The Stranger Essays

The Stranger
"The Stranger" by Albert Camus follows the story of an apathetic and withdrawn man, Meursault, as
he easily cruises through life with the belief that he is indifferent to the universe. The novel begins
with Meursault receiving news that his mother had passed away. Immediately after traveling to the
funeral, and not showing an ounce of emotion, Meursault engages in an unemotional relationship
with a woman named Marie. His moral bankruptcy and emotionally detached demeanor stays
constant throughout the majority of the novel, even after committing murder and being sentenced to
death. In fact, as a consequence of his sentencing Meursault has an epiphany and realizes that the
universe is irrational and therefore indifferent to human life. This theme...show more content...
During the trial, the prosecutor attempts to make sense of the crime, but is ultimately perplexed as
to why Meursault did it. So he inquired, "Well, then, why [were you] armed and why did [you]
return to precisely that spot?" (Camus 88) and Meursault replied, "It just happened that way."
(Camus 88). This demonstrates the theme of the absurdity of the universe because no one can
explain why they make certain choices in their life just as Meursault cannot explain why he was
compelled to kill the Arab. In addition, when Meursault was trying to convince the jury that the
murder was not his fault Meursault ponders: "Fumbling a little with my words and realizing how
ridiculous I sounded, I blurted out that it was because of the sun. People laughed." (Camus 103).
Meursault's difficulty in explaining this crime to the jury shows how insensible rational rules are in
an irrational world. Meursault cannot explain, nor could anyone understand why he committed the
crime, but this only shows how the reality of the absurd cannot be comprehended by the logic of
society and
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The Stranger Essay
The Stranger The Stranger was originally written in French. When Stuart Gilbert translated the
novel, he came across a small problem. "The title of Camus' classic novel is difficult to render into
English because the French word bears the connotations of both 'stranger' and 'foreigner' at the same
time, and each of these concepts is at play in the novel." (Mairowitz1) Finding the right translation
was crucial because the title is symbolic. "The Stranger symbolizes the theme of the story."
(Mairowits1) Meusault is a stranger to society. "He is alienated by society because of his unique
personality." (Alley2)
Hearing Meursault tell his story, allows the reader to experience his life first hand. Writing the novel
in...show more content...
This conflict results in Meursault killing an Arab.
After being sent to jail, Meursault is interviewed by the magistrate and chaplain. Both the magistrate
and the chaplain "tried to change Meursault's point of view toward God." (Alley2) They wanted
Meursault to accept God and ask Him for forgiveness; they do not succeed.
During the trial, Meursault's behavior is the prosecutor's main focus. The prosecutor uses the
improper behavior of the Meursault at his mother's funeral to convince the jurors that he is a danger
to society. (Alley2)
Camus wrote the Stranger using various levels of meaning. The first is the psychological level. Since
Meursault is telling the story, his inner reactions and motivations are reveled to the reader. For
example, Meursault explains his reasoning for killing the Arab:
"Then everything began to reel before my eyes, a fiery gust came from the sea, while the sky
cracked in two, from end to end, and a great sheet of flame poured down through the rift. Every
nerve in my body was a steel spring, and my grip closed on the revolver." (Camus76)
A symbolic level was also used. Meursault symbolizes an outsider, who observes life. Symbolic of
this quality is the Sunday Meursault spends watching the neighborhood from his apartment window.
(Drajem2)
The sun also has symbolic meaning. The sun symbolizes change. On the day of his mother's funeral,
the

Essay On The Stranger
The Stranger Essay The Stranger by Albert Camus is an analysis of the human psychosis if it was
isolated and apathetic. Throughout the story, our protagonist, Meursault, tells the story of his life
after his mother's death and his experiences with everyday routines. Meursault explains to the
reader only the surface of what he is feeling; despite that, as a reader, one is able to view his mind
directly and closely. Meursault has all the power in this book because it is his life and mind. He is
able to put things in his own perspective, not one's. As the reader vicariously moves through
Meursault's world, we see how he interacts with others, despite his indifference with interacting with
society. Being around characters such as Marie or...show more content...
That is why his need for Marie is important; she is an uncomplicated passage to the world for
Meursault. They seem to be similar people as they live uneventful lives. For the times he
mentions Marie, one can conclude she is for being youthful and enjoying simple pleasures such
as swimming and sex, like Meursault. She desires marriage and romance to which Meursault
agrees to as he does not mind for her sake. He enjoys her company yet is not deeply attached to
her; it is nothing deeper than just casual sex and conversation, which helps the reader infer how
one desires to not be lonely. The next person Meursault tells us about is a beastly man named
Raymond. Raymond is presented as a brusque personality with a short stout and a temper to
match. He comments that it is a shame that old Salamano hits his dog yet beats his girl like a dog
misbehaving. Raymond is a compromising character from what a reader can gather from
Meursault's point of view. He speaks of his struggles with his girl, who may or may not be a
prostitute, and throughout chapter III he goes on about himself, perhaps to explain himself so he is
not judged by Meursault. Often when Raymond asks for Meursault's assistance, Meursault is
contempt in doing whatever is asked. Meursault says what he thinks and follows his own laws of
limitation which is shocking to society. Meursault seems to identify with Ray's brutish and frank
character as a normality trait for humans. Raymond beats up anyone who has wronged

Albert Camus' The Stranger
What if the past has no meaning and the only point in time of our life that really matters is that
point which is happening at present. To make matters worse, when life is over, the existence is also
over; the hope of some sort of salvation from a God is pointless. Albert Camus illustrates this exact
view in The Stranger. Camus feels that one exists only in the world physically and therefore the
presence or absence of meaning in one's life is alone revealed through that event which he or she is
experiencing at a particular moment. These thoughts are presented through Meursault, a man devoid
of concern for social conventions found in the world in which he lives, and who finds his life
deprived of physical...show more content...
It is his lack of concern for following normal social conventions that eventually hinders the
impression he makes on others.
Further evidence of Meursault's indifference is demonstrated when he meets with Marie at the
beach on the day following the funeral. Marie is a former co–worker "whom [he had] a thing for at
the time" (19). Keeping with character, the implication of that description is that he hadn't thought
about her since then, until now. The two end up spending a lot of time together, swimming, going to
the movies, and even sleeping together, but when asked if he loved her he recalls: "I told her that it
didn't mean anything, but that I didn't think so" (35). These words are somewhat surprising given
the relationship portrayed here. At the same time, it is important to realize that Meursault actually
does care for Marie––however the word used to express that feeling, in a sense, is practically
absent from his vocabulary. This notion becomes more evident with his reaction to the principle
of marriage, which he regards as basically insignificant: "...Marie came by to see me and asked me if
I wanted to marry her. I said it didn't make any difference and we could if she wanted to" (41).
On a related notion, when his boss offers Meursault the opportunity to further cultivate his life via
a transfer to Paris, Meursault simply doesn't want to go: "I said that people never change their lives,
that in any case one life was as good as

The Stranger
Albert Camus creates a series of characters in The Stranger whose personality traits and motivations
mirror those that are overlooked by the average man. Camus develops various characters and
scenarios that are considered rude and unpleasant, but because it has become common, society
accepts it as norms. Camus incorporates atrocious personality traits of the characters, variety,
consistency, and everyone's fate through the creation of the characters.
Camus demonstrates the disregarded reason behind the origins of relationships between people to
characterize people as selfish. The relationship between Salamano and his dog displays how
Salamano as self–centered. When Meursault mentions, "He hadn't been happy with his wife, but he'd
pretty...show more content...
I agreed to act as a witness for him" (37), the contextual evidence proves that Raymond only uses
Meursault for his own benefit by making him his witness. In this relationship, Camus presents
Raymond with selfish–like characteristics for using Meursault for his own benefit and not returning
the favor to Meursault.
Camus employs a change in routine, Meursault having food with other people, which reveals the
unexpected cause for him becoming involved and encountering bad situations. Meursault mentions
that "I ate at the restaurant, at CГ©leste's, as usual" (Camus, 3), which displays his every day
routine. The principal factor of his everyday routine which involves food, usually took place at
CГ©leste's. Meursault in the textual quote displays a shift in his food routine when mentioning, 'I've
[Raymond] got some blood sausage and some wine at my place. How about joining me' (28)?
Raymond's invitation leads up to him becoming involved in a faulty situation. Meursault mentions
the situation when saying, "He'd thought of asking me to write it for him. Since I didn't say
anything, he asked if I'd mind doing it right then and I said no" (32). Through the excuse of just
having dinner with Raymond, it results in Meursault writing a letter to Raymond's ex–girlfriend.
Later the letter causes a quarrel which results in Meursault becoming a witness as well. Another
instance of a change from CГ©leste's restaurant is when Meursault consumes coffee at

The Stranger
In the book, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault finds an old newspaper article in his jail
cell about a Czechoslovakian man who is murdered by his mother and sister. This article relates
to his own trial by providing himself peace as well as the missing pieces found in both. The
Czech man's story expands the themes mentioned throughout the book, as well as supporting
Camus philosophy of the absurd. The story of the Czech man that Meursault found in his jail cell,
is vastly different from his own trial at first, but their stories relate the more one thinks about it.
The Czech man's story provides Meursault a sense of peace during the last moments of his life. A
similarity between the two have missing pieces. In the story of the Czech man, "the first part of the
story was missing, but I gathered that its scene was some village in Czechoslovakia"(99). While the
article is physically missing the piece, the trial with Meursault is more of mystery, as to what
influences him to kill the Arab not not with one shot but four. Although, it never explains to why he
does so, it leaves one to consider plausible reasons. Though, both murders are different at first glance,
but the more deeper one searches, the more similarities between the two become known....show more
content...
The main theme that is present in the article is the theme of meaningless and absurd. The fact that
the mother and sister did not care that they killed someone until after they find out their real
identity, shows that it is meaningless to them to live a life with value. This also plays the same
way as to how Meursault kills the innocent stranger leaving him with no guilt and regret, a
meaningless event in his life. As for the mother and sister it was meaningless and absurd for them
to kill the Czech man for the money if they were simply going to kill themselves anyways. "His
mother hanged herself .His sister threw herself into a

The Stranger Essay
The Stranger
Chris Drusbosky
3/5/12
Professor Krauss In the story "The Stranger" by Albert Camus, the belief that the themes of loss
and retrieval are at the core of Mersault's mythology, and that they illumine the notion of exile to
which he returns so often is widely discussed. I however do not believe that either one of those
themes has anything to do with the Mersault and the exile to which he returns to so often, rather I
believe that Mersault's own attitude is the reason for the exile he experiences in the story. The first
theme that is said to play a role in Mersault's exile is the theme of loss. Though Mersault does lose
his mother in the beginning of the story, it does not affect how he acts throughout the rest of the
...show more content...
If there is one thing in my eyes that Mersault never did throughout the course of this story, it
would be that he never retrieved anything and that he always stayed the same throughout the
story. Mersault seems to maintains the same attitude towards everything that happens in the
story, the "I don't care or believe in much" type attitude. One example that proves that Mersault
possesses this attitude was after he was arrested for shooting the Arab 5 times. The magistrate
asks him if he believes in God. "But he cut me off and urged me on one last time, drawing himself
up to his full height and asked me if I believed in God. I said no. He sat down indignantly. He said it
was impossible; all men believed in God, even those who have turned their backs on him. That was
his belief, and if he were to ever doubt it, his life would be meaningless." The Stranger page 69. This
quote is a perfect example that even after he has murdered a man, Mersault still maintains that same
attitude towards everything and he remains unchanged. You would think that especially after the fact
that he murdered someone, he would have changed his attitude a little bit or that maybe he would
have had some kind of revelation and he would realize that he has done something terribly wrong.
However none of this occurs with Mersault and he continues to be himself and does not change
anything about himself and that he retrieves nothing from his actions and that it plays no role in his
exile.

The Stranger Essay
Albert Camus' influential novel, The Stranger, a great work of existentialism, examines the
absurdity of life and indifference of the world. This paper provides a summary of the novel, and
outlines some of the novel's main themes. The novel's protagoinist, Meursault, is a distanced and
indifferent young man. He does not believe in God, and lives his life with seemingly sensuous
abandon. After Meursault is caught up in the life of a local pimp, he rather inexplicably murders a
young man on the beach, and is put on trial. In a ridiculous and seemingly arbitrary trial, he is
essentially tried and found guilty for failing to adhere to society's beliefs and morals. It is during this
trial that Meursault comes to terms with the absurdity...show more content...
There he meets Marie Cardona, who he frolics with in the water. Later, although Marie is
somewhat disturbed at the death of Meursault's mother, she agrees to see a comedy with him that
evening. The next morning, Meursault enjoys lunch on the balcony, and amuses himself by
watching people pass by. On Monday, Meursault goes to work. He joins his friend Emmanuel for
lunch, takes a nap and returns to work. After work to runs into his neighbor Salamano and his dog.
He also encounters Raymond, who is rumored to be a pimp, and they discuss Raymond's cheating
girlfriend, and his conflict with an Arab. The rest of the week continues in the same manner, with
Meursault attending the movies with Emmanuel, and a swimming with Marie. They play in the
water again, and she asks him if he loves her, to which he replies " that it didn't mean anything but
that I didn't think so" (p. 38). They are interrupted by the loud noises from a fight between Raymond
and his girlfriend. Salamano notes that he has lost his dog, and cries with grief. Meursault receives a
phone call from Raymond work, that notes is continuing conflict with the Arabs. In the evening,
Marie asks Meursault if you will marry her, even though he notes that he does not love her. Later,
Marie and Meursault need to Raymond's and his friend on the beach. They encounter to Arabs, a
fight begins, and Raymond is slightly hurt. Later in the evening, Meursault encounters

The Stranger
The novel, The Stranger revolves around Meursault who does not conform to societal expectations;
he is often misunderstood because he expresses himself as emotionless. Meursault emotionless
demeanor often leads him to be disconnected in emotional relationships as he cannot fully
comprehend human connection. Throughout the novel, Meursault fights a constant battle against
himself. The novel places a heavy emphasis on Meursault's displacement with his emotions and the
author tries to express how his lack of understanding affects his relationships. The author uses
Maman, Marie, and the abused women minor roles in the novel to express Meursault's progression
as a human. The author understands the need for emotional connection in a person as it

The Stranger Essay
The Book "The Stranger" is written by Albert Camus. This story was written after World War 2 in
1946 and during this period of war it affected some people emotionally and mentally. The thinking
of people towards world and god changed. People started thinking that there is no god and this
caused a paradigm Shift in the world. People started to be selfish and only looked for their own
good. So this story tells about a young man named Meursault. He is a protagonist in the story.
Meursault was a young clerk who worked in a fishing company. He is man who is emotionally
Indifferent to other for e.g. towards his mother and lover Marie. Meursault did not care much about
what is going on in the society. Meursault did not believe in god and during that time people
followed Christianity and he went against god by saying that he did not believe in god. People
could not accept this and this caused him his life.
In the story it is shown that Meursault is not capable of love. When Meursault gets to know about his
mother's death, he had no reaction. He was not at all sad and he was also not crying at his mother's
death. He just took a leave from office for two days. He had no expression on his face. Many people
during the lunch also tried to give there condolence to him but he said he is ok t it. He had a very
casual to this. His eyes where dry and not even a single expression of sadness was no his face. This
showed that he had no concern for his mother's death and it also showed that he did not love...show
more content...
Marie was a co–worker of Meursault and he had a thing for Mari. Meursault was very happy to
meet Marie as he loved her. Meursault went for swing with Marie and they started to flirt with each
other and then they planned to go for a comedy movie. They spend nice time with each other. The
next time they meet on a Sunday, Marie ask Meursault that does he love her

The Stranger
Absurdism is a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that
the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe (Merriam–Webster). In the
novel The Stranger Albert Camus uses Meursault to illustrate the philosophy of absurdism,
specifically the absurdist principles of indifference to society and the irrationality of society.
One principle of absurdism that is illustrated within the novel is the principle of indifference to
society. Camus shows this indifference to society or lack of care for society through Meursault.
Meursault is emotionally detached and does not exhibit any emotions or feelings toward anything
because he doesn't deem it worthy to do so. The opening sentence...show more content...
Throughout the novel Camus shows how life has no rational meaning and the difficulty of accepting
this idea is what results in the construction of rational explanations. He shows the absurdity of
society's desire to give rational explanations for the irrational. In the novel Meursault's actions
possessed no rational order as seen with his decision to kill the Arab. During the trial Meursault is
asked whether he had the intention to kill the Arab. Meursault says no. This already shows there was
no rational thinking process going on in Meursault's mind. Then when he is asked why he was
armed and returned precisely to that spot Meursault says that "it just happened that way." (Camus
88). Camus shows that there is no real rational explanation for Meursault's crime. When Celeste
testifies for Meursault he says that the crime was just "bad luck" (Camus 92). Camus further
emphasizes how there is no real rational explanation for Meursault's crime. Later on during the trial
Meursault again denies having the intention to kill the Arab. When asked what his motive for the
crime was, Meursault responds by saying that he did it "because of the sun." (Camus 103). Meursault
realizes that he has no explanation, no matter how truthful, that society would find acceptable.
Camus illustrates that there is no rational explanation for Meursault's crime and that society does not
accept the

The Stranger Essay
Albert Camus creates a series of characters in The Stranger whose personality traits and motivations
mirror those that are overlooked upon by the average man. Camus develops various characters and
scenarios that show true humanity which tends to have been ignored due to the fact of how typical it
has become. Camus incorporates abominable personality traits of the characters, variety, consistency,
and everyone's fate.
Camus demonstrates the disregarded reason behind the origins of relationships between people to
characterize people as selfish. The relationship between Salamano and his dog displays how
Salamano as self–centered. When Meursault mentions, "He hadn't been happy with his wife, but he'd
pretty much gotten used to her. When she...show more content...
In this relationship, Camus presents Raymond with selfish–like characteristics for using Meursault
for his own benefit and not returning the favor to Meursault.
Camus employs a change in routine, Meursault having food with other people, which reveals the
cause for him becoming involved and encountering bad situations. Meursault mentions his everyday
routine when saying, "I ate at the restaurant, at CГ©leste's, as usual" (Camus, 3). The principal
factor of his everyday routine which involves food, usually took place at CГ©leste's. Meursault in
the textual quote displays a shift in his food routine when mentioning, 'I've [Raymond] got some
blood sausage and some wine at my place. How about joining me' (28)? Raymond's invitation leads
up to him becoming involved in a faulty situation. Meursault mentions the situation when saying,
"He'd thought of asking me to write it for him. Since I didn't say anything, he asked if I'd mind
doing it right then and I said no" (32). Through the excuse of just having dinner with Raymond, it
results in Meursault writing a letter to Raymond's ex–girlfriend. Later the letter causes a quarrel
which results in Meursault becoming a witness as well. Another instance of a change from
CГ©leste's restaurant is when Meursault consumes coffee at his mother's funeral. Another change in
routine is shown by Meursault when he mentions,

The Stranger Essays

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