The Stranger is a novel written by Albert Camus. It focuses on the life of a French Algerian named Meursault after he is informed of his mother's death via a telegram. The story is told from the first-person perspective of Meursault as he makes his way through life. Out of all the characters mentioned in the past four pieces of literature, The Hunger games, Rosemary's Baby, Hamlet ,and The Stranger, Meursault seems the most intriguing due to his interesting mindset that has no back story or explanation. It is this different and unusual mindset, what sets him apart from those around him, that ultimately leads to his end.
Meursault is a very different individual. Through his actions, one can believe that he must have some sort of anti-social personality disorder, since he has no empathy. We can see multiple instances of this in the story. The first instance is when he attends his mothers wake and funeral. He seems very disconnected from the situation. When he says that he had the absurd feeling that the others were there to judge him, he is partially right. They were not there to judge him but they were judging him, judging the fact that he did not seem to care, judging his lack of sadness, judging this stranger that sits before them without grief for the lost. Later in the story, during his trial, we see that he is very calm and at ease while he is testifying. To the jury and the reader, he seems to have no remorse for what he has done.
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However, that is the only trait that he seems to express as he does not manipulate or exploit people. Frequently we find him doing things, not for his own gain necessarily, but to at least please others because he doesn't really care. When Raymond asks Meursault to help write a letter to get Raymond's girlfriend to come back so he can humiliate her, he agrees seeing no reason not to since it seemed to please Raymond. Even when it comes to his job, he does not really have any particular drive or motivation, just doing what he believes others would want him to do. When asked by his boss if Meursault would like to work at another office in Paris, he basically responds by saying 'What ever you want, if you want me to go I'll go' and is then criticized by his boss for lacking motivation. Even though he does not seem driven, he is often quite open and speaks his mind, regardless of how others perceive him. When he testifies, he shows great apathy, expressing very little emotion and concern. This apathy is actually a major cause in his conviction as his lack of emotional distress and his guiltless sounding answers are played on by the prosecutor. The prosecutor uses this lack of emotion to cast Meursault as a monster to the jury and judge, thus sealing Meursault's fate.
Overall, we found it safe to say that Meursault, while he has his faults and weaknesses, is not necessarily psychologically disturbed and more of misunderstood in his society. His lack of attachment and emotions all have reasonable causes that, had Meursault had a good lawyer, could have been conveyed to the judge and jury. If it had happened today, a lawyer could easily make the case that since he could not take care of his mother, Meursault's decision to put her in a home was wise and because he had not seen her in quite some time, he lost a lot of his emotional bond with her. A lawyer today could also have made the argument that he went out with Marie as a way of coping with the loss of his mother, that he was trying to distract himself from the grief of life. For Meursault, his case was exactly as Celeste put it when testifying, a huge run of bad luck. Had you spread the events out over a course of several years, then nothing bad would have come of it.
Overall, we found it safe to say that Meursault, while he has his faults and weaknesses, is not necessarily psychologically disturbed and more of misunderstood in his society. His lack of attachment and emotions all have reasonable causes that, had Meursault had a good lawyer, could have been conveyed to the judge and jury. If it had happened today, a lawyer could easily make the case that since he could not take care of his mother, Meursault's decision to put her in a home was wise and because he had not seen her in quite some time, he lost a lot of his emotional bond with her. A lawyer today could also have made the argument that he went out with Marie as a way of coping with the loss of his mother, that he was trying to distract himself from the grief of life. For Meursault, his case was exactly as Celeste put it when testifying, a huge run of bad luck. Had you spread the events out over a course of several years, then nothing bad would have come of it.