Meursault: Racial, Political, And Economic Tension In France

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT

During the discussion, several text evidences were presented to the class. The subject brought to light were the racial, political and economic tension in french during 1942 and the question was what kind of people does Meursault associate with. The text evidence presented on the racial, political and economic tension in french explained the social class of the French during the 1942s. Prior to this period, the French had already taken over the Algerians during the french invasion in 1830s to 1962. This was the reason why some Algerian soldiers fought the World War 2 for the french.
After the discussion, it would appear Camus places huge importance on the time, place and culture of his novel. The existence of social

During Maman’s vigil, a lot of people who were there showed their sad feelings with desperate, teary-eyed and mourn but, Meursault whose mom was the deceased showed no emotions either before, during or after the funeral. For most of the time it is hard for people who lose their loved ones to let go of them which leads to them grieving for years but, for Meursault it is not like that for him. He goes to the beach a day after his mom’s burial and meets Marie who becomes his girlfriend in some hours and then he ends up having sex with her on the night of the day they meet. Meursault who didn’t believe in God lived in the society where everyone believed on it. When the magistrate asked that did he believe in God, he responded that he did not believe in God. The magistrate replied, “It was impossible, all men believed in God, even those who turn their backs on him” (Camus 69). Even though the magistrate tried all he can to convince Meursault to believe the fact that God existed and everybody believed in Him, Meursault still did not comply to believing in the existence of God. Moreover, Meursault’s behaviour was also different from social norms from the society. Camus uses his clever skills of writing to make the reader and the society see the lifestyle of an outsider and how he is a danger to the society. Camus uses Meursault to suggest how society

At the time of his trial, Meursault was charged with being ‘calm’ at his mother’s funeral(Camus 89). Camus uses words like ‘calm’ to suggest that Monsieur Meursault was not shedding tears over losing his mother. Meursault not knowing how old Maman was, refusing to pay his last respect to his mother and even smoking right in front of the body of Maman also contributed to the final verdict. The prosecutor uses the protagonist’s refusal to see his mother for the last time and, also the fact that he smoked in front of his mother’s dead body to show how he lacked respect for his mother because usually close relatives of the deceased person portray behaviours that show how sad and hurt they are because they have lost a loved one and they know that the person can never be replaced in their heart or be brought back on earth. Furthermore, the prosecutor charged Meursault with accepting the cup of coffee from a stranger beside the deceased body of the person who brought him into the world. In addition, Meursault going to the beach to swim the day after Maman’s death, starting up a dubious affair and going to the movies to watch a comedy for laughs were also some of the important arguments the judged based on to make his final decision on Meursault’s case. Meursault was not really charged with killing an Arab but with “burying his mother with crime in his heart”(Camus 96).