The Stranger is a novel by Albert Camus. The story is about a man named Meursault who kills another man and is put on trial for his crime. The novel explores the themes of existentialism and nihilism, and has been interpreted as a statement against capital punishment. The Stranger has been translated into many languages and is considered one of Camus’ most important works.
The way a person behaves in typical circumstances influences the opinions of others based on their actions. When behavior is unusual or distinct from the norm, it leads to society forming an opinion solely on the basis of a person’s conduct rather than his or her true personality. In Meursaults’ case, his odd ideas and out-of-the blue statements put him in this position without giving him a genuine opportunity to be understood.
The story The Stranger by Albert Camus, is a representation of how ones behavior can be misinterpreted and used against them. The way that Camus uses Meursaults character to explore philosophical concepts such as existentialism and absurdism, helps the reader to understand how an individuals actions can shape the way others see them. The novels progression allows for a greater understanding of Meursaults character and his motivations behind his actions.
Meursault is a man who lives a very simple life, yet his actions are often seen as abnormal or out of the ordinary. For example, when Meursault goes to his mothers funeral, he does not cry or show any emotion. To most people this would be considered heartless or cold, but Meursault does not see the point in crying over someone who is already dead. He knows that his mother is gone and that crying will not bring her back.
In addition, Meursault does not believe in God or an afterlife, so he does not see the funeral as a sad occasion. Instead, he sees it as a waste of time. The way Meursaults character is portrayed in this scene allows the reader to see how his actions can be misinterpreted. The fact that he does not show emotion at his mothers funeral could be seen as him not caring about her death, when in reality he just accepts death as a natural part of life.
However, Meursault is unable to modify his previous actions and behaviors, which places him in chains of responsibility within the society he freely chooses to live in. nMeursaults distinctiveness from society and human interactions leads people to view him as a real oddity when they encounter him, ultimately leading to his execution and a date with the guillotine. Meursault is definitely someone who has firm opinions about many things. He has certain ideas and beliefs about life, which makes him aware of his deficiencies in society on a regular basis.
The way he chooses to live his life, in complete detachment from others, is a direct result of the death of his mother. The loss of the only person who ever showed him any real love or affection has made Meursault hard and indifferent to the rest of humanity. The one human relationship he does have, that with Marie Cardona, is based solely on sex.
The two never really connect on any emotional level, which makes their interactions seem even more meaningless than they actually are. In the end, it is this detachment from society and complete lack of understanding for social norms and conventions that leads to Meursaults downfall. By not playing by the rules, Meursault has put himself in a position where there is no chance for leniency or forgiveness.
Albert Camus was born in 1913 to a poor, working-class family in Algeria. The son of a Spanish immigrant and a French mother, Camus spent his early childhood in poverty. He later went on to study philosophy at the University of Algiers, where he wrote his first literary works.
In 1940, Camus joined the French Resistance movement and became editor-in-chief of the resistance paper Combat. After the war, Camus continued to write novels, plays, and political essays, gaining international fame as one of the most important existentialist writers of the 20th century. Camus died in a car accident in 1960.
The Stranger, published in 1942, is considered Camus’ masterpiece and is a quintessential work of existentialist literature. The novel tells the story of Meursault, a French Algerian man who kills an Arab man for no apparent reason. The novel caused controversy at the time of its publication due to its frank portrayal of violence and its lack of moral compass. The Stranger is now considered a classic of 20th century literature.
In a notebook found at the crime scene, Meursault recorded his thoughts after he discovered that his mother had died: And then I asked myself if this choice was more important than some otherones. If it were not so, I would have looked with pleasure once again on those features which my eyes last saw and later seemed to me directly luminous when I beheld them no longer through others’ eyes but only in death.
And then, since I felt I had to say something more, I mumbled that Id have to open it again in a little while. The truth was that I couldnt really see the point of looking at her now that she was dead. The director seemed to understand. The stranger within us all is always there, even if we do not want to believe it or accept it. It is our true self, the one that we keep hidden away from the world.
The stranger is what we are afraid of, because it is the part of us that is capable of anything. The stranger is the part of us that is capable of murder. In The Stranger, Albert Camus shows us that we are all murderers, because we are all capable of killing. We are all capable of killing the person we love the most, because we are all capable of feeling nothing. The stranger is what Meursault becomes when he kills the Arab.
He becomes a cold, emotionless killer, because that is what the stranger is. The stranger is the part of us that can kill without remorse, because it does not feel emotions. The stranger is the part of us that can commit murder and not even think twice about it. The stranger is what we are all afraid of, because it is who we really are.
