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Nicole Davis

Carter

English III/ 2 Blue

3-14-09

Socratic Question from The Stranger

Question: On page 90 in Albert Camus’ The Stranger, the jury is questioning the

caretaker of the nursing home. When he is recalling the situation where he and Mersault

were together, he states that; “I [Mersault] hadn’t wanted to see Maman, that I had

smoked and slept some, and that I had some coffee. It was then I felt a stirring go

through the room and for the first time I realized that I was guilty.” (Camus 90)

It has taken 90 pages of Mersault’s experiences to finally realize that he was guilty, what

does he seem to be guilty of; the death of an Arab or his blind view on life and his lack of

essence or contribution through out his life? What do you think he actually understands

from this realization and what does he create with this understanding?

Answer: Albert Camus was an existentialist who was obsessed with the meaning of a

man’s life and man’s search for values in a God-less world. He developed the idea of true

freedom while he befriended Sartre. He stated, “Everyone is completely free; they are

just afraid to take responsibility for their behavior”. This quote directly connects to

Mersault’s realization on page 90 and 97 of The Stranger. He had been living his life

with the lack of meaning or even an attempt at fulfilling or finding an essence. He never

contributed to his affairs in his life and just ended up floating through time, not having

anything to grasp onto. I think Mersault feels extreme remorse. He realizes that he has

become a changed man and as he is being driven to the jail, he notices these changes; “In
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the darkness of my mobile prison I could make out one by one, as if from the depths of

my exhaustion, all the familiar sounds of a town I loved and of a certain time of day

when I used to feel happy.” (Camus 97) He is remembering what brought him pleasure;

relating it to how he lived his life and how he brought the death of an Arab into his life.

Now he is a changed man, with a feeling of remorse for his action or lack there of and

how he approaches his decisions. Along with those decisions came an excuse or

justification as to why he made that choice. Returning to Camus’ quote, Mersult never

took responsibility of his actions and went through life thinking he was not guilty. Also,

during his imprisonment, Mersault slowly realizes that his former life was not empty. He

misses the freedom to make love to a woman, smoke cigarettes at will, or go for a swim.

These small joys, once meaningless, take on new importance and therefore he creates an

essence for himself, a meaning before his inevitable death approaches.


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Works Cited:

Camus, Albert. The Stranger. New York York: First Vintage

International Books, 1988.

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