Meursault is eventually convicted and sentenced to death because of his inability to conform to the societal expectations of French Algeria in the 1940’s. 3. Characters: Meursault- the protagonist and narrator of the novel, Meursault is a young shipping clerk who has detached himself from the world around him. He is indifferent
Taylor Smith Mrs. Fowler IB Language Arts 17 May, 2016 The Stranger: The Epiphany The Stranger is a novel written by Albert Camus and was published in 1942. It follows the story of Meursault, an indifferent French Algerian, and his actions leading to his eventual death. Camus, a French philosopher, author, and journalist most notably renowned for his philosophy of absurdism, distributes a recurring theme of existentialism and absurdism throughout the novel, and heavily does so in passages that serve the most significance to the story.
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.
Holden Caulfield has a Nihilist view on the world where he lives in the beginning of the novel but later develops a more ethical view. In the beginning of the novel, Holden believes that the world is out to get him, so he alienates himself for protection Holden brings forth his hunting hat as a method for protection, “‘This is a people shooting hat,’ I said. ‘I shoot people in this hat.’” (Salinger, 22) Holden’s hunting hat is the strongest symbol in the novel. It gives Holden protection from people who could be potentially harmful to him.
Although she is buried in the beginning of the book, it does not stop Meursault and others around him to remember her. During part two of the book, Meursault 's relationship with his mother is scrutinized by the those against him midst his trial. The first chapters of the book introduce Meursault 's mother through those who were able to spend time with her before she died. The first lines of this book, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know.”
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.
Meursault’s lack of morality due to his corruption by society is what eventually lead to his isolation from the world and those he
Does Society have a great amount power to make people do things they do not want to do? Some may say no, others will just not want to admit it or may not even know they are being manipulated by society. In the short story, “The Rain Came” by Grace Ogot, society has a lot power over the king’s decision of giving up his daughter to the ancestors. In “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, a story of a community where perfection is their main goal, and will do anything to achieve that goal.
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...
(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.
In The Stranger by Albert Camus: the protagonist, Meursault, appears to be indifferent to everything throughout the book. Even on fundamentally important concepts such as death, love, and time. Because to Meursault, “we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how doesn’t matter (2.5.114).” This general lack of interest is similar to the Universe because if the grand scheme of things, our lives, and our deaths mean nothing and would have no real impact on the future of the Universe. Our deaths turn meaningless over time, eventually love will fade away, and time will blur together to the point that 100 years will seem like a millisecond.
Meursault notices that during the trial, “there was a lot said about [him], maybe more about [him] than about [his] crime” (98). By having Meursault 's personality be the focal point of the courtroom 's dialogue, Camus implies that Meursault 's persona plays a crucial role in his trial. Instead of focusing on the murder of the Arab, the prosecutor repeatedly mentions Meursault 's "dubious liaison"(94), his "insensitivity" (99) during Maman’s funeral, and his friendship with Raymond, who is a man "of doubtful morality" (99). Through the emphasis on Meursault 's -according to society- 'immoral ' ways, the prosecutor eliminates any sort of sympathy the jury has for Meursault. Following Marie 's testimony, the prosecutor once again exhibits his confidence that bias against Meursault will stem from hearing about his behaviour.
That does not mean anything. It may have been yesterday” (Camus 9). These are the starting line of the Stranger and it has a great impact on Meursault throughout the novel, which symbolizes the beginning, middle, and end of the novel, they are in the manner with his behavior towards life and how he sees the world in a different view than everybody else, Meursault is detached from his mother’s death, he does not show that he is hurt by it at all, he does not care about his personal issues. Instead, he cares about the unchanged world he is living in.
In his novel The Stranger, Albert Camus creates an emotionally incapable, narcissistic, and, at times, sociopathic character named Meursault to explore and expose his philosophies of Existentialism and Absurdism. Throughout the story Meursault follows a philosophical arc that, while somewhat extreme - from unemotional and passive to detached and reckless to self-reflective - both criticizes the dependent nature of human existence and shows the journey through the absurd that is our world. In the onset of The Stranger, following his mother’s death, Meursault acts with close to utter indifference and detachment. While the rest of “maman’s”(9) loved ones express their overwhelming grief, Meursault remains unphased and, at times, annoyed at their
Throughout many parts of this book Meursault plays things off as if he doesn’t care what is going on around him and that he is just going through life with only the motions, without care or feelings to what happens to himself or to what is going on around him. Many monumental things were happening in Meursault’s life during the course of this book, including the possibility of marriage to the one person that seems to bring any sort of happiness into his life, the possibility of moving to Paris for his job, the murdering of an arab man for defense, and becoming new friends with many people. Though all of this is happening in his life, he always seems to find a way to pass it all off to just go with whatever is happening around him and have no wants or ties to happiness. It’s all just there and continuing on in his life. For example when Marie, Meursault’s lover, asks to get married he states, “Marie came that evening and asked me if I’d marry her.
