The Stranger by Albert Camus

Kaila Miller

AP English

May 9, 2016

The Stranger Essay

        In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, a man faces the question of his meaning for life on Earth. The events that lead up to the climax of the book reveal Meursault’s depiction of his realities, and how those contrast to those he is surrounded by. Losing his mother in the opening of the novel forced Meursault to face these conflicting thoughts about the world, and ultimately led him to find his destiny. Meursault’s quest to uncover his purpose is dictated by his resistance of society’s moral standards.  

        Meursault’s first confrontation with his amoral outlook on life is shortly after the death of his mother. The first line of the novel, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know,” instantly reveals to the reader of Meursault’s lack of remorse for his mother’s decease (Camus 1). When Meursault went to the Vigil Mass, to his surprise, he was joined by a few of his mother’s close friends. During the mass, one of the women began softly sobbing which greatly disturbed Meursault, “I wished I didn’t have to listen to her anymore” he said (10). Meursault’s insensitiveness to the woman’s crying reveals that he himself shed no tears for his mother. Another indication of Meursault’s impartialness to his mother’s passing was his constant complaining about his aching body, rather than focusing on his mother; “I didn’t feel drowsy anymore, but I was tired and my back was hurting me,” I woke up because my back was hurting more and more” (10,11). Meursault’s character and attitude, directly following his mother’s passing, clarify how he copes with death.

        Another way in which Meursault’s impartialness is revealed is through his contrasting reactions toward nature and humans. The sentence structure that Camus uses when Meursault interacts with other people is very brief, descriptive, and choppy; “That evening Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to. Then she wanted to know if I loved her” (41). This reflects on his lack of emotion for humans, but more specifically, his lack of commitment. On the contrary, when Meursault was around nature, Camus included many descriptive words to expose Meursault’s favor of the natural world. Two of Meursault’s descriptions of nature read:“ Above the hills that separate the Marengo from the sea, the sky was streaked with red. And the wind coming over the hills brought the smell of salt with it. It was going to be a beautiful day,”and, “It was covered with yellowish rocks and the whitest asphodels set against the already hard blue of the sky” (12, 49). Through his graceful, calming, and colorful descriptions of the nature that surrounds him, it is evident that Meursault feels a deeper connection with the natural Earth than with any human.