In the opening scene of the book, we find out that his mother has just died. The first page alone gives many hints about Meursault's character and it shows him to be almost unaware of his emotions. He feels the need to apologize for things that are out of his control and to thank people for things that they had nothing to do with. He basically apologizes to his boss when he asks for two days off of work to go the funeral for his dead mother. He goes through the entire funeral without displaying any external emotions, saying that he doesn't want to see the body and that he doesn't want to pay his last respects. He smokes and drinks coffee with the caretaker, which

He reads a story in the newspaper while he is in jail about a man being beaten to death by his own sister and mother who didn't know that it was their relative, "perfectly natural." (80) This shows that he believes there is a lack of human nature, or at least that he believes in a different human nature than most. Another quote that supports the fact that there is no such thing as human nature and that people are unique is when he talks about the lawyer, saying that, "He didn't understand me, and was sort of holding it against me." (66)

Meursault is isolated and unique; he finds the world to be hostile, life to be unexplainable and romance to be a figment of your imagination. These are all shown in various instances throughout the book. The complexity of this character and trying to figure out what is going through Meursault's mind is why this is such a great book.

Meursault believes that there is no such thing as human nature. By eliminating emotions, romance, and attachments, not much of what is considered human nature remains. People may choose to do what they wish as long as they are responsible for their actions and face the consequences.

Towards the end of the book he thinks a lot about his death, but not in a negative way, almost in a curious way. He thinks about his father going to witness an execution and thinks to himself, "There's nothing more important than an execution and that it's the only thing a man could truly be interested in." (110) He wonders what it will feel like to climb the scaffolding up to the guillot

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Approximate Word count = 1045
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)