The Punishable Acts of Meursault in The Stranger by Albert Camus

"Between my straw and the bed planks... you should never play games" (Camus 85-86). This passage is where Mersault thinks about the newspaper story of the man who is killed by his family because they thought he was a stranger with money. I found this interesting because of the way Mersault recounts the story and reacts to it. In his telling of the details, that is all he talks of: details. He does not include any reactions interjected throughout, no judgements on the actions of anyone until the end of the passage. There he calls the scenario not "very likely" (Camus 86), but, "on the other, it was perfectly natural" (Camus 86).

Then he says the man deserved it, and that you should never play games. I thought this reaction as very underwhelming, considering the story involved very immoral behavior on the part of the man's family, and the end result was a tragedy. Yet he does not take the morality of the situation into consideration because, as he often says, it is all the same to him. I think Camus has Mersault react like this to reinforce his philosophy that life is meaningless, and that all events happen for no reason. Thus, since Mersault follows this ideology, he does not feel compelled to look for moral reasoning to explain events and if they are good or bad. He only views things in a purely physical, tangible way. The mother killed the son for money. To him, that is to be expected, because the mother wanted the money, and the traveler showed off the money. So, the events played out, the traveler is dead, the mother has money. The immorality of the killing of the son is irrelevant. However, it is interesting that he believes that the traveler deserved the death because of his showing off the money. suggesting that Mersault possibly thinks that hubris is a punishable act.

"When Thomas Perez's turn came...page of his case file" (Camus 91). In this passage, Camus first creates a sort of foil to Mersualt's character in the form of Thomas Perez. Perez is first mentioned in the first chapter, as the "fiance" or good friend of his Maman. There Perez is seen in immense grief, and cries for most of the time. He also is shown to persevere through the grueling heat on the march to the church. As a witness, he says that he cannot remember much from that day, because of his "very great sadness" (Camus 96). In fact, he repeats "sad" or "sadness" 3 times in his short testimony. This helps characterize him as a very emotional character, in particular a sad character. This also is created through his walking and fainting in the funeral march. He does all of that out of grief, respect, and love for Maman. Mersault does it only out of society's expectation.

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Thus, Perez's great sadness and emotion makes him a foil to Mersault, and when the courtroom sees the contrast between them, Mersault's insensitivity seems all the more dramatic and deplorable. Also, Camus utilizes a paradox to help convey his theme of the absurdity of life. After Perez responds to the defense attorney that he did not see Mersault not crying, the defense attorney says, "Here we have a perfect reflection of this entire trial: everything is true and nothing is true!" (Camus 91). This paradox highlights the irrationality surrounding the trial. The murder, where Mersault, for some reason, kills an Arab, then inexplicably fires a barrage of delayed shots, as if in cold blood. Then, the trial, where the prosecution, instead of focusing on the evidence, instead relies on Mersault's attitude, as if to prove him guilty of being a stranger to society instead of being guilty of murder.

How can Mersault's prison be considered an extension of his normal life, as opposed to a drastic change? In his thoughts of the prison, though at first he does note the differences and has a hard time getting used to it, he quickly adopts the prison as life. As someone who dwells on the present, not the past or future, Mersault easily adapts and treats the prison as his new normal. Also, the prison, in addition to becoming his new normal, also highlights an aspect of Mersault's previous life: monotony. In thinking about time in prison, Mersault says, "For me it was one and the same unending day..." (Camus 80). Mersault's previous stereotypical life was already monotonous, filled with the same work five days a week, and small pleasures and laziness on the weekends. In prison, the pleasures and work are replaced with boredom and free time. His time in prison is like the lazy Sunday Mersault had in Chapter 2 of Part I, except instead of a day it is many months of sloth and observance.

Is Mersault's apathetic and sometimes immature thoughts on the events surrounding him a sign of his naivete or a product of his ideology?

I think that many times it does seem to be attributed to naivete, as when he feels much better after the magistrate gives up and becomes cordial, calling him "Monsieur Antichrist". But, I believe that this seemingly naive behavior is actually a product of his attitude and views on life. He cares about what other think of him, but he bases these thought off of their words and actions, the things he can see, hear, and feel. He does not try to interpret the intentions or underlying thoughts. Thus, when the magistrate has given up hope on saving Mersault, Mersault takes his resigned cordiality as genuine friendliness. He believes that since the magistrate is no longer yelling at Mersault to repent and change his ways, that the magistrate no longer has a problem with him. So, though it may seem naive, it is just his apathy and focus on the tangible things in life which compel him to act like that.

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