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The Stranger Analysis

1113 Words5 Pages

Albert Camus
Contents
Context
Plot Overview
Character List
Analysis of Major Characters
Meursault
Raymond Sintes
Marie Cardona
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Summary & Analysis
Part One: Chapter 1
Part One: Chapters 2–3
Part One: Chapters 4–5
Part One: Chapter 6
Part Two: Chapters 1–2
Part Two: Chapters 3–4
Part Two: Chapter 5
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Important Quotations Explained
Key Facts
Study Questions & Essay Topics
Quizzes
Suggestion for Further Reading
How to Cite This SparkNote
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Character List
Meursault - The protagonist and narrator of The Stranger, to whom the novel’s title refers. Meursault is a detached figure who views and describes much of what occurs around him from a removed position. He is emotionally indifferent …show more content…

Marie Cardona - A former co-worker of Meursault who begins an affair with him the day after his mother’s funeral. Marie is young and high-spirited, and delights in swimming and the outdoors. Meursault’s interest in Marie seems primarily the result of her physical beauty. Marie does not seem to understand Meursault, but she feels drawn to Meursault’s peculiarities nevertheless. Even when Meursault expresses indifference toward marrying her, she still wants to be his wife, and she tries to support him during his arrest and trial.
Read an in-depth analysis of Marie Cardona.

Raymond Sintes - A local pimp and Meursault’s neighbor. Raymond becomes angry when he suspects his mistress is cheating on him, and in his plan to punish her, he enlists Meursault’s help. In contrast to Meursault’s calm detachment, Raymond behaves with emotion and initiative. He is also violent, and beats his mistress as well as the two Arabs on the beach, one of whom is his mistress’s brother. Raymond seems to be using Meursault, whom he can easily convince to help him in his schemes. However, that Raymond tries to help Meursault with his testimony during the trial shows that Raymond does possess some capacity for …show more content…

When Meursault arrives to keep vigil before his mother’s funeral, the director assures him that he should not feel guilty for having sent her to the home. However, by raising the issue, the director implies that perhaps Meursault has done something wrong. When Meursault goes on trial, the director becomes suddenly judgmental. During his testimony, he casts Meursault’s actions in a negative light.
Celeste - The proprietor of a café where Meursault frequently eats lunch. Celeste remains loyal to Meursault during his murder trial. He testifies that Meursault is an honest, decent man, and he states that bad luck led Meursault to kill the Arab. Celeste’s assertion that the murder had no rational cause and was simply a case of bad luck reveals a worldview similar to Meursault’s.
Masson - One of Raymond’s friends, who invites Raymond, Meursault, and Marie to spend a Sunday at his beach house with him and his wife. It is during this ill-fated trip to Masson’s beach house that Meursault kills the Arab. Masson is a vigorous, seemingly contented figure, and he testifies to Meursault’s good character during Meursault’s

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395 Words | 2 Pages

Marie asks Meursault to marry her and continues to support him throughout his court trial even though he does not feel the same emotional connection. Raymond Sintes- Meursault's neighbor who enlists his help after he believes his mistress is cheating on him. A man who takes initiative through violence, Raymond seeks revenge to punish her and the mistress's brother for the wrongdoings she has committed against him. 2 more characters Thomas Perez-

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249 Words | 1 Pages

During the beginning of the novel, Meursault goes to his neighbor Raymond’s house. The visit results into a physical fight due to insults made towards Meursault. Relating to aspects on violence, this scene was made to show simple

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675 Words | 3 Pages

The heat is also very important in this novel. Both times that death was in front of Meursault, the heat was unbearable for him; his mother’s funeral and the murder of the Arab. The heat is very uncomfortable for him, because he mentions it many times. Sometimes it is so bad, he becomes dizzy and is unable to think properly. When he is in court, every time he is questioned about the murder, he alway relates back to how hot the scene was.

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731 Words | 3 Pages

One of the most important passages within the novel is when Meursault repeatedly defies the chaplain in the cell. It serves as a pinnacle for the entire story, and grants readers a look into the main characters state of mind. In this passage, Meursault comes to a dramatic realization of who he is through an existential epiphany, and with thorough analysis the overall significance of the passage to the story is revealed. In the passage the chaplain visits Meursault much to Meursault’s displeasure.

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998 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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724 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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216 Words | 1 Pages

Another reason would be the key fact that meursault had acted in self defence. The day of the murder, Meursault had been walking on the beach alone minding his own business. As he walked along the beach, he noticed an arab man lying down. Meursault stopped because as he had recalled earlier, this arab man had gone on and attacked his friend Raymond with a knife. Unexpectedly the arab went on and pulled the knife out on meursault.

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It is 1945. The Second World War is still going on. The United States of America is in a war with their Pacific neighbours, Japan. It has been like this since December 7th ,1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor which triggered the battles. By July of 1945 no side was going to surrender .The

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1484 Words | 6 Pages

When both, Meursault and Marie, see the abuse of Raymond to his girlfriend and how they react to it shows how Meursault lacks a moral code by trying to avoid getting in the middle of it but earlier he was willing to write a letter for Raymond showing his hypocrisy to certain situations. Examples: • “Marie said it was terrible and I didn’t say anything (34).” Marie shows emotion and horror at the sight while Meursault looks at it with silence. • “She asked me to go find a policeman…

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586 Words | 3 Pages

Meursault’s lack of morality due to his corruption by society is what eventually lead to his isolation from the world and those he

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1152 Words | 5 Pages

“she could not tell anyone why she was crying”, and Meursault has barely any emotions what’s so ever, both the extremes lead to one discovery: emotion is an obstacle for both characters. Edna can be described to have the personality of an emotional monster and Meursault can be described to have the personality of a detached observer, but in the long run, both their traits, though polar opposites, prove that the characters share a deeper similarity rather than just the ability to cry over an unhappy marriage or the passing of a loved one. In addition, the degree of impulsiveness shown by each character is significantly high. Edna moves out of her house while her husband is away and doesn’t even think of what she will tell him.

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932 Words | 4 Pages

As Meursault perceives life contains no meaning, he is a hollow man who can not see the reality of life. He is much ignorant and lives in the present. “whole landscape shimmer with heat, it was inhumane and oppressive”(Camus 15).The sun represents the intimidating power of the natural worlds over human action. The sun is not repeated once, but many times during the funeral, which distracts Meursault’s attention and prevails the emotions, Meursault is unable to deal with himself. The sun is also the driving force, which makes Meursault murder the Arab man at the beach.

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1196 Words | 5 Pages

(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.

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471 Words | 2 Pages

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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.

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