Meursault's Characters And Villains In The Stranger By Albert Camus

Villains often play a vital role in contrasting the protagonists, which brings upon sympathy towards the protagonists. In The Stranger by Albert Camus, society directly criticizes Meursault 's actions and beliefs, evoking Meursault 's sadness in the story. While in The Meursault Investigation, Merault is the antagonist of the story because he kills Musa, Harun’s brother. Meursault indirectly provokes Harun’s anger and fuels his ambition for his actions. Both stories present villains differently, where society is directly criticizing Meursault’s beliefs and actions in The Stranger while Meursault is indirectly hurting Harun in The Meursault Investigation. However, both text function similarly by triggering the protagonists emotions, creating a sympathy towards them. In The Stranger, Meursault is perceived by society as being inhuman with no place in their society but through Meursault 's perspective, society

Before Meursault 's trial at court, he told the lawyer that he loved his mother but it didn’t mean anything, which led to the lawyer forcing Meursault to “make [him] promise [that he] wouldn’t say that [his] hearing” (Camus 65). The diction of the word “promise” demonstrates the lawyer’s necessity to force Meursault not to say what he said in order for him to be spared by society. It conveys the idea that Meursault doesn’t have the freedom of speech to share his beliefs or ideas and doesn’t have the right to be different. After the lawyer realizes that Meursault will not cooperate with him, he tells Meursault that he must “become like a child whose heart is open and ready to embrace all” (Camus 68). The simile comparing Meursault and the child signifies Meursault’s stripped rights in the society because he must “follow the rules” like a child. The idea that he must become like a child and accept the lawyer’s commands illustrates