The Stranger Summary and Analysis Author: Andrew Camus

Summary

The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, tells of a man named Monsieur Meursault who never articulates his emotions. Meursault attends his mother's funeral which he does not show the usual emotions of heartbreak, sadness, or anything that such an event induces. The novel goes on to tell how he meets a girl named Marie who later becomes his fiancÐ"© without him caring if he marries her or not and how he becomes "pals" with a tough man named Raymond. Meursault then gets mixed up into Raymond's problems. Raymond asks Meursault if he should abuse his girlfriend because he thinks she is cheating on him and Meursault says sure. Due to this, Meursault and Raymond find themselves being stalked by Raymond's ex-girlfriend's Arab brothers. They later follow them to the Algerian beach where Raymond gets into a fight with them with little injuries. After retreating, Meursault returns to the beach and shoots one of them once and then after four more times in response to the glare of the sun. Meursault is then later convicted of murdering "The Arab." In his trial, the prosecutor tries to find him guilty by using the fact that Meursault showed no emotions what so ever at his mother's funeral. But, by using this, the prosecuting attorneys seemed more interested on the inability or unwillingness of Meursault to cry at his mother's funeral than the murder of The Arab because they don't believe him capable of remorse. Meursault is then convicted to the death sentence. At the end, Meursault is then visited by a Chaplain and becomes angry that he suggested that he turn to God for mercy. The novel then ends with Meursault recognizing the universe's indifference for humankind.

Analysis

The Stranger revolves around Monsieur Meursault's almost inhumane acts of showing no remorse toward his crime of murdering an Arab and no sadness at his mother's funeral. Albert Camus writes his novel in first person to show the reader the thoughts of this murderer and to communicate to the audience on a more personal level. By reading this novel, a person can find themselves almost wanting to show emotion for the narrator but holds back because the reader is living through his eyes. Camus also uses paradox when Meursault realizes that, just as he is indifferent to much of the universe, so is the universe indifferent to