Another reason would be the key fact that meursault had acted in self defence. The day of the murder, Meursault had been walking on the beach alone minding his own business. As he walked along the beach, he noticed an arab man lying down. Meursault stopped because as he had recalled earlier, this arab man had gone on and attacked his friend Raymond with a knife. Unexpectedly the arab went on and pulled the knife out on meursault.
He lives much like how wild animals live , doing only what is necessary to survive and nothing more. He has no purpose in life and no meaning, he simply lives in the present. He only interacts with people when it benefits him or because he feels like it, as seen with how he treats Raymond, Salamano and Marie. Meursault is a socially awkward anti-hero. Meursault kills an Arab man in the
Camus gives the reader no background or details as to why Meursault shoots the Arab, let alone why he shoots him four times. As the reader, it is hard to analyze the situation because of how natural the occurrence seems. There was no premeditation to his actions and it seems that it was only a coincidence that Meursault had the gun in the first place. When looking at the text it appears that Meursault is shooting at the blade of light reflecting off of the Arab’s knife into his eyes, “the Arab drew his knife and held it up to me in the sun. The light shot off the steel and it was like a long flashing blade cutting at my forehead”(Camus 59).
Meursault's indifferent attitude seems to work for him as a way to just get through his life and pass all of his thoughts on life’s
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
Rationale My task is related to Part III: Literature-Texts and Contexts section of this course. My written task is a series of diary entries in the point of view of Meursault which express his feelings and actions based on explicit and implied events from the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus. In writing the journal entries, I wanted to show the character development of Meursault prior to him leaving school (first journal entry), then just after Maman’s death (second entry), and finally before his execution (final entry). I did this to reinforce common motifs, and themes, such as the idea of Absurdity: life has no inherent meaning but the one an individual assigns to it, and an individual is free to make their own decisions, but must face the consequences of their actions.
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.
Now lastly we will see how a person can be good with their actions. In “The Stranger” , Meursault says, “ I went to the movies twice with Emmanuel, who doesn’t understand what is going on the screen.” On page 34 it states how Meursault helps Emmanuel , “...You have explain things to him.” As we see , and read we learned that both times that Meursault had gone to the movies with Emmanuel, Meursault was nice enough to explain what was going on, on the screen so Emmanuel could also enjoy the movie. As we see Meursault can be a good person with good intentions helping Emmanuel despite what he had done to the Arab later on in the
At first glance Meursault seemed as if he was an
In addition, Meursault going to the beach to swim the day after Maman’s death, starting up a dubious affair and going to the movies to watch a comedy for laughs were also some of the important arguments the judged based on to make his final decision on Meursault’s case. Meursault was not really charged with killing an Arab but with “burying his mother with crime in his heart”(Camus 96).
The prosecutor, the examining magistrate, and Meursault’s own lawyer were curious and confused, for they did not know Meursault’s motives or his justification for his actions. The magistrate, with a puzzled expression on his face, asked Meursault, “‘But why, why did you go on firing at a prostrate man?’ Again I found nothing to reply” (Camus 42). In order to solve the case and fairly sentence Meursault to the punishment he deserves, the authorities were eager to discover why Meursault has done such an unscrupulous thing. Camus’ use of repetition within the magistrate’s question emphasizes the yearn for a reasonable explanation for Meursault’s actions.
During the bland summer that leaves us empty with news, two new crimes have come up and surprised all of us. Both of these trials include the murder of two people. The first case, a person committing an act of patricide against a family member they knew well. The second, a case even more terrible: the killing of an Arab in the hands of a Frenchman. The killer’s name is Meursault.
When thinking about his upcoming execution, Meursault even reflects that “for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a loud crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate” (123). It is strange that Meursault previously stated that he was devoid of hope, but then uses the word “wish” two sentences later. It may be that his desires have switched over from unattainable to realistic. After all, he does not wish for society’s love, only their presence. As this quote reveals, Meursault is perfectly fine with being hated.
This gives the audience an apathetic feeling towards his actions. It is obvious that Meursault is guilty of the
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
