The story begins with Meursault knowing that her mother, Maman died in the old

people’s home. Meursault was a young man who is emotionally indifferent to others.
He views thing in another way that is detached to others belief that’s why he’s
considered as a stranger or an outsider. He put her there because he has limited
capacity to support her while living with him. He went to Marengo to attend the
funeral. He met various people who had known her mother. He refused to see her
mother and he did not cry in her funeral. People were confused by his attitude
towards her mother. For a son who did not showed any grief for the death of his
mother is very absurd. It is very unethical in terms of act of man in ignorance. He
ignored the feelings that needed to be felt like grief, resentment and sadness unlike
he showed coldness, detached and indifferent. After the funeral he went back to his
place. Meursault and Marie went to the beach, swam and had fun all night. Marie is
the opposite of him. She is fun, easy going and affectionate. She wants to marry
him but Meursault doesn’t love her. Despite this, her strong romantic feeling to him
urges her to still marry him. This shows he is immoral. He and Marie shared the
same bed and did things onto their liking but he is still unsympathetic to her. He
just uses her for his own benefit; sexual satisfaction because he is a man that loves
women. He does not care about what others feel to her because he focuses entirely
on himself. The next day, he immediately went to work, do some stuff and went
home. While heading to his apartment he ran to his neighbor, Raymond, who’s
described as a pimp and behaves emotionally impulsive. Raymond befriended him
even though he doesn’t need one. They introduced each other and Raymond
invited Meursault to eat with him in his apartment. Through the meal, he spilled to
Meursault that he wants to punish her mistress that has been cheating off him. So
he planned, to write a letter done by Meursault to decoy her back to him and beat
her as he wanted. He eventually agreed to his plan and did not even put any
judgement on what he’ll be doing that was morally wrong. The plan was successful.
Meursault and Marie heard screams of a woman coming from Raymond’s house.
They went there and saw a police officer and her mistress that’s abused. Raymond
will be called to the police station and asked Meursault to attest for him and he
agreed. The next day, Marie, Raymond and Meursault went to a beach house owned
by Masson and his wife, Raymond’s friend. They were happy to be there, they swam
in the ocean and ate their lunch with contentment. After the lunch, they had a walk
to the beach and saw the approaching Arabs, the Arabs consists of two people,
were the one who’s eyeing them as they rode the bus. Moreover, they are in the
side of Raymond’s mistress because one of them were her brother. Also, they went
there to get revenge. As they were closer, a fight happened and Raymond were
stabbed. They went back to the beach house to help him to his wound. But after
this, Raymond insisted to go back to the beach therefore Meursault accompanied
him. They found the Arabs and Raymond had a gun and pulled it out. Meursault was
surprised of the gun and he talked him out of it and got the gun to avoid more
conflicted situations. The scorching heat of the sun gave Meursault discomfort. It
was the same heat that he felt while they were at the funeral. The heat was
pounding to his head and he went to find a spring to have a shade and be cool for
his physical needs often got in the way of his feelings. He found there the Arab and
he relentlessly shoot him four times without any reason. That is an amoral act
because he was unconcerned of the rightness and wrongness of what he did. He
just killed a man because of nothing. He does not even state that he killed him
because they harmed his friend or them.

He was arrested and put in jail. He got an attorney who wants to defend him if he
will show more of his feelings. The attorney got frustrated about it because he
knows he can defend him to it if he can put it in a good and natural way. He also
met the Magistrate. The magistrate thought that Meursault lacks in faith to God and
he wanted to help him. Hence, he showed him a crucifix and persistently told him to
believe in God but he refused. Lastly, the Magistrate called him “Monsieur
Antichrist”. The magistrate told him that because he cannot believe that he has a
different perspective. They doesn’t share the same belief and it was the time he’s
becoming a stranger to everyone. Another day has passed, he had a visitor, Marie.
Despite of the tension and the complicated situation, Marie smiled vehemently
throughout the talk. She talked about her getting a new job and when Meursault
goes out from prison, they will get married. After the visiting, he went back to his
cell. Now, he slowly become accustomed to the prison life. Being isolated to the
outside world and to the things that he really like such as smoking and women. He
keeps sleeping and gets his mind occupied like counting and memorizing each
objects in his cell it thus that it won’t be hard to live without its presence. As a
result, he realized that a man who lived only one day could easily live for hundred
years in prison. Early in the morning, Meursault was taken for his trial. Celeste,
Raymond, Marie, Salamano, Masson and some of the people in the old people’s
home where there to be investigated as well. The judge asked him why did he put
his mother in the home and if he was tormented by his choice, he answered that
he’s not financially stable and he and his mother became used to their new
situation because they can’t expect anything from each other. Then, the Director
from the home was asked and he confirmed that he did not show any grief, did not
open the casket to see his mother and was “calm” about it. Caretaker’s turn, he
stated that they smoke and drank coffee offered by him during the vigil. The
prosecutor remarked him as a disloyal son because he should not have accepted
the cup of coffee. This is an immoral act because he did show what is accustomed.
Thomas Perez’ turn, he said that he was so sad to see everything what is going on
hence he was asked if he saw Meursault cry, he said no. Thomas Perez was his
mother’s fiancée back in the home that’s why he had the permission to join the
funeral. He was so devastated about the death because he and Maman were
inseparable. Meursault show that he challenged the moral standards when someone
has died. He was seen as an outsider because of his surprisingly acts stated above.
As for the defense, Celeste were first asked. He stated that he and Meursault is
friends and killing the Arab is sort of a bad luck. Celeste was the owner of the
restaurant where he usually eats and he was the one who asks if he was okay after
the funeral. Marie’s turn, she forcefully testified that she and Meursault swam,
watched a comedic movie and did a thing. Moreover, the prosecutor made it a
wrong to look at because they did it the day after the funeral. Marie cried and said it
wasn’t like that. Masson’s turn, he acclaimed that he is an honest and decent man.
He was indeed an honest man because he did not cry fake tears for his mother yet
became “calm” and instantly tell Marie he has no feelings towards her. Salamano’s
turn, he said that he’d been good to his dog. Salamano was the owner of the dog
whom he always curses. The last witness was Raymond. Raymond indicated that it
was by the chance that Meursault became involved in his problems. Then the
prosecutor countered that if it was just by chance that he wrote a letter for his wife,
testified for him and went to the beach after the funeral. He also accuses Meursault
of burying his mother with crime in his heart and it gave the audience a strong
effect. The lawyer objects the prosecutor by asking if he was still accused of killing a
man. It’s a big question because it’s reality. He was being condemned because he
killed a man. Yet the prosecutor went to the other way to find him guilty to this
crime. He used his mother’s death and judge him and it’s not important. What is
important are the details about the murder. But unfortunately he does not know
why did he did it and became defenseless. Trial was done. The next day, he was
found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to death by guillotine or
beheading because of his lack of moral feelings threatens all of society. On his cell,
he suffers and can’t accept his situation that he’s going to be dead later. He
imagines an appeal that would be successful and eventually he could escape. A
chaplain visited him like that magistrate he was so upset and frustrated that he
doesn’t believe in God as well as afterlife. The chaplain still talked it about him and
finally he snapped. He yelled and grab the chaplain. He exclaimed everything what
his heart desires. He was also sure that he did everything in his life also his death.
He knows that he cannot escape it because there will be a time that he’s going to
be dead. Through his rage, he finally felt happy and contentment because he found
himself like the gentle indifference of the world. Before his execution he wished not
to be alone by expecting that there will be large crowd of spectators on the day of
his death and greet him with cries of hate.

This last part is my most like portion of this book. I liked it because he managed to
find happiness in rage and despite the people who despise him. He lived his life
without being pretentious even he is both immoral and amoral. He does not to hide
his feelings because for him what’s the point and he wants to continue his existence
no matter what. Lastly, he accepted death even he hates it. He hates it because he
wants to be given a chance to live more and if the “machineries of justice” gone
wrong it would be more painful. He accepted death because he said: Whether it was
now or twenty years from now, I would still be the one dying and he wants to feel
just like what he thought his Maman felt to be free and ready to live again. The
portion that I don’t like in this story is when he did not cry for his mother. Our
mother carried us for nine months, she looked out on us when we are growing up
and sacrificed things for our own good. Even they have used to each other, I think
it’s his duty to remorse, a mother is a mother. Without her, he his nothing in this
world metaphorically and literally. Lastly, the one thing that I am considerate to him
about his mother is when he put him in a home, it is reasonable because he does
not have a good living to provide for his mother. Moreover, I don’t like when he
rejects Marie’s love for her. She’d been affectionate to him even she knows she
doesn’t have an opportunity to be liked by him. They say when a woman still stays
by your side even you are indifferent, keep her. The last thing he can do is to
appreciate her. All things considered, I’ve enjoyed this book because of a sentence
or maybe a quote I found in it: He knows the value of words. And no one can say
that he acted without realizing what he was doing (chapter 4, p. 100). In reality, we
know how the world runs, we know what is wrong and right yet we do things
accordingly to our liking. Nonetheless, we are humans, we have dislikes we became
cruel to others and without realizing we do things that we don’t care at all.
Moreover, we will be judged and still does not care at all. In contradictory, as we
don’t comprehend what we should have been doing, sometimes to the fear of being
judged we produce lies that will save us from the consequences. We humans are
very hypocrite, we don’t want to be ruled out to the things we shouldn’t have done
and we don’t care if we are ruled out because that’s how we are. From my
perspective, Albert Camus tells us to be ourselves. We must not let others dictate
what should we doing or be feeling. It’s all right to be different from others belief
because we have our own. Our existence maybe unlike to others and prejudiced, we
can still create meaning or value to this meaningless world.