The Stranger by Albert Camus: Indifference, Fate, and Society’s Judgment

Albert Camus' novel "The Stranger" surprises us with a main character named Meursault who is nonchalant and indifferent about the world. Meursault is undeniably unique and it is difficult to understand him through his emotions. However, by observing his actions we can make connections in order to understand Meursault's fate and the consequences to his behavior.

In the beginning, Meursault hears about his mother's death, but he doesn't mourn over his loss. He surprisingly chooses not to see his mother one last time before her coffin is sealed which leads one to infer that they didn't share a particularly close relationship with one another and he was also unsure of her exact age. During the funeral, he is more concerned about the unbearable heat outdoors instead of the actual event that is taking place around him.

While it is difficult to describe Meursault in words, based on the way he is introduced into the novel he seems to be indifferent towards emotions and interacting with others. It seems as if he is detached from the mindset of any regular human being because he lives a very routine life with no strings attached. Meursault may seem to be a “cold” person, but it is better to describe him as emotionally unattached because he has a complicated personality. Meursault proves that he is more interested in "things" rather than people. There isn't much that catches his eye, but he takes interest in the weather, nature, coffee, cigarettes, and the sun. On the day after his mother's funeral, he almost routinely sleeps late and spends his afternoon on his balcony while observing other people, admiring the weather, and of course smoking.

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Furthermore, Meursault cannot particularly relate to others or understand their feelings because he barely understands himself. His attitude towards others point out how he is direct and short when it comes to describing particular situations. One interesting interaction Meursault experiences is his relationship to Marie. He keeps their relationship on a physical level while Marie seeks love and affection.

This proves that he is incapable of having feelings for her on an emotional level. Meursault cannot "love" Marie, he can only appreciate her. When Marie asks him if he loves her, he replies that he isn't sure and it doesn't mean anything. In addition, Marie asks Meursault if he wants to marry her, but he says that it doesn't matter and it makes no difference to him. His reaction proves that there is no meaning to anything in Meursault's life because he can only interpret life as a bunch of occurrences. Meursault doesn't look back at the past and he cannot foresee his future with Marie; he lives in the moment.

The turning point in the novel is when Meursault goes to visit a beach house with others while being followed by a group of people he describes as "Arabs" who are native Algerians. At one point, a fight breaks out on the beach when one of the Arabs who happens to be the brother of Raymond's mistress slashes Raymond with a knife. Meursault fails to warn Raymond in time to prevent the incident but what is interesting is that after the event he refuses to explain what happened. Meursault is indifferent about the entire attack, instead he sticks to his interests and watches the sea while smoking cigarettes. Furthermore, as Meursault decides to take a walk along the beach by himself, he becomes fascinated by the sun.

However, as the Arab pulls out his knife, the sun's reflection hits Meursault's eyes which leads him to shoot once, before taking 4 additional shots towards the already fallen Arab; thus, killing the man. There is no explanation as to "why" Meursault shot the Arab four additional times. It was just an action that happened in the moment, a reflex. It is at this point that the story took an immediate change if events, because all of the sudden the main character turns into a murderer with a lot of explaining to do.

When Meursault is thrown into jail, he is faced with questions that he himself is not sure how to answer. In court, he is blamed for his reactions to past events other than the shooting which is odd. Meursault is accused of being insensitive during his mother's funeral but he says that he doesn't analyze himself, but he probably loves his mother even though that doesn't mean anything. Even his lawyer is disgusted by Meursault's indifference which begins to show how he is starting to become hated by others. As he is interrogated, Meursault is asked if he believes in god, but his indifference for religion leads him to be singled out as an atheist and named "Monsieur Antichrist". It is obvious that the trial is unfair, but this may be because society is not used to dealing with a character such as Meursault who is unclassifiable. Instead, he is blamed for not behaving or reacting as a normal person should.

When he is sentenced to death it goes to show how society decided to get rid of him because his view on the world are seemingly meaningless, too unethical, and socially unacceptable. Meursault's indifference to everything and the fact that he doesn't believe in God are why others see his life as meaningless and he is even described as evil. However, Meursault picks up details that we don't such as his fascination towards the article about a Czechoslovakian man whose family commit suicide after they realized who they killed. Life in prison doesn't seem to bother him because he is used to living routinely and in a simple fashion.

During the trial, Meursault is accused of things that are in no relation to the actual murder he committed. This shows how there is a fault in the court system because it judges people instead of dealing with how to find justice after crimes. In court, the prosecutor accused Meursault of showing no remorse as evidence of murder. His lack of remorse for the his mother's death threatens the moral basis of society because he lacked emotions towards anything. The way the trial took place shows how Meursault isn't being fairly judged because he wasn't being accused of crimes, but instead he is being blamed for having no morals, and being soulless and evil which is why the judge believes he can be blamed for other cases as well. Meursault realized that he was being hated by everyone in the courtroom and his lawyer was also going off-topic which made him feel excluded from his own case.

After Meursault is faced with the death penalty, he spends the final days of his life pondering and fantasizing about executions and how his execution by guillotine might take place. He is faced with many ideas and concerns while he is in prison, and at one point he believes that the only thing that is important is a chance to escape and freedom. However, his mind becomes steadier and peaceful when he tells himself that everyone eventually dies. Meursault surprisingly begins to self analyze himself and he takes a final step in developing his consciousness. His thoughts about the execution, his mother, and the trial help him him accept himself.

He finally realizes that death is inevitable and he wishes to go away in peace. Meursault's realizations came almost out of nowhere are they are the final steps he takes in life as a person. In the end, Camus portrays Meursault as an absurd character who is indifferent to the world around him. While Meursault may be a man of few words, he shows how society has a greater power over us because its the people who stand out from the rest that are in danger.

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