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Meursault's View In The Stranger

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In the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, the protagonist Meursault is seen as an outcast and someone who does not fit with societies standards. He is someone who is rejected by society because of his philosophy and his way of life. Meursault is a man with a very straight and blunt personality and is not afraid to say what is on his mind. With such a strong and independent mindset, he does not allow anyone to change his view or opinion on the world. His meaning of life is much different than the masses, he is a man with no care in the world and believes that the world has no meaning or purpose. He believes that life’s inevitability is death, which means that all our lives are equally meaningless if everyone's collective potential ends in the same place. With this mindset, Meursault never seems to have any emotions which are highlighted throughout the …show more content…

At the funeral, Meursault is focused on things like the weather and the coffin rather than his mother being gone. The common consensus would that this is a very tough moment, but for Meursault, it just seems like any other day. He does not care that his mother passed away as he says, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours." That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.” (Camus 1). We see his emotional indifference and detachment from people. The common man would see this and assume a mental lapse in etiquette where a son has no remorse for their mother. This reaction completely reflects his philosophy and how he views the world. He believes that it is going to happen anyway, so why does it matter if it happened now or later. With this mentality and mindset, society begins to label him as an outcast and as someone who has no

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