The thematics of death are almost infinite. And with many possibilities there is no surprise that death can play an important role into the theme of a book. One case of this is shown in Albert Camus’s “The Stranger” where Meursault, the narrator of the book, dies. When approaching his execution he understands that no one person has significant worth. That shows a philosophical view/theme that no other book has shown as clearly before it.
Throughout the book you can sense the buildup to Camus’ central message. This came to a point when Meursault is killed. He seemed indifferent to any situation he was in, even after learning his neighbor was beating his mistress. He still agreed to be friends because he doesn’t really care for the woman, but
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Camus argues that there is only one thing certain in life and that is death. Meursault doesn’t fully understand this until right before he is about to be guillotined. He realizes that he has no meaning and is not special. He will be born then die just like everyone else.
As you uncover his peculiarities, you may be confused on why the writer would make him this way but it is all cleared up when he is killed. Meursault is being executed for a crime he did for no reason, however; he seems unworried by his situation even after a sad conversation with Marie in the prison cell. Before he is killed he gives a very important quote that shows the philosophy the books wants to portray, "for everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate". This quote shows above all else that humans are ultimately responsible for their acts whether good or bad.
Death plays many roles in books it is often used to develop major themes. This is especially the case in Albert Camus’s book, “The Stranger”. Meursault's death is a vital aspect to show the book's theme. Without the message his death brings the story would not be the
In Albert Camus’ The Stranger, Meursault is seen as a very unique character, but not in a good way. Throughout the novel, he continually fails to show normal human emotions to things like his mother’s death, Marie’s love, and the man he killed. Most people in his town, along with the reader at first, are not able to reason out his actions but as the final events of the novel unfold, the reader begins to see Meursault in a different light.
In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault the protagonist, becomes drawn into a “senseless” murder that has to face the absurdity of life and because of his actions, Meursault is presented as a danger due to his lack of “morality” to society. Meursault who is not able to take control of his life but respond to what life offers him believes in the simplicity of life. He tries to understand the living through logic and objectivity, which ultimately turns futile, as he himself cannot maintain proper control over his thoughts and emotions. From the interactions between Marie, to the murder of the Arab, and the meeting with the Chaplain, Meursault overcomes his indifferent views to form an opinion about what life really means. The central theme presented by Camus is how the threat of mortality becomes a catalyst for understanding the significance of life.
Camus describes in detail the street scenes yet never does Meursault become involved in them. Meursault is distant from the messiness of plans, ambitions, desires, hatreds, even love. Marie's protestations of love only puzzle him. When she asks him if he wishes to marry her he agrees only because he sees no real reason to refuse. He helps in Raymond's nefarious schemes for equally bland reasons, and also because Raymond plies him with food, drink, and cigarettes. He is even distant from his own trial. It interests him because he has never seen a trial before.
Meursault was introduced as a young man whom recently found out his mother, Maman, died. He was not the most emotional person, but he dealt with his feelings the best he knew how. Meursault lived his life on the verge of truth and honesty. He was honest within every aspect of life, from women to freedom. He was never certain about anything in life ,but one thing he was sure of, death was inevitable. After murdering an Arab, he was on trial in front of many people being interrogated with many questions about why he did what he did, but also to evaluate his psyche about the situation. Unlike others, Meursault did not hide from the truth and that is what others could not cope with. Living his life the way others were afraid to, Meursault was the outcast in his society.
The world over, much significance has been placed on the value of human life. Death, which signifies an end to the journey of one’s physical existence, is often greeted with grief, sorrow, high emotions and mourning. This is, however, not the case for Meursault, the main character in Albert Camus’s “The Stranger.” In the book’s opening paragraph, Meursault says, “Mother died today, or maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure. The telegram from the Home says: ‘Your mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow, Deep sympathy,’ which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday” (Camus, 1942). Based on this excerpt, it is clear that after receiving the news regarding his mother’s death, Meursault shows more interest in the day of the death. He further speculates that the death could have taken place the previous day. There is little evidence to show that he actually cares about the fact that his mother has passed on solely based on his reaction on receiving the information. From this perspective, it is evident that human life is overrated. Indeed, while childbirth calls for celebration and brings joy into the world, the certainty regarding the end of human life is greatly overlooked. I argue that Meursault’s indifference to the news of his mother’s death as intimated from the opening monologue of the novel embodies a critical element of his personality, which is greatly denoted by nonchalance, as well as detachment.
Meursault suffers throughout the novel, and fails to overcome the negative events in his life. When Meursault’s mother dies many people who were close to her-for example Monsieur Pérez-were very solemn, but Meursault did not show much emotion; “... Pérez’s face… Big tears of frustration and exhaustion were streaming down his cheeks… Then there was the church and red geraniums on the graves in the cemetery… the incessant drone of the motor, and my joy when the bus entered the nest of lights that was Algiers” (18). Meursault speaks about Pérez’s pain in short sentences, and then quickly describes the environment around him. He emotes joy when the bus comes, even though it is still the day of his mother’s funeral. Camus’ style of short sentences shows Meursault’s lack of emotion which prohibits him from finding meaning in his suffering; “But, in the first place, it isn’t my fault if they buried Maman yesterday instead of today, and second, I would have had Saturday and Sunday off anyway. Obviously, that still doesn’t keep me from understanding my boss’s point of view” (19). He will not speak about any pain or negative emotions resulting from this event. As the novel continues, he commits a murder, is put on trial, and then sent to be executed. Meursault is constantly suffering, but he continues to stay unattached to his emotions and suffering. When he is about to be executed, he states that the only thing he has left is the end of
Meursault begins The Stranger devoid of human sympathy and emotions. He demonstrates such blank indifference in the situation when Raymond brutally beats his girlfriend. Marie “asked [Meursault] to go find a policeman, but [he] told her [he] didn 't like cops.” (Camus, 36) When encountering cruel domestic violence, he shows no feelings of sympathy or disgust. He has no motivation to act, allowing a mere dislike of police to trump his ability to end senseless conflict. Meursault also murders a man in cold blood. Not only does he whimsically allow the mere shine of sunlight to give him justification to end a man’s life, he further illustrates a lack of human emotion, calmly firing “four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace.” (Camus, 59) He remains the same blank slate, without any regret or sadness for what he has done nor fear of the consequences. Although Meursault looks human, he is clearly monstrous and lacks all emotions commonplace to people.
Camus foreshadows Meursault’s death through the symbols of heat and Salamano’s dog. While observing Salamano and his dog, Meursault notes, “After living together for so long, the two of them alone in one tiny room, they’ve ended up looking like each other…They look as if they belong to the same species, yet they hate each other” (Camus 26-27). The likeness of Salamano and his dog produces the idea of inescapable death for all living things. They have become similar to each other in appearance without noticing, just as they have always had the same end laid out without noticing. Meursault’s recognition provides a sense of the period of existentialism, focusing on the individual, but also contrastingly granting that the individual is part of a whole. However, the nurse acknowledges that all beings have the same fate when she says, “If you go slowly, you
Meursault is an independent and absurd guy who refuses to lie about himself to save his life. At the beginning of the book he avoids conversation and showed existentialism. For example, when the caretaker asked him, why he doesn’t want to see his mother’s body, he just simply said “I don’t know”. Another reason is when he would say, “marriage, no marriage, who cares.” Towards the ending of the book he starts to open up. In order for him to realize how wrong he was, he had to suffer the consequences. Meursault states, “For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone; I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate(2.5.165). “Meaning, he finally has awareness and is open-minded about his life.
Life is an opportunity to create destiny or accept fate. In the novel The Stranger, Albert Camus’ use of religious allusions and nature imagery to reveal the human belief in a predetermined fate, and we must break away from this notion with the understanding that personal experience can influence one’s point of view in life and work to better ourselves and our society. Meursault rejects Christianity; he refuses to agree with social norms even with the expense of getting executed. Meursault claimed himself as non-Christian when his magistrate“ ask[ed] [him] if he believed in God.
In The Stranger, Albert Camus writes about a detached yet normal man, Meursault, who encounters unusual situations that evidently leads to his demise. From cover to cover, it was established by the author that Meursault had an unusual way of thinking and that he was continuously revealing his peculiar perspective on life and death. Throughout the novel, Meursault is reminded of death and continues to be judged by everyone in the society that he lives in, for instance, when he was put on trial for shooting an Arab man. Camus writes about the main character by describing his absurdist mindset. It is through the focus of funeral scene, however, that Camus is able to formulate the values of the character and the society in which they live in. This scene was able to reveal Meursault’s perspective on life as well as death.
In addition, Meursault cannot find a solid place in society. He lives alone due to the death of his mother. Society cannot accept the manner in which Meursault addresses his mother’s death. Since he thinks that “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, [he doesn’t] know” (Camus 3), society believes that he does not care that his mother dies. Everyone judges him because he does not relate to the rest of the people. Meursault receives immense criticism at his trial concerning his murdering another man. At his trial, Meursault can “feel how much all these people [the jury] hated” (Camus 90) him. The jury does not commend him or even regard him with understanding about his mother’s death. Some people react to death without actually reacting to it; Meursault subconsciously chooses to do so but receives condemnation. Both characters experience isolation from society.
Death is the only certainty everyone will die regardless of everything. The Stranger by Albert Camus relies on death to show the degradation of Meursault's , the main character , absurdist beliefs throughout the novel with a sudden revitalization at the end. Through Meursault’s encounters with death at different points in the novel the author Camus conveys to his readers how death or coming to accept death allows a person to accept their beliefs while living yet not accepting death causes people to contradict their beliefs. In the novel, Meursault experiences the funeral of his mother, trail for the murder of an arab, and himself being condemned to death thus these events in the novel allows to Camus expresses his message about death.
Camus follows the idea of the paradox of free will in both stories in order to exemplify how no matter the choice a person makes in their life it will not let them escape death. Meursault begins the story as an emotionless human being who dares not weep at his mother 's funeral. Additionally, Meursault only focuses on the physical struggles of life like when the caretaker speaks of how “If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you risk a sweat and then catch a chill in the church” while walking (17). This reveals despite