Mortality In Albert Camus The Stranger

Human nature calls for the need to divulge deeper into the meaning of an individual’s existence and the reasons behind all actions taken in life. An introspective look in one’s existence, displayed in Camus’s The Stranger by the non-conformist Meursault, highlights a seemingly meaningless existence when confronted with one’s own mortality. After murdering a man, Meursault, once thought to be apathetic towards all aspects of life, becomes a complex symbol for the struggle of human meaning. This idea continually emerges in contemporary society due to the question of why humans seemingly live to die. Camus masterfully makes a question of human existence through mortality and societal restraints in a skillfully written short novel making The Stranger

The image of an execution forever imprints itself on the minds of viewers. This reaction manifests Camus’s own father who after seeing an execution “his wife recounted, he ‘came rushing home, his face distorted, refused to talk, lay down for a moment on the bed, and suddenly began to vomit” (Knowlton). This anticipated reaction highlights how society expects all to respond to such a situation. Camus’s father influenced a similar situation in The Stranger where Meursualt’s father had “gone to watch a murderer be executed. Just the thought of going had him sick to his stomach, but he went anyway, and when he came back he spent half the morning throwing up” (Camus 110). This reaction differs greatly from Meursualt, who while plagued by the thoughts of his own execution; does not shy away from death. In contrast he stresses the importance of seeing an execution because in the end, all humans are destined to die. This reaction, differing drastically from social expectations, causes him to be alienated. This trend of social expectation continues with research that comes to the conclusion that “human beings are mean meaning-makers, driven to make connections, find signals in noises, identify patterns, and establish associations in places where they may not inherently exist” (Heine et al 89). This research can be validated in the justice system where the motive of murderers must be found in order to create a case. This idea becomes challenged in The Stranger when Muersault has motive for killing the Arab. While listening to the prosecutor Muersault states that “the gist of what he was saying, if I understood him correctly, was that my crime was premeditated. At least that is what he tried to show” (Camus 99). While the prosecutor makes viable connections, they were completely incorrect. Muersualt himself doesn’t understand why he killed the Arab, but the