Meursault A Man Who Refuses to Play the Game

A detailed Summary of Meursault A Man Who Refuses to Play the Game

"Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know," are the first statements made by the protagonist Meursault, in Albert Camus's The Stranger, One finds this a very peculiar way to speak of a mother's passing. Meursault, however, finds his statement perfectly normal because he is not sure which day his mother died; he feels this is a perfectly logical statement. This quote is just one of the many examples of how Meursault is not a normal person in societies eyes. Meursault, in fact, is a man who refuses to play the game.

Meursault never really visited his mother (Maman), while she was alive, although he knew she was going to die eventually. When Maman dies, Meursault sees the services as a mere formality, dictated by society. He feels that the services are something that he has to attend. Although Meursault does not remember his mother as religious, per her request, there is an all-night vigil held for her. During this vigil, Meursault thinks very little about his mother. Instead, he notices the people in the room, he makes crude observations about them, and he sleeps. These actions are not commonplace at a vigil for ones mother.

The next day is the funeral. The funeral is yet another formality. As Meursault is on the tri

After the murder of the Arab, Meursault is arrested and brought to trial. During the trial, Meursault is forced to stay in prison. In prison, Meursault only has one problem. For him, it is killing time that he has trouble with. In order to kill time, he starts doing something that he has never really done before, remember. While in prison, Meursault begins to think about all the details of his life. He does not worry about what is going to happen to him, he even refuses to see the chaplain three times. The prosecutor tries to use Meursault's behavior against him. He says that Meursault feels no remorse for the murder. Witnesses such as Marie and the caretaker are called to help prove his point. At the end of each day, unlike most men who are on trial for their lives, Meursault still does not worry about what was going to happen to him. He just makes his random observations and continues with his life.

When Meursault returns, his outlook on life is no different then before. He seems to do whatever he wishes to do at any particular time. A good example of that is with Marie, a former typist in his office for whom he used to have feelings. When he sees her again, he is instantly drawn towards her. Right away, the two of them have a good relationship. They begin to see each other in a traditional manner. Then one day Marie asks him if he would marry her. He says that it does not make any difference to him. This was not the kind of answer that Marie was looking for. Later Meursault talks about how he wanted to marry her, but does not tell her. Why does he not tell her? He does not want to. That is the only reason he ha

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Approximate Word count = 1097
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English