Meursault is a distinct individual who comes across socially awkward, with awareness to sensory aspects and peoples actions. He’s very disconnected from the world. Many aspects influence Meursault, some examples of these aspects are other individuals such as Raymond, Marie and the Priest. As well as other characters and their relationship with Meursault there are sensory aspects that affect Meursault. Physical things such as the sun and heat make him become uncomfortable and act “inappropriately.” The sun is present at his mother’s funeral, when he refuses to grieve. It is also at he beach, and it is the sun in his eyes that causes him to shoot the Arab.
Meursault is cooperative and reacts passively to situations around him. Raymond is almost the exact opposite; he is very opinionated, active and assertive. One of the first encounters between the two characters is when Raymond invites Meursault to eat with him and when Raymond invites Meursault to the house on the beach. Sometimes within the novel it appears that Raymond is using Meursault, for example when Raymond persuades
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At the beginning of the novel, Meursault’s indifference generally only applies to him. However, When Meursault is sentences and meets the Chamberlin his ideology is broadened and Meursault gathers that the world is like him, in the the aspect that is it also indifferent to human life. He figures that there is no great meaning to people’s lives and their actions have no effects on the universe. This realization is the climax of the novel as it is a conclusion of all the events of the novel and allows Meursault to find peace within himself and with the world around him. Raymond can be seen as a cause for Meursault’s enlightenment because he is the main reason why Meursault got involved with the Arab and subsequently why he was put in
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-
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.
(3), suggest that Meursault was not very close to his mother. These two sentences are the first impressions of Meursault. This point it is where readers can notice something is indeed wrong with him. The disconnection between Meursault and his mother provokes a hatred towards Meursault, especially from the prosecutor. The prosecutor argues against Meursault for his relationship with his mother than for his actual crime.
Meursault constantly has varying thoughts dancing around his mind, one of which is the environment. The environment is behind all of Meursault’s struggles and problems in his mental world and interferes with his physical world as well, causing him to think that the world is irrational. Holden’s attitude toward the world is particularly similar to Meursault’s because nihilism and absurdism are quite similar. Both believe that the world is irrational and out to get them. The only difference between the two is that Meursault discovers that even though he believes that the world manipulated him and demanded to kill the
I don’t know … everything will have a more official feel” (Camus 3). The use of diction shows Meursault's dispassionate to visit his mother. Through the use of words, Meursault is prevailed as emotionless and complicated to understand as he does not mourn for his mother, but is calm and lifeless. Also, through the work of diction, it reveals that Meursault has an affection towards Marie, but does not have a habit of comforting his feelings for her, but goes with what occurs in present. But the relationship he has with Marie shows that he cannot give women a healthy relationship.
The novel categorizes him as dangerous and evil because Meursault refuses to conform to society’s accepted standards of behavior. Everyone is different and Meursault “refuses to conform to society’s accepted societal norms.” Experiences,
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.
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
It would be wrong to say that Meursault who lives within the society is completely a stranger to the social norms and has no sympathetic value for anyone. When Raymond asked him to be his friend, he didn’t reply, but after that he said that he would not mind. Meursault even agrees to write a letter on behalf of Raymond: “I wrote the letter. I more or less improvised, but tried to write in a way that would make Raymond happy because I had no reason to make him happy”(Smith30). Another instance we find when old Salamano lost his dog and Meursault shows sympathy towards him “I asked him if he wanted to come in, but he said no… I told him that the pound kept dog for three days in case their owner came for them and afterwards they did what
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.
His motivation against the sun can be shown many times, including when he was retreating from Maman’s funeral when he felt “blood pounding in his temples” (Camus, Stranger 17). In Patrick McCarthy’s The Stranger book length analysis, he discusses how Meursault feels threatened by the sun in the novel, especially during the funeral (18). So, during the heatwave when he was approaching the Arab, he felt the same emotions of being threatened and feeling unable to escape the sun. John P. Collins writes a similar view in his character analysis of Meursault. He states that Meursault was physically exhausted and burned out by the sun and tries to seek the shade guarded by the Arab, as well as the cool water (Two Antiheroes 118).
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.
At first glance Meursault seemed as if he was an
Analyze how the interpersonal relationship between Meursault, his mother, Marie and the judge was used to explore the theme “outsider” in the novel “The Outsider.” In the novel “the outsider” written by Albert Camus the main character Meursault explores the theme “the outsider” and the impacts that it has on society has on Meurault. Shown to the audience through Meursault’s interpersonal relationships with his mother’s friends, his girlfriend Marie and the judge who represents the court of justice.
However, the real reason for Meursault killing the Arab is due to the fact that his sole purpose was to attain immediate physical contentment. Throughout the novel, his actions were purely based on whatever would give him physical pleasure and allow him to avoid pain