The Stranger

by Albert Camus --Cultural Background Notes-1) Ethnic Groups & History Late 7th early 8th century, Muslim Arabs took over North Africa, some settled in Algeria o BIG INFLUENCE French colonists started building schools, hospitals, etc. but only for European use. Muslims/Arabs did not benefit from this French colonists started building schools, hospitals, etc. but only for European use. Muslims/Arabs did not benefit from this No mixing of European and Muslim population French considered superior to Arabs o Meursault and Raymond were plotting to fight with the Arabs when Raymond said, Ill call him something and when he answers back, Ill let him have it (p. 56). o Because Raymond is French he thinks fighting with an Arab will be an easy task 2) Government, Politics & Judicial System France was a republican government of this time leading to Algeria having same political ideals The judicial system shares features of its French and Arab traditions. o The French courts replaced the Turkish courts and modified them to reflect French principles of justice 3) Religion Islam is the official religion since the 1960s Islam was used as a strong element in resisting the French takeover Meursaults atheism is to provide more existentialism. If there is no God, then everything in the world is absurd and a hostile environment, like Camus portrays in the book Chaplain: priest who tends to the needs of condemned men Islam also dominated political aspects and holds 3 views

(1) Islamist View (2) Secular View (3) Traditional View

4) Languages The official language of Algeria is Modern Standard Arabic French, though it has no official status, is widely used in government, culture, media (newspapers) and education (taught from primary school) 5) Food blood sausage that Meursault eats with Raymond is a popular item known as Merguez o gets its name from its red color, commonly made with lamb or beef and filled with spices and herbs such as garlic, nowadays eaten with fries or couscous prior to the Algerian war for independence, Algerian wine accounted for nearly two-thirds of total international wine trade; drinking prominent in the Algerian culture 6) Gender Roles Young girls in the French territories were raised from birth to grow into wives and mothers, assume traditional household roles, and be subservient to menbrought up to be weaker than men, hence the male dominance in the novel Most women almost never leave the home and thus are never far from their infant children Men always hold the positions of authority (Meursaults boss, police officer, director of the funeral home) while women always hold more traditional womens jobs (funeral home nurse, secretary) Legal marriage age for women is 18 and men is 21 ...is that legal, calling a man a pimp like that? (p. 36) 7) Family Ties & Dress Meursaults clothing at the funeralhe only wore a black tie Algerian family unit is important to society Meursaults lack of emotion/care towards his mother a man who is morally guilty of killing his mother severs himself from society(p. 102) 8) Funerals

Algeria does not practice cremation and they havent had facilities for cremation since 1987. Meursaults mother was placed in a casket and buried, not cremated. Mourners transport the deceased to the burial site by foot/vehicle. They follow the body to the burial site. In The Stranger, Meursault followed the hearse on foot with the others. The body is washed because bathing the dead body is essential. They gather to offer their prayers for the forgiveness of the dead. His mother desired a religious burial and Algeria follows the Islamic tradition Women are usually discouraged from participating in the funeral procession because women are usually loud when they grieve. There were no women at Meursaults mothers funeral except for the nurse.