the stranger

A detailed Summary of the stranger


The Stranger by Albert CamusMarch 20, 1998

THE STRANGER The Stranger, by Albert Camus, is about the life of a very

complex character named Meursault. Meursault is a very stolid person, who

isn't given to shows of emotions. He remains this way through most of the

book, but towards the end, he starts to become more feeling. He is what

would be considered an "existentialist" today and examples can be selected

to show how he supports the nine tenets of existentialism. In the opening

scene of the book, we find out that "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe,

I don't know."(pg. 3) These sentences are the first hints about

Meursault's character, they show him to be almost unfeeling. 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

vigil and funeral for his dead mother. He goes through the entire funeral

and vigil without any feeling, doesn't want to see the body, and doesn't

want to pay his last respects. He smokes and drinks


there is no such thing as human nature. By eliminating emotions, romance,

meditating on this: "nothing more important than an execution" that it's

People may choose to do what they wish, as long as they are responsible

instance towards the end of the book where Meursault's emotions almost

page fifty-six Meursault illustrates the tenet that man has freedom of

believes that the world is indifferent or hostile, and that there really

was one too." There is also a scene in the courtroom when he thinks to



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Approximate Word count = 1621
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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