Meursault Essays - Absurdist Fiction, The Stranger, Meursault

Meursault Meursault is a man who will not lie to himself. He will not feign emotion, nor use religion as a vehicle to give his life meaning. Meursault has a passion for the truth, which opens the revelation for all humanity: life is absurd; it is man's mortal responsibility to be committed to himself, for death is absolute and inevitable. In Albert Camus' The Stranger, his behavior and characteristics display him as an immoral man, expressing indifference towards society's formulas for normalcy. The lack of emotion Mersault has concerning the death of his mother is an excellent portrayal of his beast-like, immoral character. Meursault defies the customary code of behavior by refusing to see his mother's carcass, and instead, he fell asleep and accepted coffee and cigarettes at the vigil. Additionally, he does not honor a period of mourning. In place of mourning, Meursault goes swimming, sees a comedy film with a girl, then proceeds to take her home and make love to her. Mersault doesn't even remember anything about the funeral except for something that one of the nurses had said. ?If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church? (page 17). The fact that this and several other images are his only memories of his mother's funeral show his lack of emotion and reguard for subjects that are deemed important by the majority of mankind. These prominent disrespects to the accepted regulations of society are what unmistakably denounce him at the trial; society fears apathy and condemns Meursault in order to preserve the town's feelings of comfort that is maintained by communal order and religion. Meursault is also a stranger to behaving in a gregarious manner and conforming to social formalities. His so-called friend Raymond invites Meursault to his apartment to have blood sausage and wine, then goes on to tell Meursault about his Arab girlfriend and how he beat her because she was cheating on him. He wants to discipline this girl by means of chastisement even though he still has sexual feelings for her. Raymond asks Meursault what he thinks about the whole thing and Meursault says he doesn't think anything but that it was interesting? (page 32). The conversation continues and Mersaults responses exemplify why Raymond enjoys his company so much; Mersault has no definite opinion of his own and he always appears to be in accord with what everyone else has to say. ?He asked if I thought she was cheating on him, and it seemed to me she was; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his place, and I said you can't ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her (page 32). Meursault lacks morals. He has no need for them. Values for him do not enter his life for they do not have an impact on him. Meursault proceeds to please Raymond with his listless attitude to Raymond's social relations by writing an indecent letter to his Arab girlfriend. Meursault does not contemplate the outcomes in writing an asinine letter to a woman he has never met, nor the impression it could leave on her life. Meursault simply does not care about any of this and thus he has no moral obligations. Raymond and Mersault had gone to the beach to visit Raymond's friend Masson at his beach house. Upon walking down the beach, Raymond and Mersault cane across two Arabs that Raymond had a conflict with prior to this moment. Due to Raymond's desire for revenge, he and Mersault travel down the beach, Raymond with a revolver, Mersault unarmed. Raymond contemplates shooting his man (his girlfriend's brother), but Meursault tells him he can only shoot in self-defense in the case that the Arab pulls his knife. Then he takes Raymond's gun, which the sunlight catches, and goes back with him to the beach house. Mersault, however, does not go back to the cabin, but turns back to the beach, although ?to stay or to go, it amounted to the same thing? (page 57). The unyielding rationale of the Algerian sun overcomes him. Meursault encounters Raymond's man who pulled a knife in front of Meursault. ?It seemed to me as if the sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave... Then I fired four