The Stranger - Essay Outline

In Albert Camus' The Stranger, Meursault’s embodies Camus’ absurdist philosophy through his indifferent attitude to life and his idea that life is just as indifferent towards him.

Absurdism rests on the idea that human beings live in a meaningless universe and yet they try to look for a purpose where there is none. This creates a conflict between a person and their society.

The repetition of Meursault’s indifferent nature emphasizes his absurdist outlook on life.

·         “I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” (35)

·         “I said yes but that really it was all the same to me” (41)

·         “When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered.

·         “I said it didn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to” (41)

·         “I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t love her” (41)

All of the above quotes are examples of Meursault’s indifference. Things “don’t make a difference” to him, they are “really […] all the same to [him]” (41).

• “I went with him as far as the bungalow, and as he climbed the wooden steps, I just stood there at the bottom, my head ringing from the sun, unable to face the effort it would take to climb the wooden staircase and face the women again. […] To stay or go, It amounted to the same thing” (56-57)

This quote is an allusion to The Myth of Sisyphus, an essay that is also by Albert Camus which paints the Greek mythological figure Sisyphus as an Absurdist hero. Meursault is Sisyphus here, looking up the stairs, his mountain, and the emotional stress of the day is his boulder. Meursault has just seen Raymond climb up those steps for at least the second time that day and is starting to think he cannot go back with him. The notion that Meursault has that “to stay or go, it [amounts] to the same thing” is obviously untrue, for up the stairs there is safety, while away from the stairs a possible threat of danger (57). This image of Meursault at the stairs can also be viewed as whether or not he should take the moral “high road” or the immoral “low road”. Though Meursault himself has no viewpoint of moral or immoral, the stairs represent taking a better route in life, staying safe in the bungalow, while the low road leads to danger and eventually a murder.

The Stranger - The Stranger 5 - The Surroundings in The Stranger

In The Stranger by Albert Camus, the surroundings in the world around Meursault seem to parallel and/or influence the actions that occur as well as Meursault's feelings. The sun and heat are viewed as bad, while water and coolness are viewed as good. Water is cleansing and pure, and Meursault states that "the water was cold and [he] was glad to be swimming" (50). In contrast, the first time that Meursault encounters the Arabs he is with Masson and Raymond and the sun is said to be "unbearable" (52). It is noted that the "blazing sun [looked] red" to Meursault before the fight broke out, which can be perceived as a sign of anger rising (53). The second time there is almost a fight, and the sun is told to be "overpowering" (55). There is a little spring where the Arabs are resting, and they are blocking the peacefulness of the water. The third time, when Meursault goes back alone, the sun gets even worse, and he feels the "heat [...] pressing down on [him]" (57). The spring is viewed again as an escape from this painful sun, for it is hiding behind the "small, dark mass of rock surrounded by a blinding halo of light and sea spray" (57). The rocks and the spring are described with a "halo", placing them at some kind of angelic or holy status, which has never seemed to appeal to Meursault in the past. While Meursault thinks about turning back after seeing the Arab, he says that "the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, [is] pressing on [his] back" (58). The sun makes him uncomfortable and stops his retreat, pressuring him instead into killing the Arab in his way of the cooling spring. The word "pressing" is repeated often while talking about the sun, which emphasizes just how much the sun is affecting Meursault.

The Stranger - The Stranger 3 - Meursault's Detachment

In this section of The Stranger, Meursault continues to show his detachment from the world. When Meursault kills the Arab, instead of the text saying outright that Meursault shot him, it is written that "The trigger gave" (59). This description of the murder implies that Meursault did not feel like a conscious part of the action. Another showing of indifference is when Meursault tells how he "Then fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace" (59). Shooting someone when they are already dead is simply overkill and is a peculiar action. This peculiarity is addressed when the magistrate asks Meursault "Why did you pause between the first and second shot?" and  "Why did you shoot a body that was on the ground?" and Meursault simply cannot answer these questions (67-68). Meursault is also detached from reality by not realizing the severity of what he has done. Meursault considers his case to be "pretty simple" (63). Not realizing the complexity of killing a man is a very unusual thing. Meursault doesn't even have it on his mind most of the time for he was about to shake the magistrates hand when he "remembered that [he] had killed a man", as if it were a complete afterthought (64). He states that the idea of being viewed as a criminal "[is] an idea [he] [can't] get used to" (70). Another detachment is in the form of how the narration goes from the scene of the murder to the magistrate without speaking at all about what happens in between. What happened with the party? Are Meursault and Marie still together? These facts must not seem to be important to Meursault as he tells this story, for they have been left out.

The Stranger - The Stranger 2 - Meursault's Indifference

Throughout the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault is a detached and indifferent narrator. The writing style indicates this through it's choppy syntax, making sentences seem quick and straightforward. Meursault explains his life in this same straightforward manner: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know" (3). While Meursault seems indifferent about the world, however, he cares about how others view him: "For a second I had the ridiculous feeling that they were there to judge me" (10). Meursault acknowledges that his "feeling" is "ridiculous", which is the one of the first times that he mentions his own feelings at all. He knows that people aren't actually judging him, or so he thinks. The idea of people judging Meursault seems to make him feel the need to tell others things such as "It's not my fault" though he later admits that it "[doesn't] mean anything" to say that (3-20). Mersault stays neutral on almost  all ideas posed to him, only rating them on if they are interesting or not. This causes people around his to see him as being a bit strange.