Stranger Review

8/2/2019 Stranger Review

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The Stranger Review

The Stranger was written by Albert Camus in French andtranslated into English by Matthew Ward. The novel won theNobel Prize in 1957. The Stranger takes place in Algeria, which

is a country located near the northern tip of Africa, adjacent toMorocco and Tunisia. Because Algeria is within close proximityto France, it is one of the many French-speaking countries inAfrica. The storys events occur just slightly before World War II,

in the early 1940s.


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PlotMearsault, the narrator, is a young man living in Algiers. At the beginning of

the novel Mearsault receives a telegram telling him that his mother has died, so

he takes a bus to Marengo, where the old persons home of where his motherwas living is located. When he gets there, the director of the home letsMearsault to see his mother, but the body has already been sealed in the coffin.When the caretaker asks Mearsault if he would like the coffin to be opened, hedeclines. The caretaker stays with him the whole time, and Mearsault just sitsback, smokes a cigarette, drinks coffee, and sleeps. At this point Mearsaultseems careless and apathetic and indifferent to his mothers death. Hismothers former friend shows up to the funeral, and after the funeral Mearsaultreturns to Algiers. The next day, Mearsault goes to the beach where he runsinto his former co-worker, Marie Cardona. They make a date to see a comedymovie and then they spent the night together. When Mearsault awakes, Marieis gone. He lies in bed and on his porch people-watching all day. The followingday, Mearsault returns to work. He has lunch with his friend Emmanuel andthen works all afternoon. While walking upstairs to his apartment that night,Mearsault runs into Salamano, an old man who lives in his building and ownsan un-groomed dog. Mearsault also runs into his neighbor, Raymond, who isrumored to be a pimp. Raymond invites Mearsault over for dinner. Over themeal, Raymond recounts how he beat up his mistress after he discovered thatshe had been cheating on him. As a result, he got into a fight with her brother.Raymond now wants to torment his wife even more, but he needs Mearsault towrite a letter to lure his mistress back to him. Mearsault agrees and writes theletter that night.


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Plot cont.The next week, Marie visits Mearsault. She asks him if he loves her, and he is

weary about the question and replies it didnt mean anything. Shouting is then

heard from Raymonds apartment, where a policeman has arrived. The policemanslaps Raymond and says that he will be brought to the police station for beating uphis mistress. Later, Raymond asks Mearsault to testify on his behalf, and Mearsaultagrees to do so. That night, Raymond runs into Salamano, who weeps that his doghas run away. Later, Marie asks Mearsault if he wants to marry her. He repliesindifferently but says that they can get married if she wants to, so they becomeengaged. The following Sunday, Mearsault, Marie, and Raymond go to a beachhouse owned by Masson, one of Raymond's friends. Joyfully, they swim in theocean and then have lunch. That same afternoon, Masson, Raymond, andMearsault run into two Arabs on the beach, one of whom is the brother ofRaymond's wife. A fight breaks out and Raymond is stabbed. After taking care of hiswounds, Raymond returns to the beach with Mearsault. They see the Arabs at aspring and Raymond considers shooting them with his gun. Mearsault talks him outof it and takes the gun away. However, Mearsault later returns to the spring to cooloff, and, for no reason at all, he shoots Raymond's wife's brother. Mearsault is put

into jail, where he has no grief or guilt over this murder. People, including hislawyers, are disgusted and disappointed in him for the way he is emotionallycareless about the situation and his mothers death. Mearsault soon meets with theexamining magistrate, who cannot understand Mearsault actions. The magistrateshows him a crucifix and demands Mearsault to put his faith in God. Mearsaultrefuses, saying that he does not believe in God, which leads the magistrate to nowcall Mearsault Monsieur Antichrist.


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Plot cont.

Later on, Marie visits Mearsault in prison. She tries to be hopeful that one dayhe will be released from jail and they will happily get married. He is adjusting to thisprison life now, and soon doesnt even recognize the fact that there is nature,women, and cigarettes, and just sleeps for most of the day. Mearsault is taken to thecourthouse early on the morning of his trial. The subject of the trial quickly shiftsaway from the murder and led to a discussion of Mearsault character, and of hisreaction to his mother's death in particular. The director and several other peoplewho attended the funeral are called to testify, and they all attest to Mearsaults lackof grief. Marie reluctantly testifies that the day after his mother's funeral she and

Mearsault went on a date and saw a comedic movie. During his summation thefollowing day, the prosecutor called Mearsault a monster and told him that his lackof moral feeling threatens all of society. Mearsault is found guilty and is sentencedto death by being beheaded. He goes back to prison to wait to be executed. He hasa hard time to realize his situation, and has trouble accepting his fate. He dreams ofescaping and filing a successful legal appeal. One day, the chaplain comes to visitagainst Mearsault's wishes. He urges Mearsault to rethink his atheism and turn toGod, but Mearsault refuses. Like the magistrate, the chaplain cannot believe thatMearsault does not long for faith and the afterlife. Mearsault suddenly becomesenraged, grabs the chaplain, and begins yelling at him. He says that he is right inbelieving in a meaningless world filled with all physical things. Mearsault, for the firsttime, really takes in that human life has no greater meaning to it. He lets go of allhope for the future and accepts the indifference he has for the world. This makesMearsault feel happy.


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Character Descriptions

Mearsault - The protagonist and narrator of The Stranger,to whom the novel's title refers. Mearsault is a detachedfigure who views and describes much of what occurs aroundhim from a removed position. He is emotionally indifferent toothers, even to his mother and his lover, Marie. He also

refuses to adhere to the accepted moral order of society.After Mearsault kills a man, the Arab, for no apparentreason, he is put on trial. However, the focus of Mearsault'smurder trial quickly shifts away from the murder itself toMearsault's attitudes and beliefs. Mearsault's atheism andhis lack of outward grief at his mother's funeral represent a

serious challenge to the morals of the society in which helives. Consequently, society brands him an outsider.


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Character Description cont.

Marie - A former co-worker of Mearsault whobegins an affair with him the day after his mother'sfuneral. Marie is young and high-spirited, anddelights in swimming and the outdoors.

Meursault's interest in Marie seems primarily theresult of her physical beauty. Marie does not seemto understand Mearsault, but she feels drawn toMeursault's peculiarities nevertheless. Even whenMearsault expresses indifference toward marrying

her, she still wants to be his wife, and she tries tosupport him during his arrest and trial.


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Character Description cont.

Raymond - A local pimp and Meursault's neighbor.Raymond becomes angry when he suspects his mistress ischeating on him, and in his plan to punish her, he enlistsMeursault's help. In contrast to Meursault's calmdetachment, Raymond behaves with emotion and initiative.He is also violent, and beats his mistress as well as the twoArabs on the beach, one of whom is his mistress's brother.Raymond seems to be using Mearsault, whom he can easilyconvince to help him in his schemes. However, thatRaymond tries to help Mearsault with his testimony during

the trial shows that Raymond does possess some capacityfor loyalty.


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Conflict: Man v. Society

The main conflict in The Stranger is, protagonist Mearsault,contradicts morals and ethics of society. Mearsault is then judged bysociety in court on the basis of him not shedding tears from hismothers death and not mourning about it. Mearsault slept and smokedat the vigil which then was used against him in court after he killed the

Arab. Also, Mearsault went on a date shortly following the passing of

his mother as if nothing even happened. Mearsault was constantlyconflicting with society, not playing by its rules, only accepting theconsequences of his actions. Mearsault is then judged by society forshooting at the Arab too many times. To Mearsault, it did not matterhow many times he shot, just that he had indeed pulled the trigger.Mearsault seeks out the physical aspects in life, where as antagonisticsociety judges him for not having any morals, being amoral. Mearsault

is then convicted and jailed only to wait for the death penalty, a deathwhich he views is inevitable anyways. Mearsaults desire for thephysical joys of life cannot be understood by societys morals whichlead to his imprisonment. Mearsault reflects nature in the novel, beingamoral.


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Resolution of Conflict

The conflict is resolved just as Mearsault is sentenced to the deathpenalty. Society gets their way by seeing a criminal and amoral mandie, where as Mearsault is indifferent about his death. he could careless when he dies, but he figures better sooner than later. To him, youcannot escape death and the moment you are born, you are promisedone thing, death. After Mearsault is held in jail, he has no regrets about

anything he has done. Mearsault shows no mercy or guilt for what hehas done. Camus finally makes it clear that Mearsault almost wants todie with the last lines in the book following the visit from the priest toMearsault's cell. Mearsault finally relates to the indifference of theworld, calling it a brother to him. He felt happy again and decided that Ihad only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of myexecution and that they greet me with cries of hate. Mearsault sees

death something that should be witnessed in life. Ultimately, Mearsaultwants to die to be happy, envies his mother, saying how happy shemust have been knowing she was so close to death, and wants theworld to hate him for it.


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Themes of the Novel

Existentialism- Existentialism is a philosophy thatgenerally reflects a belief in freedom and accepts theconsequences of individual actions, while acknowledging theresponsibility of making choices. One major theme in this

novel is existentialism. Mearsault, the main character, liveshis life almost unconsciously and is indifferent to humanactivity.

Absurdism- Absurdism is a philosophy stating that theefforts of humanity to find meaning in the universe isultimately useless. In this novel, Mearsault does not attemptto give rational order to any of the events around him.


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Examples of Theme

Existentialism- When Mearsaults mother dies, he doesnot see it as a part of a larger structure of human existence.Therefore he can easily go on a date the next day. Marie asks Mearsault to marry her several times

throughout the novel. Each time Mearsault replies with anapathetic response. Mearsault does not think thatmarriage or love matters.

When Mearsault discovers that he will be killed, he doesnot take the news so terribly. He does not think that there

is any difference between dying now or dying later in oldage.


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Examples cont.

Absurdism- Raymonds encounter with the policemanentails a lack of order in human life. When Raymond hits thewoman in his apartment it was looked down on by society,but when a policeman hits Raymond the same way, it was

acceptable to society. When the magistrate calls Mearsault Monsieur Antichrist

he is looking at Mearsault as a threat to society. Mearsaultis looked at as a threat because he does not have anybelief system, he is amoral, unlike most of the generalpublic.


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Characterization

Mearsault is detached from the world. He is emotionless.

One example of this is when his mother died, he didnt really care.The only thing that bother him was the physical aspects of it such as

the heat from the sun and his back pain from sitting.

Another example of Meursaults indifference is when Marie asks himif he loves her. He replies saying it doesnt matter but he probablydoesnt. He doesnt care about hurting her feelings and just sayswhatever is on his mind.

Mearsault is also emotionless about shooting the Arab. He only shot

him because the sun was bothering him and he continued to emptythe bullets because it didnt matter.


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Characterization cont.

Raymond acts as a catalyst to major events in the novel.

One example of Raymond acting as a catalyst is getting Mearsaultto write the mean letter to his mistress. This later comes up in courtto work against Mearsault.

Another example is after Raymond beats his mistress, he asksMearsault to testify at the police station that she cheated onRaymond. This comes in the court case and shows that this mighthave been why Mearsault killed the Arab.

Raymond also started the fight with the Arab and brought out the

gun to shoot the Arab. Mearsault only had the gun because he tookit from Raymond and later ended up shooting the Arab with it foralmost no reason.


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Direct QuotesMaman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram

from the home: Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours. Thatdoesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.

This quote could mean two things. It could be taken as part of his discussionabout which day his mother, Madame Mearsault died. Mearsault could meanthat the telegram does not reveal any meaningful information about the date ofhis mother's death. However, the comment could also be read more into, andMearsault might be implying that it does not matter that his mother died at all.This is important because it reveals that Mearsault is strangely unemotional. Itexpresses the pointlessness of life, and it has no meaning.

A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn't mean anything butthat I didn't think so.This quote is showing how Mearsault holds no emotional attachment toanything or anyone. He is honest and blunt to Marie, which also brings out theignorance in him, because he could be hurting her by responding this way. Heis always blunt, and he never alters what he says to be tactful or to conform towhat society expects people to. He doesnt understand love or marriage. FromMearsault's declaration that love didn't mean anything, we see forming anidea that Mearsault later comes to understandthe meaninglessness andpointlessness of human life.


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Literary Elements

Strange, floppy, thick-rimmed ears stuck out through hisfine, white hair, and I was struck by their blood-red color next tothe pallor of his face.

I felt a little lost between the blue and white of the sky and

the monotony of the colors around methe sticky black of thetar, the dull black of all the clothes, and the shiny black of thehearse.

Camus writing style in The Stranger is very crisp and

descriptive, yet the vocabulary is very simple. Althoughlighthearted, frivolous language is not seen, his sentencesmeticulously describe the world around him, and they showmoments of clarity and expressiveness.

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Stranger Review