The Stranger

Albert Camus

Author Bio: Camus wrote The Stranger during the time of World War II and after experiencing such a devastating event, he began questioning the very existence of man. Because Camus didn't believe in God or any afterlife, he viewed life as meaningless, hopeless, and absurd. He thought that nothing a man did would have any effect in this world. In The Stranger Mersault acts this very way and is indifferent to almost everything, even death and so his behavior is being exaggerated and satirized to show his extreme indifference.

Plot Summary: Mersault is detached from himself and the world around him. When Raymond, his only friend, asks him to go with him to the beach house, they encounter a fight with the Arab and Raymond gets stabbed. Instinctively, Mersault goes back and shoots the Arab; however, he is caught and taken to jail for murder. During trial Mersault doesn't do much to help his case and the jury announces him to be guilty. Surprisingly Mersault is shocked by the courts decision and when he heard he was sentenced to death, he lost all hope in humanity, and expressed indifference in the moments before his death.It is almost ridiculous to see the chain of events happening to Mersault and the ending when he dies doesn't even seem sad all of which comes from the satire Camus uses to show the absurdity of it all.

Character Analysis: Mersault is "the stranger". He is different from the rest of society . When his mother died, his feelings toward this tragedy were almost nonexisitant and it greatly contrasts with Raymond's grief when he lost his cat which is the normal sadness people should feel when losing somone. Mersault is an outcast and is treated like one, he is so in disbelief by the way people are judging him because of his emotions that he gives up on people around him because he believes he can no longer count on any of them to help him. Mersault is given some difficult and outrageous circumstances because of Camus's use of satire that it shows one can't help but give up in life and believe in the absurdity in the world which is what Camus tried to promote in his book.

Elements related to topic: Camus uses the courtroom as a symbol of society's ways and urges to have an explanation for everything and to put blame on everything. The jurors are representatives sent by society to throw their judgements at Mersault who is the individual. The whole trial represents society's attempts to rationalize a chain of events though there might not be an explanantion because of the absurdity in the world. Camus critisizes society always ganging up on the individual and forcing him to change and so he uses satire with Mersault's character to show that person should never give in to the masses.