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Essay Color Key The Gentle Meursault of Camus’s The Stranger (The Outsider)

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In Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Meursault, the protagonist, could be
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seen as immoral if he were judged on the basis of his actions alone.
Better Essays However, through Camus’s use of a first person narrative, we begin to
Stronger Essays understand Meursault as not an immoral man, but simply an indifferent
Powerful Essays one. Meursault is a symbol of the universe, and so in understanding him

Term Papers we understand that the universe is also not evil, but instead a place of
gentle indifference.
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At first glance, Meursault could be seen as an evil man. He shows no

grief at his mother’s funeral, worrying more about the heat. His first
reaction to his mother’s death is not sadness, it is a matter-of-fact,
unemotional acceptance of the situation. “Maman died today. Or
yesterday maybe, I don’t know.” Later on in the story, Meursault kills
an Arab on the beach, and his only concern is that he has ruined the
calm, pleasant day he was having. When he is in jail, the magistrate
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Our Guarantee comes in an attempt to save Meursault’s soul, but instead of
Popular Essays cooperating, Meursault simply confounds the magistrate by refusing to
Excellent Essays believe in God. Even at his trial, Meursault doesn’t show any remorse
Free Essays A-F for having killed the Arab. Based on this evidence alone, how can we
Free Essays G-L not see Meursault as evil?
Free Essays M-Q
Free Essays R-Z
In the novel, we are given a more complete view of Meursault. The
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story is told from his point-of-view, which allows us to understand the
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Donate a Paper situation as Meursault perceives it. Looking at the situation in this light,
we can see Meursault as not evil, but simply indifferent and detached
from life. He doesn’t attempt to get wrapped up in emotion or
relationships, he just takes things as they come, doing whatever is
easiest for him. He becomes friends with Raymond and agrees to
marry Marie simply because he doesn’t have a very good reason not
to. Seeing the story from Meursault’s viewpoint, we understand that
even killing the Arab wasn’t an act of malice or evil intent. As Meursault
puts it, “My nature is such that my physical needs often get in the way
of my feelings.” With this in context, things begin to make more sense.
Meursault’s seemingly cryptic statement that he murdered the Arab
“because of the sun” can be taken as truth. Meursault does things that
society judges as wrong not because he is evil or wants to appear
immoral, but because the sun and heat, symbols for Meursault’s
emotional state, cause him to become uncomfortable and act
“inappropriately.” The sun is present at his mother’s funeral, when he
refuses to grieve. It is also at he beach, and it is the sun in his eyes
that causes him to shot the Arab. Finally, the sun is present at
Meursault’s trial, when he doesn’t repent or show any kind of remorse
for anything he has done, and is therefore condemned.

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Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): The Gentle Meursault :: C... http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=2943

Because Meursault is a symbol for the universe, people’s

misunderstanding him parallels the way we misunderstand the way the
world and the universe work. Both religion and the judicial system see
Meursault as evil, and both these establishments misunderstand the
universe. This is important in the second theme of The Stranger, which
is that conformity through establishments such as religion and the court
system leads to a blinding to the truth, rather than the path to the truth
it is supposed to provide. Both the court and religion condemn
Meursault not only because he is indifferent, but because he is
different. When we can see beyond their prejudices and see Meursault,
not as an evil man, but as a man who simply is gently indifferent, we
can at last understand the universe as well. Meursault himself comes to
this realization at the end of the novel. “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.” Through understanding Meursault, we can also reach this
existentialist conclusion and find happiness, not in empty systems like
religion, but instead in ourselves.

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