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he book that I have undertaken to review isThe Strangerby Albert Camus, who remains one of the
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most known and celebrated French Author and Philosopher.
hroughout the book, one encounters astute commentary and deep dive into the philosophical
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enquiries of existentialism and absurdism. These are the very topics that Camus himself deals with
within various works likeThe Myth of Sisyphus, ThePlagueetc.- Trying to construct a meaning and
establish an order in an absurd, meaningless and chaotic universe. The infamous first line of the book
by the main character Meursault, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know.”1 comes as a
shock on first read yet that is precisely the effect that the author intends. The protagonist being
uncertain in remembering the day of his mother’s death showcases the alienation that he experiences
not only from the society but from his very own self. These concepts are directly observable from his
outer actions and inner thoughts. We take a peek into the world he surrounds by the descriptions of
the light breeze of summer evenings, the blue water of the swimming pool and the different dresses
that his girlfriend wears but even within these observations there is no joy. Meursault’s behaviour and
emotions are not dictated by any rationality. He remains indifferent throughout the funeral of his
mother as if he has resigned himself to death, he maintains the same apathetic front when he gets
tangled in a neighbour’s police scandal. All the people that surround him display emotions that
meursault himself seem entirely incapable of feeling. His girlfriend, Marie, cares whether he loves her
or not to which he replies “it doesn’t matter.” His friend Raymond cares about how strong their
friendship is. When his apartment neighbour, Salamano, loses his dog he fears whether he will find it
back or not. And at the very centre of all these characters, who feel and react appropriately, is
Meursault whose detached demeanour sets him apart from all of them. It exemplifies the conflict he
faces which can also be read as a metaphor for man's search for meaning within the disorderly and
illogical will of life.
This estrangement and tension of conflict reaches its climax when Meursualt along with Raymond
and Marie take a trip to a beach in Algiers. Meursault finally decides to walk to the cool spring where
he and Raymond had encountered an Arab. There, blinded by his own sweat and struggling in the
heat, Meursault shoots the Arab five times. There is no rational explanation for this murder. It is
completely pointless. When he is asked to explain his action during the trial he simply states the
oppressiveness of the heat on the beach and that he was, “blinded by the light falling from the sky.” to
try and articulate a reasoned explanation for this murder would defeat the point that camus is arguing
for. His use of figurative language and objective style observations are employed to portray that
Meursault’s actions are as absurd as existence. Even other characters try and fail to understand and
rationalise his behaviour throughout the trial for his murder. The prosecutor points to Meursault’s lack
of grief at his mother’s funeral as a sign of his soulless character, as if that might explain the murder.
He is also deemed as the ‘Monsieur Antichrist’. Finally, at the trial’s conclusion, Meursault is
condemned to execution. His sentence, decapitation, can be argued to be a symbol for his
1
The Stranger, Albert Camus (1942); Translated from french by Matthew Ward
irrationality. At the very end of the novel comes arguably one of the most interesting conversations
that occurs between a Chaplain priest and Meursault while he is in the prison trying to come to terms
with his impending death. This exchange encompasses many main moral, ethical and existentialist
arguments like god, question of evil, meaning of life, act of death2 and others that highlight Camus’
own philosophical tenets. The chaplain insists that Meursault give up his atheism and hold the hand
of God, but Meursault refuses. He cannot give himself to the belief of afterlife and faith. For the first
time, Meursault truly embraces the idea that human existence holds no greater meaning. He
abandons all hope for the future and concludes by stating, “I opened myself to the gentle indifference
of the world. Finding it so much like myself- so like a brother, really- I felt that I had been happy and
that I was happy again.”3
I, personally, believe that this novel best represents Camus’s ideological and philosophical
contributions. His writing style set within the fictional narrative helps to devise a story that reaches
deep at the heart of human behaviour and actions and reflects it back to us like a mirror. Through the
journey of its protagonist Meursault, one gets to understand and reflect on what it is exactly that
makes us human and what does it actually mean to be alive right here and now.
2
In The Myth of Sisyphus(1942) Camus extensively examines the question of suicide which he says is the most primary
uestion any man should ask himself before studying any other consideration in life. Whether life is meaningless or not
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and if former is true then shall one commit suicide, seems to be the question at core within this work. He also deals with
this inquiry through the help of the Greek myth hero, Sisyphus who is condemned to repeat the task of rolling a boulder up
a hill for his entire life.
3
Same ideology is echoed by Albert Camus in other works where he states that one must accept the meaninglessness of
one’s existence in order to truly feel content and be at peace. Like in The Myth of Sisyphus, he concludes with the lines-
“one must imagine sisyphus happy.”