Meursault Essay, Research Paper
Meursault is a man who will not lie to himself. He will not feign emotion, nor
use religion as a vehicle to give his life meaning. Meursault has a passion for the truth,
which opens the revelation for all humanity: life is absurd; it is man?s mortal
responsibility to be committed to himself, for death is absolute and inevitable. In Albert
Camus? The Stranger, his behavior and characteristics display him as an immoral man,
expressing indifference towards society?s formulas for normalcy.
The lack of emotion Mersault has concerning the death of his mother is an
excellent portrayal of his beast-like, immoral character. Meursault defies the customary
code of behavior by refusing to see his mother?s carcass, and instead, he fell asleep and
accepted coffee and cigarettes at the vigil. Additionally, he does not honor a period of
mourning. In place of mourning, Meursault goes swimming, sees a comedy film with a
girl, then proceeds to take her home and make love to her. Mersault doesn?t even
remember anything about the funeral except for something that one of the nurses had
said. ?If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you work up a
sweat and then catch a chill inside the church? (page 17). The fact that this and several
other images are his only memories of his mother?s funeral show his lack of emotion and
reguard for subjects that are deemed important by the majority of mankind. These
prominent disrespects to the accepted regulations of society are what unmistakably
denounce him at the trial; society fears apathy and condemns Meursault in order to
preserve the town?s feelings of comfort that is maintained by communal order and
religion.
Meursault is also a stranger to behaving in a gregarious manner and
conforming to social formalities. His so-called friend Raymond invites Meursault to his
apartment to have blood sausage and wine, then goes on to tell Meursault about his Arab
girlfriend and how he beat her because she was cheating on him. He wants to discipline
this girl by means of chastisement even though he still has sexual feelings for her.
Raymond asks Meursault what he thinks about the whole thing and Meursault says he
doesn?t “think anything but that it was interesting? (page 32). The conversation
continues and Mersaults responses exemplify why Raymond enjoys his company so
much; Mersault has no definite opinion of his own and he always appears to be in accord
with what everyone else has to say. ?He asked if I thought she was cheating on him, and
it seemed to me she was; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his
place, and I said you can?t ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her” (page
32). Meursault lacks morals. He has no need for them. Values for him do not enter his
life for they do not have an impact on him. Meursault proceeds to please Raymond with
his listless attitude to Raymond?s social relations by writing an indecent letter to his Arab
girlfriend. Meursault does not contemplate the outcomes in writing an asinine letter to a
woman he has never met, nor the impression it could leave on her life. Meursault simply
does not care about any of this and thus he has no moral obligations.
Raymond and Mersault had gone to the beach to visit Raymond?s friend
Masson at his beach house. Upon walking down the beach, Raymond and Mersault cane
across two Arabs that Raymond had a conflict with prior to this moment. Due to
Raymond?s desire for revenge, he and Mersault travel down the beach, Raymond with a
revolver, Mersault unarmed. Raymond contemplates shooting his man (his girlfriend’s
brother), but Meursault tells him he can only shoot in self-defense in the case that the
Arab pulls his knife. Then he takes Raymond’s gun, which the sunlight catches, and goes
back with him to the beach house. Mersault, however, does not go back to the cabin, but
turns back to the beach, although ?to stay or to go, it amounted to the same thing? (page
57). The unyielding rationale of the Algerian sun overcomes him. Meursault encounters
Raymond’s man who pulled a knife in front of Meursault. ?It seemed to me as if the sky
split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. My whole being tensed and I
squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave… Then I fired four more times
at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like
knocking four times on the door of unhappiness? (page 59). This event led to his futile
trial and eventually to his demise.
Meursault?s incapacity to correlate to the proprieties of society is a major
handicap at his trial for murdering the Arab. When discovering that the court will
appoint a lawyer for him, Meursault thinks that it is “very convenient that the court
should take care of those details” (page 63). He does not see the essentiality in seeking,
collaborating with, and paying an attorney to protect him in court. Meursault knows that
he has killed an Arab and having a defense seems dispensable. Challenged by the court?s
legal mechanics, Meursault is a stranger to the judicial world, thus making it hard for him
to be served justice whether or not he should be.
Meursault does not need religion to furnish his life with meaning. For
Meursault, the natural things are waht produces delight, signifigance, and organization in
his life. Meursault esteems having a methodical system, trivial gratifications, and nature.
Specifically, Sundays do not excite Meursault, nor offer any consolation to him. They
lack the rising, tram, four hours in the office? cycle. Sundays lack routine and are
unstructured, unlike the week days where there is a day reserved for fun (Saturday) and
the work week to accomplish tasks. Mechanical, day-to-day living is essential to
Meursault, as much as small pleasures are. At work, Meursault enjoys the physical
pleasure of washing his hands. However, as the day progresses and the towel becomes
soggy with excess moisture, he enjoys the action less and less. Meursault mentions this
fact to his employer, who considers it a trivial detail (25). Meursault also appreciates the
beauty of nature. He treasures the view from his balcony, the colors of the sky at
different times of day, the sun and the sea. These small gratifications are the key to
Meursault, expressing his acceptance of the tangibility and reality of life.
Marie visits Meursault in prison, and before she leaves she shouts to him that
he “had to have hope” (75). Meursault says, “Yes,” but as he looks at her all he can think
about is wanting to squeeze her shoulders through her dress and feel the material. He
doesn?t know what else he has to hope for other than that thought, that impulse in the
moment. Meursault?s pleasure in the little things correlate to his acceptance of death.
He does not look forward to a life after death and faces the fact that he must die — like
every other man ? leaving no need for hope. Meursault has a passion for the truth: the
truth of feeling and being. At the end of the novel, the chaplain comes to see Meursault
about cleansing his soul of sin in preparation for death. Meursault explains to the priest
that he has only a little time left and doesn?t want to waste it on God. The chaplain
retaliates by professing he will pray for Meursault because Meursault?s heart is blind.
Meursault yells at him to not waste his prayers; the chaplain “seemed so certain about
everything, didn?t he? ?He wasn?t even sure he was alive, because he was living like a
dead man” (120). The priest is a “dead” man. He follows a faith that praises blind
worship and condemns natural mistakes, continuing even in the afterlife. Religion is silly
to Meursault because it is not tangible, is not real, and it is not a sure thing. Meursault
could have lived his life one way or another and it will not have mattered, because each
life elects the same fate ? death. This is life?s absurdity, and this is the revelation that
Meursault has to offer to humanity. “Maman used to say that you can always find
something to be happy about” (113) and it is imperative that man lives for the life, and
not the fictitious resting place of Heaven.