Lost in Translation: What the First Line of

“The Stranger” Should Be

By Ryan Bloom
, May 11, 2012
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For the modern American reader, few lines in

French literature are as famous as the opening
of Albert Camus’s “L’Étranger”:
“Aujourd’hui, maman est morte.” Nitty-gritty
tense issues aside, the first sentence of “The
Stranger” is so elementary that even a
schoolboy with a base knowledge of French
could adequately translate it. So why do the
pros keep getting it wrong?
Within the novel’s first sentence, two subtle
and seemingly minor translation decisions
have the power to change the way we read
everything that follows. What makes these
particular choices prickly is that they poke at a
long-standing debate among the literary
community: whether it is necessary for a
translator to have some sort of special affinity
with a work’s author in order to produce the
best possible text.
Arthur Goldhammer, translator of a volume of
Camus’s Combat editorials, calls it
“nonsense” to believe that “good translation
requires some sort of mystical sympathy
between author and translator.” While
“mystical” may indeed be a bit of a stretch,
it’s hard to look at Camus’s famous first
sentence—whether translated by Stuart
Gilbert, Joseph Laredo, Kate Griffith, or even,
to a lesser degree, Matthew Ward—without
thinking that a little more understanding
between author and translator may have
prevented the text from being colored in ways
that Camus never intended.
Stuart Gilbert, a British scholar and a friend of
James Joyce, was the first person to attempt
Camus’s “L’Étranger” in English. In 1946,
Gilbert translated the book’s title as “The
Outsider” and rendered the first line as
“Mother died today.” Simple, succinct, and
incorrect.
In 1982, both Joseph Laredo and Kate Griffith
produced new translations of “L’Étranger,”
each opting for Gilbert’s revised title, “The
Stranger,” but preserving his first line.
“Mother died today” remained, and it wasn’t
until 1988 that the line saw a single word
changed. It was then that American translator
and poet Matthew Ward reverted “Mother”
back to Maman. One word? What’s the big
deal? A large part of how we view and—
alongside the novel’s court—ultimately judge
Meursault lies in our perception of his
relationship with his mother. We condemn or
set him free based not on the crime he
commits but on our assessment of him as a
person. Does he love his mother? Or is he
cold toward her, uncaring, even?
First impressions matter, and, for forty-two
years, the way that American readers were
introduced to Meursault was through the
detached formality of his statement: “Mother
died today.” There is little warmth, little bond
or closeness or love in “Mother,” which is a
static, archetypal term, not the sort of thing we
use for a living, breathing being with whom
we have close relations. To do so would be
like calling the family dog “Dog” or a
husband “Husband.” The word forces us to
see Meursault as distant from the woman who
bore him.
What if the opening line had read, “Mommy
died today”? How would we have seen
Meursault then? Likely, our first impression
would have been of a child speaking. Rather
than being put off, we would have felt pity or
sympathy. But this, too, would have presented
an inaccurate view of Meursault. The truth is
that neither of these translations—“Mother”
or “Mommy”—ring true to the original. The
French word maman hangs somewhere
between the two extremes: it’s neither the cold
and distant “mother” nor the overly childlike
“mommy.” In English, “mom” might seem the
closest fit for Camus’s sentence, but there’s
still something off-putting and abrupt about
the single-syllable word; the two-syllable
maman has a touch of softness and warmth
that is lost with “mom.”
So how is the English-language translator to
avoid unnecessarily influencing the reader? It
seems that Matthew Ward, the novel’s most
recent translator, did the only logical thing:
nothing. He left Camus’s word untouched,
rendering the famous first line, “Maman died
today.” It could be said that Ward introduces a
new problem: now, right from the start, the
American reader is faced with a foreign term,
with a confusion not previously present.
Ward’s translation is clever, though, and three
reasons demonstrate why his is the best
solution.
First, the French word maman is familiar
enough for an English-language reader to
parse. Around the globe, as children learn to
form words by babbling, they begin with the
simplest sounds. In many languages, bilabials
such as “m,” “p,” and “b,” as well as the low
vowel “a,” are among the easiest to produce.
As a result, in English, we find that children
initially refer to the female parent as “mama.”
Even in a language as seemingly different as
Mandarin Chinese, we find māma; in the
languages of Southern India we get amma,
and in Norwegian, Italian, Swedish, and
Icelandic, as well as many other languages,
the word used is “mamma.” The French
maman is so similar that the English-language
reader will effortlessly understand it.
As the years pass, new generations of
American readers, who often first encounter
Camus’s book in high school, grow more and
more removed from the novel’s historical
context. Utilizing the original French word in
the first sentence rather than any of the
English options also serves to remind readers
that they are in fact entering a world different
from their own. While this hint may not be
enough to inform the younger reader that, for
example, the likelihood of a Frenchman in
colonial Algeria getting the death penalty for
killing an armed Arab was slim to
nonexistent, at least it provides an initial
allusion to these extra-textual facts.
Finally, and perhaps most important, the
American reader will harbor no preconceived
notions of the word maman. We will
understand it with ease, but it will carry no
baggage, it will plant no unintended seeds in
our head. The word will neither sway us to see
Meursault as overly cold and heartless nor as
overly warm and loving. And while some of
the word’s precision is indeed lost for the
English-language reader, maman still gives us
a more neutral-to-familiar tone than “mother,”
one that hews closer to Camus’s original.
So if Matthew Ward finally corrected the
mother problem, what exactly has he, and the
other translators, gotten wrong? Writing of
“The Stranger” ’s first line in the Guardian,
Guy Dammann says, “Some openers are so
prescient that they seem to burn a hole
through the rest of the book, the semantic
resonance recurring with the persistence of the
first theme in Beethoven’s fifth symphony.”
The linguistic fluency of any good translator
tells them that, syntactically, “Aujourd’hui,
maman est morte,” is not the most fluid
English sentence. So rather than the more
literal translation, “Today, Mother has died,”
we get, “Mother died today,” which is the
smoother, more natural rendering. But the
question is: In changing the sentence’s syntax,
are we also changing its logic, its “mystical”
deeper meaning?
The answer is a resounding oui!
Rendering the line as “Mother died today”
completely neglects a specific ordering of
ideas that offer insight into Meursault’s inner
psyche. Throughout the course of the novel,
the reader comes to see that Meursault is a
character who, first and foremost, lives for the
moment. He does not consciously dwell on
the past; he does not worry about the future.
What matters is today. The single most
important factor of his being is right now.
Not far behind, though, is Maman. Reflective
of Camus’s life, Meursault shares a unique
relationship with his mother, due in part to her
inability to communicate (Camus’s own
mother was illiterate, partially deaf, and had
trouble speaking). Both Camus and Meursault
yearn for Maman, for her happiness and love,
but find the expression of these emotions
difficult. Rather than distancing mother from
son, though, this tension puts Maman at the
center of her son’s life. As the book opens, the
loss of Maman places her between
Meursault’s ability to live for today and his
recognition of a time when there will no
longer be a today.
This loss drives the action of the novel,
leading inexorably to the end, the final period,
the thing that hangs over all else: death. Early
in the book, Camus links the death of
Meursault’s mother with the oppressive, ever-
present sun, so that when we get to the
climactic beach scene, we see the symbolism:
sun equals loss of mother, sun causes
Meursault to pull the trigger. In case we don’t
get it, though, Camus makes the connection
explicit, writing, “It was the same sun as on
the day I buried Maman and, like then, my
forehead especially was hurting me, all of the
veins pulsating together beneath the skin.” As
the trigger gives way, so, too, does today, the
beginning—through the loss of Maman—
succumb to death, the end.
The ordering of words in Camus’s first
sentence is no accident: today is interrupted
by Maman’s death. The sentence, the one we
have yet to see correctly rendered in an
English translation of “L’Étranger,” should
read: “Today, Maman died.”
Photograph by Henri Cartier-
Bresson/Magnum.
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The Stranger (novel)
The Stranger or The Outsider (French:
L’Étranger) is a novel by Albert Camus
published in 1942. Its theme and outlook are
often cited as examples of Camus's
philosophy of the absurd and existentialism,
though Camus personally rejected the latter
label.
The title character is Meursault, an indifferent
French Algerian ("a citizen of France
domiciled in North Africa, a man of the
Mediterranean, an homme du midi yet one
who hardly partakes of the traditional
Mediterranean culture"[1]), who, after
attending his mother's funeral, apathetically
kills an Arab man whom he recognizes in
French Algiers. The story is divided into two
parts, presenting Meursault's first-person
narrative view before and after the murder,
respectively.
In January 1955, Camus wrote: "I summarized
The Stranger a long time ago, with a remark I
admit was highly paradoxical: 'In our society
any man who does not weep at his mother's
funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to
death.' I only meant that the hero of my book
is condemned because he does not play the
game.
Plot
Part one
Meursault learns of his mother's death. At her
funeral, he expresses none of the expected
emotions of grief.[3] When asked if he wishes
to view the body, he says no, and, instead,
smokes and drinks coffee in front of the
coffin. Rather than expressing his feelings, he
only comments to the reader about the others
at the funeral. He later encounters Marie, a
former employee of his firm. The two become
re-acquainted, go swimming, watch a comedy
film and begin to have a sexual relationship,
despite the fact that his mother's funeral took
place the day before. In the next few days, he
helps his friend and neighbour, Raymond
Sintès, take revenge on a Moorish girlfriend
suspected of infidelity. For Raymond,
Meursault agrees to write a letter to his
girlfriend, with the sole purpose of inviting
her over so that Raymond can have sex with
her but spit in her face at the last minute as
emotional revenge. Meursault sees no reason
not to help him, and it pleases Raymond. He
does not express concern that Raymond's
girlfriend is going to be emotionally hurt, as
he believes Raymond's story that she has been
unfaithful, and he himself is both somewhat
drunk and characteristically unfazed by any
feelings of empathy. In general, he considers
other people either interesting or annoying or
feels nothing of them at all.
The letter works: the girlfriend returns, but the
situation escalates when she slaps Raymond
after he tries to kick her out, and Raymond
beats her. Raymond is taken to court where
Meursault testifies that she had been
unfaithful, and Raymond is let off with a
warning. After this, the girlfriend's brother
and several Arab friends begin trailing
Raymond. Raymond invites Meursault and
Marie to a friend's beach house for the
weekend, and when there, they encounter the
spurned girlfriend's brother and an Arab
friend; these two confront Raymond and
wound him with a knife during a fist fight.
Later, walking back along the beach alone and
now armed with a revolver he took from
Raymond so that Raymond would not do
anything rash, Meursault encounters the Arab.
Meursault is now disoriented on the edge of
heatstroke, and when the Arab flashes his
knife at him, Meursault shoots. Despite killing
the Arab man with the first gunshot, he shoots
the corpse four more times after a brief pause.
He does not divulge to the reader any specific
reason for his crime or emotions he
experiences at the time, if any, aside from the
fact that he was bothered by the heat and
bright sunlight.
Part two
Meursault is incarcerated, and explains his
arrest, time in prison, and upcoming trial. His
general detachment makes living in prison
very tolerable, especially after he gets used to
the idea of not being able to go places
whenever he wants to and no longer being
able to satisfy his sexual desires with Marie.
He passes the time sleeping, or mentally
listing the objects he owned back in his
apartment building. At the trial, Meursault's
quietness and passivity are seen as
demonstrative of his seeming lack of remorse
or guilt by the prosecuting attorney, and so the
attorney concentrates more upon Meursault's
inability or unwillingness to cry at his
mother's funeral than on the actual murder.
The attorney pushes Meursault to tell the truth
but never comes through and later, on his
own, Meursault explains to the reader that he
simply was never really able to feel any
remorse or personal emotions for any of his
actions in life. The dramatic prosecutor
theatrically denounces Meursault to the point
that he claims Meursault must be a soulless
monster, incapable of remorse and that he thus
deserves to die for his crime. Although
Meursault's attorney defends him and later
tells Meursault that he expects the sentence to
be light, Meursault is alarmed when the judge
informs him of the final decision: that he will
be decapitated publicly.
In prison, while awaiting the execution of his
death sentence by the guillotine, Meursault
meets with a chaplain, but rejects his
proffered opportunity of turning to God,
explaining that God is a waste of his time.
Although the chaplain persists in attempting
to lead Meursault from his atheism (or,
perhaps more precisely, his apatheism),
Meursault finally accosts him in a rage, with a
climactic outburst on his frustrations and the
absurdity of the human condition and his
personal anguish at the meaninglessness of his
existence without respite. At the beginning of
his outrage he mentions other people in anger,
that they have no right to judge him for his
actions or for who he is, and no one has the
right to judge someone else. Meursault
ultimately grasps the universe's indifference
towards humankind which allows him to
come to terms with his execution.[4]
Characters
Meursault is a French Algerian who learns of
his mother's death by telegram. Meursault's
indifference to the news of his mother's death
demonstrates some emotional detachment
from his environment. There are multiple
instances throughout the novel where
significant moments do not have an emotional
impact on Meursault. He doesn't show
emotion to the fact that his mother is dead,
Marie loves him, or that he killed someone.
Another aspect of Meursault is that he is a
truthful person. He always speaks his mind
and does not care how other people see him.
However, he may have committed perjury by
providing hearsay testimony on behalf of his
neighbor, Raymond. He is regarded as a
stranger to society due to his indifference.
Meursault’s Mother was sent to an old
people's home three years prior to her death,
introduced in the opening line of the novel.
There are multiple instances where Meursault
relates to his mother's death. Towards
Meursault's presumed execution he felt that
his mother embraced a meaningless universe
and lived for the moment, just as he did.
Raymond Sintès is the neighbour of
Meursault who beats his mistress which
causes a conflict with the Arabs. He brings
Meursault into the conflict which ultimately
results in Meursault killing the Arab.
Raymond can be a foil character of Meursault
in that he takes action while Meursault is
indifferent. Raymond and Meursault seem to
develop a bond as the story goes on, ending
with Raymond Sintes testifying for Meursault
during his trial. Raymond also believes that he
can control people - he assaults a woman
because he believes she cheated and he insists
Meursault is his friend after a simple favour
from Meursault.
Marie Cardona had been a typist in the same
workplace as Meursault. A day after
Meursault's mother's funeral she meets him at
a public pool, which sparks their relationship.
She asks if Meursault loves her but Meursault
replies that he doesn't think so. He still agrees
to marry her prior to the murder and his arrest.
Marie, like Meursault, enjoys physical contact
in their relationship through the act of sex.
She represents the enjoyable life Meursault
wants and her pleasing aesthetic is one of the
things that Meursault misses in jail.
Masson is the owner of the beach house
where Raymond takes Marie and Meursault.
Masson is a carefree person who simply likes
to live his life and be happy. He wants to live
life without restrictions.
Salamano is an old man who routinely takes
his dog out for walks. He abuses the dog, but
is attached to it. When he loses his dog, he is
distressed and asks Meursault for advice.
Meursault does not offer helpful advice and
Salamano acknowledges that his life has chan
ged.
The Arabs They include Raymond's mistress.
None of the Arabs in The Stranger are named.
The Arab He is shot by Meursault on a beach
of colonial Algiers. The Arab was given an
identity and a whole novel by the Algerian
journalist and novelist Kamel Daoud in his
2013 novel The Meursault Investigation.
Reception
The Stranger's first edition consisted of a
mere 4,400 copies and could not become a
best-seller. But it was well received, due to
Jean-Paul Sartre's article on the eve of the
publication of the novel and a mistake from
the Propaganda-Staffel.[5]
Carl Viggiani wrote of the book: "On the
surface, L’Etranger gives the appearance of
being an extremely simple though carefully
planned and written book. In reality, it is a
dense and rich creation, full of undiscovered
meanings and formal qualities. It would take a
book at least the length of the novel to make a
complete analysis of meaning and form and
the correspondences of meaning and form, in
L’Etranger."
In popular culture
The 1979 first single "Killing an Arab" by
The Cure was recorded at the same time as
their first LP in the UK, Three Imaginary
Boys (1979) but not included on the album.
However, it was included on the band's first
US album, Boys Don't Cry (1980). Composer
Robert Smith has said that the song "was a
short poetic attempt at condensing my
impression of the key moments in L'Étranger
(The Stranger) by Albert Camus" (Cure News
number 11, October 1991).
The 1995 song "Noch koroche dnya" ("Night
is Shorter than Day") by the Russian heavy
metal band Aria is based on Meursault's
encounter with the chaplain in the final scene
of the novel.[9] It is also narrated from
Meursault's first-person perspective and
includes (in Russian) the line, "The cries of
hate will be my reward / Upon my death, I
will not be alone."
The passage in which Meursault accepts his
impending execution was read over the end of
the song "Asa Phelps Is Dead" by The
Lawrence Arms; read by guitarist Chris
McCaughan, the excerpt parallels certain
themes in the song's lyrics by bassist Brendan
Kelly.
The 1993 film Menace II Society is based
loosely on the basic plot (minus the trial),
interactions and realizations that the character
Meursault experiences. The film's title can be
found in the line from the novel, "Especially
when this lack of every decent instinct is such
as that of the man before you, a menace to
society."
In The Sopranos episode "D-Girl", Anthony
Soprano Jr tells his parents that life is absurd,
that the hypothetical death of his friends
would be "interesting," and that there is no
God. Tony and Carmela ask where this is
coming from. Meadow Soprano appears at
this moment and explains that Anthony was
assigned The Stranger in English class, stating
"This is education."
In Mad Men, themes explored in the novel are
used as a backdrop for the character of Don
Draper and his existential stance, starting
from Season 1 (episode 1), in which Rachel
Menken describes him as someone detached
from others, to one of the last episodes of
Season 7 (episode 12), in which The Stranger
and On the Road are cited by Bert Cooper -
appearing to Don in a vision - as the type of
works Don is fond of. The representation of
Don under the sun of California is also a
reminder of his condition as a stranger.
Selected film adaptations
The Stranger (1942)

I may not have been sure about what really

did interest me, but I was absolutely sure
about what didn't.
 Aujourd'hui maman est morte. Ou peut-
être hier, je ne sais pas.
oMother died today. Or maybe
yesterday; I can't be sure.
 First sentences of the book; some
translations retain the original
Maman.
 I hope the dogs don't bark tonight. I
always think it's mine.
 I was assailed by memories of a life that
wasn't mine anymore, but one in which
I'd found the simplest and most lasting
joys.
 Since we're all going to die, it's obvious
that when and how don't matter.
 Of course, I had to own that he was right; I
didn't feel much regret for what I'd done.
Still, to my mind, he overdid it, and I'd
have liked to have a chance of explaining
to him, in a quite friendly, almost
affectionate way, that I have never been
able to really regret anything in all my life.
I've always been far too much absorbed in
the present moment, or the immediate
future, to think back.
 The papers were always talking about the
debt owed to society. According to them,
 it had to be paid. But that doesn't speak to
the imagination. What really counted was
the possibility of escape, a leap to
freedom, out of the implacable ritual, a
wild run for it that would give whatever
chance for hope there was. Of course,
hope meant being cut down on some
street corner, as you ran like mad, by a
random bullet. But when I really thought it
through, nothing was going to allow me
such a luxury. Everything was against it; I
would just be caught up in the machinery
again.

Everybody was privileged. There were only

privileged people.
 I may not have been sure about what
really did interest me, but I was
absolutely sure about what didn't.
 I had only a little time left and I didn't
want to waste it on God.
 Maman used to say that you can always
find something to be happy about.
 I don't know why, but something inside
me snapped. I started yelling at the top of
my lungs, and I insulted him and told him
not to waste his prayers on me. I grabbed
him by the collar of his cassock. I was
pouring out on him everything that was in
my heart, cries of anger and cries of joy.
He seemed so certain about everything,
didn't he? And yet none of his certainties
was worth one hair of a woman's head. He
wasn't even sure he was alive, because he
was living like a dead man. Whereas it
looked as if I was the one who'd come up
emptyhanded. But I was sure about me,
about everything, surer than he could ever
be, sure of my life and sure of the death I
had waiting for me. Yes, that was all I had.
But at least I had as much of a hold on it as
it had on me. I had been right, I was still
right, I was always right. I had lived my life
one way and I could just as well have lived
it another. I had done this and I hadn't
done that. I hadn't done this thing but I
had done another. And so? It was as if I
had waited all this time for this moment
and for the first light of this dawn to be
vindicated. Nothing, nothing mattered,
and I knew why. So did he. Throughout
the whole absurd life I'd lived, a dark
wind had been rising toward me from
somewhere deep in my future, across
years that were still to come, and as it
passed, this wind leveled whatever was
offered to me at the time, in years no
more real than the ones I was living.
What did other people's deaths or a
 mother's love matter to me; what did his
God or the lives people choose or the fate
they think they elect matter to me when
we're all elected by the same fate, me and
billions of privileged people like him who
also called themselves my brothers?
Couldn't he see, couldn't he see that?
Everybody was privileged. There were
only privileged people. The others would
all be condemned one day. And he would
be condemned, too.

Gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its

signs and stars, for the first time, the first, I
laid my heart open to the benign indifference
of the universe.
 For the first time in a long time I thought
about Maman. I felt as if I understood why
at the end of her life she had taken a
'fiancé,' why she had played at beginning
again. Even there, in that home where
lives were fading out, evening was a kind
of wistful respite. So close to death,
Maman must have felt free then and
ready to live it all again. Nobody, nobody
had the right to cry over her. And I felt
ready to live it all again too. As if the blind
rage had washed me clean, rid me of
hope; for the first time, in that night alive
with signs and stars, I opened myself to
the gentle indifference of the world.
Finding it so much like myself — so like a
brother, really — I felt I had been happy
and that I was happy again. For everything
to be consummated, for me to feel less
alone, I had only to wish that there be a
large crowd of spectators the day of my
execution and that they greet me with
cries of hate.
oVariant translation: I, too, felt ready to
start life all over again. It was as if that
great rush of anger had washed me
clean, emptied me of hope, and,
gazing up at the dark sky spangled
with its signs and stars, for the first
time, the first, I laid my heart open to
the benign indifference of the
universe. To feel it so like myself,
indeed, so brotherly, made me realize
that I’d been happy, and that I was
happy still. For all to be accomplished,
for me to feel less lonely, all that
remained to hope was that on the day
of my execution there should be a huge
crowd of spectators and that they
should greet me with howls of
execration.
 As translated by Stuart Gilbert
Albert Camus Biography
Author, Journalist, Playwright (1913–1960)
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Quick Facts
Name
Albert Camus
Occupation
Author, Journalist, Playwright
Birth Date
November 7, 1913
Death Date
January 4, 1960
Education
University of Algiers
Place of Birth
Mondavi, Algeria
Place of Death
Burgundy, France
 Synopsis
 Early Life
 Political Engagement
 Literary Career
 Nobel Prize and Death
 Personal Life
  Cite This Page
Albert Camus was a French-Algerian writer
best known for his absurdist works, including
The Stranger (1942) and The Plague (1947).
He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1957.
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
1 of 3
quotes
“There is only one really serious philosophical
question, and that is suicide.”
—Albert Camus
Synopsis
Albert Camus was born on November 7,
1913, in Mondavi, French Algeria. Camus
became known for his political journalism,
novels and essays during the 1940s. His best-
known works, including The Stranger (1942)
and The Plague (1947), are exemplars of
absurdism. Camus won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1957 and died on January 4,
1960, in Burgundy, France.
Early Life
Albert Camus was born on November 7,
1913, in Mondavi, French Algeria. His pied-
noir family had little money. Camus's father
died in combat during World War I, after
which Camus lived with his mother, who was
partially deaf, in a low-income section of
Algiers.
Camus did well in school and was admitted to
the University of Algiers, where he studied
philosophy and played goalie for the soccer
team. He quit the team following a bout of
tuberculosis in 1930, thereafter focusing on
academic study. By 1936, he had obtained
undergraduate and graduate degrees in
philosophy.
Political Engagement
Camus became political during his student
years, joining first the Communist Party and
then the Algerian People's Party. As a
champion of individual rights, he opposed
French colonization and argued for the
empowerment of Algerians in politics and
labor. Camus would later be associated with
the French anarchist movement.
At the beginning of World War II, Camus
joined the French Resistance in order to help
liberate Paris from the Nazi occupation; he
met Jean-Paul Sartre during his period of
military service. Like Sartre, Camus wrote
and published political commentary on the
conflict throughout its duration. In 1945, he
was one of the few Allied journalists to
condemn the American use of the atomic
bomb in Hiroshima. He was also an outspoken
critic of communist theory, eventually leading
to a rift with Sartre.
Literary Career
The dominant philosophical contribution of
Camus's work is absurdism. While he is often
associated with existentialism, he rejected the
label, expressing surprise that he would be
viewed as a philosophical ally of Sartre.
Elements of absurdism and existentialism are
present in Camus's most celebrated writing.
The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) elucidates his
theory of the absurd most directly. The
protagonists of The Stranger (1942) and The
Plague (1947) must also confront the
absurdity of social and cultural orthodoxies,
with dire results.
As an Algerian, Camus brought a fresh,
outsider perspective to French literature of the
period—related to but distinct from the
metropolitan literature of Paris. In addition to
novels, he wrote and adapted plays, and was
active in the theater during the 1940s and '50s.
His later literary works include The Fall
(1956) and Exile and the Kingdom (1957).
Nobel Prize and Death
Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1957. He died on January 4,
1960, in Burgundy, France.
Personal Life
Camus married and divorced twice as a young
man, stating his disapproval of the institution
of marriage throughout.
Thesis Statement / Essay Topic #1 : The
Significance of the Title of The Stranger
The title of The Stranger by Albert Camus
refers to several aspects of the text aside from
simply the character of Mersault. While
Mersault does indeed come across as a
stranger (to himself, his girlfriend, and
everyone else for that matter) it is also worth
questioning how other characters also feel
estranged from one another and their society.
Friendships, with the exception of the one
Mersault’s mother held with the older
gentleman who attended her funeral, are not
ever really pure or kind—there are always
motivations behind them or they simply do
not strike the reader as “real" relationships.
Consider, for example, the case of Salamano
and his dog—what might be a picturesque
relationship or friendship is marred by the
harsh treatment he gives the dog and the idea
that Salamano is reliant on the dog for
company and thus uses it to avoid being
lonely. For this essay prompt, find a few
examples of how the world depicted in The
Stranger makes all of its inhabitants strangers
in some way.
Thesis Statement / Essay Topic #2: Symbols
and Symbolism in The Stranger by Albert
Camus
In many ways, The Stranger by Albert Camus
is not a typical novel that contains a well-
reasoned plot, a multitude of engaging
developed characters, or a romantic love
story. With that said, in order to relate its
themes and meanings, the story of Mersault
relies upon a number of literary devices aside
from a simple narrative. The use of symbols
throughout The Stranger is frequent and their
meanings can vary, depending on
interpretation. For this essay, you can either
look at one of all of these suggested symbols;
time, the sun, women (Marie in particular) and
crucifixes. As an example, time becomes
symbolic for order and sense and it is
appropriate that Mersault has no
understanding of it since he is a “stranger" in
the world he lives in. The sun is a symbol for
our natural responses to stimuli and the brute
force of nature and our environments—
whether or not they’re natural or man-made.
Crucifixes are, of course, symbols of religion
and belief. They stand as tangible reminders
of a world we cannot see—one that we are all
metaphorical strangers to. To conclude such
an essay, consider the ways these objects
stand in for the absurd nature of life and think
how they are each both meaningless and
loaded with meaning—much like the novel
itself.
 
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Thesis Statement / Essay Topic #3: Mad
World or Mad Central Character?
One of the driving themes behind The
Stranger by Camus is to explore the theme of
absurdity and how a person is supposed to
react to it, especially when the whole world
seems to have gone mad. The argument can be
made that Mersault himself is the one that is
an absurd character (there are many ways in
which it would be easy to support such a
claim) but also, it is worth noting how the
world he lives in is equally strange and
unreasonable. While this perception by the
reader may be the result of our limited
viewpoint throughout the novel, a good
analytical and argumentative essay might
suggest that it is not Mersault, it is his world.
For this essay, find three examples of the
world around Mersault being off kilter,
absurd, or reflective of existentialism. Spend a
paragraph on each example and offer a
conclusion that suggests what this means in
terms of how we should view our own world.
(For an alternate essay topic, it would be a
good idea to compare The Stranger and The
Trial by Franz Kafka as they share many
similarities and are almost interchangeable in
terms of common themes. Another great essay
idea might be to do a character analysis of
Mersault—there is so much you could say
about him, one could say he is the simplest
complex character in literature)

Meursault
Meursault (mur- SOHLT ), a young clerk in a business office in Algiers, Algeria.
Although not totally disengaged from humanity, Meursault, the narrator and main
character, maintains only unemotional and uncommitted relationships with others, even
his mother. When called to a home for the aged in Marengo, fifty miles away, for his
mother’s funeral, he shows no desire to view her body for the last time and shocks the
other residents of the home by his seeming indifference. Though physically intimate with
his Arab girlfriend, Marie, he regards her desire for marriage as a matter of no
consequence. When an acquaintance named Raymond Sintes promises to be Meursault’s
“pal” for life if he will help him in his own love affair, Meursault replies only that he has
“no objection.” Meursault is completely but passively amoral. He sees nothing wrong with
attending a comic film with Marie immediately after returning from the funeral or in
assisting Raymond in the latter’s mean-spirited effort to punish his girlfriend for her
refusal to submit to his domination. When Meursault and Raymond arm themselves
against two Arabs, one of them the brother of the young Arab woman Raymond is
attempting to dominate, it occurs to Meursault that whether he shoots or does not shoot
the Arabs would amount to the same thing. When he kills one of the Arabs, he acts
unconcerned. Another feature of his character, complete resignation to the flow of events,
including the consequences of the murder, emerges during his prison experience. If
character is created by, and is merely the sum of, a person’s decisions, as existentialist
philosophy holds, Meursault makes very few true decisions. Even the five shots that he
fires into his victim seem to represent something that simply happens to him rather than
any conscious choice. Later, in his cell, he contemplates his future calmly, concluding that
having lived even one day in the outside world provides a prisoner with enough memories
to keep him from ever being bored. He cooperates with his court-appointed lawyer only
passively and does nothing to help the latter counter the general impression of callousness
toward his mother that the lawyer knows the prosecution will use to sway the jury.
Meursault completely lacks faith in God or in the possibility of an afterlife. He rebuffs all
soul-saving attempts of the priest who visits him in his cell after his conviction. He
possesses only the existentialist certainty of death and feels happy in the awareness that life
has emptied him of any hope except the hope that his execution may draw “howls of
execration” from a crowd of onlookers.

Marie
Marie, Meursault’s girlfriend, by contrast a conventional
young woman who enjoys the beach and films. She want
to settle down with a husband and is willing to marry the
indifferent Meursault. By visiting him in prison and
attending his trial, she exhibits patient hopefulness in
behalf of her hopeless companion.
Raymond Sintes
Raymond Sintes, an aggressive young man who comes
closest to being a friend of Meursault. He possesses mostly
undesirable traits. Pugnacious and vindictive, he beats his
own Arab girlfriend and talks constantly of punishing her
and wreaking vengeance on her brother, who appears only
to be trying to protect her. It is Raymond’s aggressive
attitude that draws Meursault into the situation that results
in his crime.
The lawyer
The lawyer, unnamed, is a crafty and valiant defense
attorney. He is nevertheless unable to elicit from his client
the responses that might prevent the imposition of the
death penalty.
The priest
The priest, also unnamed, is a man of faith, conscientious
in his duty. He is knowledgeable about psychology but
unsuccessful in his attempts to reclaim Meursault’s soul
for Christianity. The fact that he is resourceful and
persuasive serves to underline the extent of Meursault’s
resistance to all aspects of conventional faith and hope.
Meursault, the protagonist, is a character who is ostensibly
without awareness, except for immediate physical
sensations
Protagonist

Mersault is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. He is a young shipping clerk living in Algiers. Because
he befriends his neighbor, Raymond Sintes, he is drawn into a conflict with a group of Arabs.

Antagonist

Mersault’s greatest antagonist is himself. He lives life with detachment and lack of emotion. When he shoots
an Arab, partially in self-defense, he condemns himself by refusing to show emotion or remorse.

On another level, Raymond and the Arabs are also antagonists, for they draw Mersault into the conflict that
leads to his downfall and execution.
Climax

The climax of the book is reached when the jury delivers its verdict: Mersault is to be decapitated by
guillotine in a public place. Although the reader realizes in the sixth chapter of Part I that Mersault is certain
to be found guilty, since he killed an Arab and then fired four bullets into the dead body, the suspense builds
until his sentence is pronounced in the fourth chapter of Part II.

Outcome

The Stranger ends in tragedy when Mersault is sentenced to die by the guillotine. His lack of emotion and
his detachment about life convince the jury that his life should not be spared.

The Stranger employs a conflict of care and indifference in discovering one’s real
attitude.

Conclusion

The Stranger portrays the idea that it is fine that we should be honest with
our feelings and we try to let the people around us feel loved by us for we only
have limited time to live. Life is too short to waste, by making wrong decisions
and being inflicted by others, because we might encounter consequences that are
unbearable and we’ll be sorry for that. We cannot bring back the time and
oftentimes realization occurs at the end.

WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Liberal Arts
 Graduate School
First Semester

Discussant: Maria Crista Jane Ilustico-Ventusa

Program: MAELS
Subject: ESL 232 – Fiction
Professor: Dr. Arnel Madrazo
Topic: The Stranger
Date: July 23, 2016

The Stranger by Albert Camus

(Translated from French by: Stuart Gilbert)

Albert Camus
- Born in Mondovi, French Algeria in Nov. 7, 1913
- Occupation ( author, journalist, playwright )

Major Works are four widely praised works of fiction:

- The Stranger ( 1946 )
- The Plague ( 1948 )
- The Fall ( 1957 )
- Exile and the Kingdom ( 1958 )
2 Books of Philosophical Essays
- The Rebel ( 1954 )
- The Myth of Sisyphus ( 1955 )

- Was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.

- He was killed in an automobile accident on January 4, 1960 in Burgundy, France.

The Stranger or The Outsider ( French: L’Etranger )

- Is a novel by Albert Camus published in 1942.
- It’s theme are often cited as examples of Camus’s philosophy of the absurd and
existentialism.

Thesis Statement

The Stranger employs a conflict of care and indifference in discovering one’s real
attitude.

Conclusion

The Stranger portrays the idea that it is fine that we should be honest with our
feelings and we try to let the people around us feel loved by us for we only have
limited time to live. Life is too short to waste, by making wrong decisions and being
inflicted by others, because we might encounter consequences that are unbearable
and we’ll be sorry for that. We cannot bring back the time and oftentimes realization
occurs at the end.