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The Stranger, By Albert Camus

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The Stranger by Albert Camus analyzes many concepts but specifically focuses on existentialism. According to the Basics of Philosophy, existentialism is the “philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe”. Freedom and choice are rights that Meursault would be deprived of. He is currently placed in prison, his new "home" due to the events that occurred. However, Meursault would later realize that “home” is not like his daily routine that consists of smoking cigarettes in his studio apartment while spending time with his girlfriend Marie. The concept of “Home” for Meursault would be …show more content…

While Meursault was having a conversation with his superior, Meursault said, “He then asked if a ‘change of life’ … one life was good as another, and my present one suited me quite well” (Camus 28). With this conversation, one can infer that Meursault doesn’t have any problems when it comes to adapting to an unfamiliar environment. With this, one can conclude that prison would just be the new environment that he can easily adapt to. With this, Camus is illustrating the normality and experiences of our lives, how people flourish on routines and have expectations; keep in mind that Meursault does not have a sense of responsibility in any way, he does not follow the societal norms and expectations nor the society follows Meursault. Meursault’s everyday prison routine became steady and settled, it didn’t decrease or worsen his reality; one can even say that his time spent in prison was beneficial to his well-being due to things he was able to realize. Beneficial in the sense that Meursault strengthened his memory by remembering the placements and positions of various objects and furniture in his bedroom. “Sometimes I would exercise my memory on my bedroom… forced myself to keep my inventory in mind from start to finish…” (Camus 49-50). In addition to his brain exercises, the crime he committed could be beneficial. With Meursault’s realization that his committed crimes and intolerable behavior were not acceptable in the societies perspective; This realization would make him understand that his perspective of the world compared to the society’s perspective has quite a drastic difference. Camus’ purpose for this novel was not just to entertain but to also enlighten the audience on how purposelessness of life and how society cruelly judges a member of the society due to dissimilar behaviors like Meursault and his moral isolation

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