The Stranger 249you can get people to take in you doesn’t last very
long.” Once more, he falls back on the uselessness
and pointlessness of things rather than having any
hope at all, even for himself. Once the verdict is
read, he recounts the moment “the presiding judge
asked me if I had anything to say. I thought about
it. I said, ‘No.’ ” At the reading of his own death sen-
tence, he views any response as futile and therefore
says nothing.
Overall, The Stranger presents an apathetic,
unfeeling, and detached main character whose
thoughts and actions seem governed by futil-
ity. Meursault chooses one thing over another
for no apparent reason, failing to consider any-
thing in weighing his decisions. Camus’s theory of
absurdism—that life’s events and decisions may ulti-
mately be meaningless or pointless—is emphasized
in Meursault’s personality, actions, and thoughts.
Chris Lessick
individual and sOciety in The Stranger
Many works of literature employ themes revolving
around the individual and society. Albert Camus’s
novel The Stranger contains an excellent demonstra-
tion of this theme with its main character, Meur-
sault. Different philosophical theories as well as
theories in other disciplines—psychology, sociology,
anthropology, history—may have varying perspec-
tives regarding the individual’s place in society. Also,
different cultures have different frameworks for
individuals in their societies. Nevertheless, there are
general expectations, and common sense often gov-
erns those expectations. Meursault is an individual
who thinks and acts differently from others, and it is
almost exclusively these differences—not the matter
of guilt in murder—that help the jury side with the
prosecution and deliver his death sentence.
The first event of the book is the death of Meur-
sault’s mother. Since the story is told in first person,
the reader gets Meursault’s thoughts as well as the
narrative of his actions, and both deviate from what
society would expect. To Meursault, going to the
home is an annoyance, as are most of the events that
follow, including the funeral procession. During the
nightlong vigil over his mother’s body, he states, “I
remember opening my eyes at one point.... Then I
dozed off again.” In the last hours he spends with his
mother, he sleeps, rather than doing what might be
expected of a person in that position—crying, think-
ing, remembering. The whole event is a bother to
Meursault, having to ask for time off from work and
using up a weekend, but common sense indicates an
only son would deeply mourn his mother’s death.
The death of a person’s mother would typi-
cally be upsetting, but in Meursault’s subsequent
thoughts and actions the whole way through the
funeral procession, the reader comes to realize that
he is quite different rather than the typical. In
Meursault’s reaction to his mother’s death, he seems
slightly annoyed that he must ask his boss for time
off work and then use up part of his weekend to
make funeral arrangements. However, his attitude
is expressed when he admits “that anyway one more
Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I
was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had
changed.” His easygoing attitude is best expressed
here. Though a relaxed attitude is not a negative
thing in general, the fact that he buried his mother
and felt nothing at all about it is what makes him
stand out from the crowd.
Furthermore, the day after the funeral, Meur-
sault begins a relationship with a girl, Marie, with
whom he used to work. This is later used in the trial
by the prosecution to show that he is different from
“normal” people, stating, “the day after his mother’s
death, this man was out swimming, starting up a
dubious liaison, and going to the movies, a comedy,
for laughs.” The shocked silence of the courtroom
indicates society understands that Meursault is not
a typical individual.
In fact, the prosecution’s case is based almost
exclusively on the discrepancies between Meursault’s
actions and what society would expect from a person
in his situation. The prosecutor announces how he
will prove Meursault was guilty, ending it with “the
dim light cast by the mind of this criminal soul.”
After explaining all of the events that led up to the
murder, highlighting the relationship with Marie
and other points that paint Meursault as a remorse-
less person, Meursault says, “I couldn’t help admit-
ting that he was right. I didn’t feel much remorse for
what I’d done.” He wants to explain how he “had
never been able to truly feel remorse for anything.” It