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.
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.
One example of Meursault’s general indifference can be seen in his reaction to his mother’s death. Meursault’s indifferent attitude greets the reader in the very first line of the book: “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know” (Camus 1). Meursault is so indifferent towards his mother that he cannot even remember
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…
Meursault is not like many people in Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”. He in fact is very unlike many people in the world. He goes about his life with little to no care about the happenings of others. He almost completely emotionless, as can be seen when he felt nothing upon the death of his mother. He is unafraid to hurt other’s feelings because he does not himself understand what feeling is.
“As Meursault pulled the trigger, he could feel the heat from his cheek from the sandy bright beach.” In The Stranger, the author Albert Camus uses different methods of mood and atmosphere in the novel which heightened the understanding of the novel and contributed to the descriptive patterns of the book. From the heat symbolism that creates a certain atmosphere in the book, to the specific mood he portrays in the novel. This all goes into the pattern that Camus blatantly put in the book to show a specific mood and to add an atmosphere to the novel. To start off, when Meursault states in the book that he feels a certain way for example heat or temperature it gives way to the descriptive patterns and symbolism, for example, to quote from the novel itself, Meursault says...
[Camus 3]. First Meursault doesn’t know what date his mother died, showing him that he is submissive to find out which date she actually dies, he just doesn’t give effort in the things he does. Albert Camus shows Meursault’s insignificance feelings and actions to his mother and as he sends her away and when she dies, he doesn’t care and is disrupted by her and her presence. Another way Meursault shows the unimportance of women is Marie’s relationship. He shows is imbalanced relationship with Marie through his lack of love and emotion towards her.
Many of Meursault’s actions are due to his physical needs such as eating when he is hungry, sleeping or drinking coffee when he his tired, and making love with Marie or smoking cigars when he desires a physical pleasure. Similar to animals, Meursault’s physical demands impact his actions. When Meursault is tired, he fails to be engaged in anything that happens around him. Meursault describes attending Maman’s funeral being half awake saying that ”[his] physical needs often [get] in the way of [his] feelings” (65). Camus incorporates repetition of Meursault’s hunger, fatigue, and his sex drive more frequently than human-like desires (such as love, wealth, power, or status) to emphasize the portrayal of Meursault being
Rather than placing Meursault’s questionable authenticity of a storyteller into a central part of the story, at some points it’s serves the purpose of continuity. Camus doesn’t draw attention to Meursault’s flawed story-telling until it’s necessary for the plot, but it’s still prevalent throughout the story for consistency. This is mostly communicated through his internal thoughts that demonstrate his disconnect for reality. For example he thought: “Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed,” when he stayed at home for the day. This seems to display anti-social behavior and contributes negates his authenticity a bit as a storyteller.
(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.
Existentialism is the stress on individual existence, subjectivity, and freedom of choice. Existentialist texts often present many different conflicting issues relating to the individual and the choices one can, or must, make. In the book The Stranger, it is clear that Meursault is involved in different situations in which he is faced with existential choices and conflicts. One recurring and important existentialist subject that troubles many characters is the belief in God or Atheism. Through symbols, dialogue, and character’s actions, Albert Camus successfully exhibits existentialism in terms of the belief in God versus Atheism.
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.
'If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk.' Psychology has been a part of my life indirectly for many years, from something as an impromptu counseling session for a friend with emotional trauma to self analyzing to just looking and observing people's behavior, I have always been fascinated by people and the way they behave, but it is only as I have grown older and become more aware of psychology that I have begun to question why people are the way they are, why they interact differently with other people and why we all take a different approach to certain situations. I also find it interesting how society, culture and the attitudes and opinions of other people can have such an impact on a person's behavior. During the first couple of years of high school I was somewhat reserved and barely spoke out in class.
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.
Everything he will say; the magistrate will not believe him, he even feels there is no need for a lawyer because he thinks everything he does, is right and there is not something to question. He comes to understand that he trying to find meaning in his own life, make him impotent to society’s eyes, he only murdered an Arab and that is it. During the trial, there are investigators that learn that Meursault does not feel any remorse at his mother funeral. As Meursault does not have any evidence why he kills the Arab man, the lawyer thinks that it will be a strong argument if Meursault can come up with some answers for the questions. The investigator asks,” If I had felt any sadness that day” (Camus 65).
