I. Introduction ` A. Thesis: In his novel The Stranger, Camus uses motif of death and isolation to show his philosophical viewpoints which includes the theme of the universe being irrational and life being meaningless.
II. Camus illustrates his critical observation of death by demonstrating it through the main character Meursault, who shows human existence has no logical meaning and people aiming to produce reasons as to why life is significant.
III In the beginning of the story it starts off with Meursault receiving a telegram that his mother had passed
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Aside from the sun, the issue is also focused on how many times Meursault shoots him, which is not once but, “I fired four shots more into the inert body, on which they left no visible trace. And each successive shot was another loud, fateful rap on the door of my undoing” (Camus 39). The court tries to connect this shooting with his mother’s death and attempts to say there are psychological problems. However, he is not remorseful of his crime even after knowing he was going to prison. This behavior is deemed as irrational and detachment from mankind, but Meursault himself inadequate to feeling emotion appears indifferent to the whole …show more content…
C. The very last death Meursault is associated with is his own where he discovers the “truth” that life is meaningless. Many aspects lead to this viewpoint including his run in with the chaplain who challenges his absurdist philosophy with religion. The chaplain asks him, “Have you no hope at all? And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains?", Meursault replies with "Yes" (Camus, ).
The prison chaplain embodies exactly what Meursault rejects: a non physical relationship with the the world and with human beings, a passive submission to the injustices of God and society, and a dogmatic faith in a better life in the future. This further indicates Meursault does not rely on anything external and is content with living in the present knowing everybody’s life will come to an end. He does not seek for an afterlife or a God much like the chaplain and society who is trying to find logic in every wrong doing or
Meursault is eventually convicted and sentenced to death because of his inability to conform to the societal expectations of French Algeria in the 1940’s. 3. Characters: Meursault- the protagonist and narrator of the novel, Meursault is a young shipping clerk who has detached himself from the world around him. He is indifferent
Close Reading - The Stranger In The Stranger, Albert Camus depicts a man, Meursault, who is emotionless to the situations that surround him. After committing a murder, he gets put on trial and is deemed as a danger to society, and therefore, gets sentenced to a death sentence. However, this decision was not made due to rational reasons but from false accusations on Meursault’s character and motives. In the passage, Camus uses point of view to portray how the people in the courtroom perceived Meursault the way they wanted him to act.
He is unable to make ration and irrational decisions when using the gun and he is unable to think clearly. All of his action when the sun is on him reflects his ignorant to recognize himself and a driving force to commit crimes. Meursault’s actions are not done by him thinking, but more when the sun reflects makes Meursault more motivated to take action. The reason
Meursault’s apathy for his mother’s death, isolation and indifference to others, and disregard for interpersonal relationships negatively impact his trial and eventually bring his demise. His character traits make him into a cold, heartless man, which serves as the basis for the prosecutor’s argument during the trial. Meursault is repeatedly condemned for showing no emotion and feeling no remorse, both for the death of this mother and killing someone. His detached attitude leads him to make little effort to defend himself in the court. His neglect of relationships with his mother provides testament for the prosecution that he is a monster.
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.
As Meursault finished eating, he glances at the mirror, and explains that the day of his mother’s funeral was just like any other day to him since he hasn’t seen her in a long time. Meursault says, "It occurred to
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.
Overall he leads an indifferent life which results in poor and meaningless relationships with people such as his mother, girlfriend, and neighbours. Meursault lacks emotion and compassion, because of this he doesn’t react to anything negative in his life and remains
Meursault is an insignificant man living an insignificant life, with no purpose other than to come to peace with his insignificance and thus remove its power over him. He expresses little emotion even when faced with intensely emotional situations. In The Stranger, Albert Camus details a part of Meursault’s life, which, though short, is filled with drastic life events. We see his mother die, his girlfriend fall in love with him, his neighbor threatened and attacked, his own murder of his neighbors attackers, and eventually his conviction and death sentence. Yet in all these events, Meursault remains aloof and ambivalent, with little to no reaction at all.
Through literature, one can receive many valuable lessons that are continuously thought about and learned from. A piece of literature that continuously challenges me to think and consider the nature of life and death is the novel “The Stranger” by Albert Camus. This novel has received much controversy and criticism, and while many claim that the novel suggests that life meaningless because death is inevitable, I think the opposite. Through the characterization of Meursault, the author claims that life should be lived to the fullest; death can occur at any time and it is necessary to stop looking to find meaning in life and instead live spontaneously. It is not possible to plan the future or create a rational structure, and one must take life
(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.
Meursault knows that we have no impact on the future of the Universe as he knows that “Nothing, nothing mattered (2.4.121).” For time is always continuing where we do not, and this thought can affect people to their cores and “The utter pointlessness of whatever I was doing there seized me by the throat (2.4.105)” however Meursault decides to no longer carry the burden of having to prove his existence in time. Like water off a duck’s back, the desire to prove himself washes off and he is able to be comfortable with the fact that nothing truly matters overall, but in this specific time it may matter. He may think about “...when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered (5.41)” and may have been concerned at first but knew this meant nothing and his Nihilistic ideas took over once again. To Meursault “It was all the same (2.5.120)” and just like how everything is similar in the Universe so the Universe and Meursault mirror each other in their thoughts about how in this current moment in time, something will mean end up meaning
The thoughts running through Meursault 's mind causes him to pull the trigger; Meursault is not thinking about what will happen if he kills
His response demonstrates the societal belief that when losing someone close to you, you should experience grief. However, his panic and sadness contrast with Meursault’s calm demeanor when discussing his mother’s departure to the home with the funeral director. Camus describes the interaction saying, “Then he asked if the parting hadn’t caused me distress. I explained that neither Mother nor I expected much of one another—or, for that matter, of anybody else; so both of us had got used to the new conditions easily enough.” (Camus 88).
Where here Arab uses a knife to shine the sunlight to Meursault’s face. And the sad part here was that due to the sun he was forced to shoot the Arab four more times so that he could make sure that the sun is dissipated for the