being narcissism, is just one of society’s many psychopathic tendencies another being manipulation. Society often uses manipulation to always prove it’s right in the face of the individual’s indifferent truth. The main character, Meursault, has a unique personality that raises questions about his mental being, however the real psychopath is society. Meursault is a young French Algerian who comes off as an emotionless person. This makes sense because if you look at it from one way he left Maman in a home without feeling any guilt. However, Meursault and Maman were not close at all and he

In the trial the manipulative nature of society is shown through the prosecutor himself. Meursault stated that “the prosecutor waved his hands and proclaimed my guilt without an explanation.” He goes on to say “he reminded the court of my insensitivity when asked Maman’s age.” All the prosecutor needs to do is announce Meursault guilty for the jury to believe him with no valid explanation at all. Since it is an actual trial the prosecutor needs to do a lot more than that so he tries to prove Meursault is guilty, not for shooting the Arab, but for being a terrible son. Maman is used in a way to appeal to the jury’s feelings, manipulating them almost. Mostly everyone has a mom and here’s this monster Meursault who “dumped” his poor old mother in a home to be rid of her. If you were in the jury your first thought would be of your mother and how you would feel if she were treated that way. You might think “how could someone do that?” This is exactly what the prosecutor wants you to think. I think talking about the actual crime would’ve made more sense because it’s clear that Meursault is guilty and that’s what the trial is about but the prosecutor had to play his mind games