Analysis of Chapter Five of Albert’s The Stranger

Analysis of Chapter Five of Albert’s The Stranger

Plot

Chapter five of the text The Stranger starts with a phone call from Raymond to the narrator through the narrator’s office telephone line. The dialogue between Raymond and the narrator unravels the consequence of the ordeals that happened in the previous chapter when Raymond assaulted a lady she picked for pleasure, and the brothers are now trailing him. Quickly, the narrator gets summoned to his employer, who tells him about the intention of the narrator relocating to Paris to effectively deal with significant corporations quickly rather than relying on the postal address (Camus, 28). Though the conversation between the narrator and employer does not have conclusive agreement on relocation, one clear aspect is that the employer is concerned with the narrator’s lack of ambition. In the evening, the narrator meets Marie, who, in turn, asks him to marry her and exchange chats. However, the narrator’s commitment towards marriage and relationship remains unpromising as he gives Marie the usual uninspiring replies that lack commitments.

As they part ways with Marie and he resorts to eating at Celeste’s place, the narrator is accompanied by a woman he describes as “an odd-looking little woman… who had a chubby face like a ripe apple, bright eyes, and moved in a curious jerky way” (Camus, 29). Though no conversation arises between the narrator and the woman, the narrator develops an interest in the woman and follows her up until the woman disappeared. Upon returning to his house, the narrator meets the old Salamano, who is still concerned about his lost dog and engages in intimate conversation with the narrator. Through the conversation, old Salamano recalls his glorious pasts and sadness after losing his wife, even how he came to own the dog. The chapter closes with old Salamano telling the narrator of how people in the neighborhood perceived the narrator when he decided to take his mother to the adult homes. As Salamano departs, the narrator struggles with sleep as chapter five ends..

Style

One outstanding style that is evident in chapter five of this text is the use of vivid description by the narrator. Though the use of dialogue is relatively high in the chapter, the use of vivid description by the narrator highlights multiple character traits of the individual narrator. For instance, she describes the woman in Celeste’s an odd-looking little woman. She further goes ahead to refer to that woman as having a chubby face that is equated like a ripe apple, with bright eyes and curiously moved around (Camus, 29). Such description does not only create a mental picture in the minds of the audience but also depicts the narrator as a misogynist when she refers to the lady as “little robot” owing to his fast way of doing things (Camus, 30). Such a description exposes the negative side of the narrator.

Theme

The theme of neglect of traditional family roles reigns in chapter five of Albert’s text The Stranger. Through the conversation between the boss and the narrator, the employer told the narrator that he “always shillyshallied and lacked ambitions” (Camus, 28). Such a description portrays the narrator as an irresponsible person who lacked focus since the narrator saw no need for change. Again, the fact that Marie took the initiative to propose to the narrator shows the degree at which the narrator has neglected his traditional family roles. Finally, the old Salamano, through a conversation with the narrator admits that he and his late wife never hit off very well (Camus, 30). Such admission compounded with the fact that people talked bad when the narrator took his mother to the adult home shows how these two men neglected their traditional roles of taking care of the wife and the old mother, respectively.

Work Cited

Camus, Albert. “The Stranger.” Vintage Books, a Division of Random House, New York (1946): 28-31.