Analysis of Chapter Four of Albert Camus’ Text the Stranger

Analysis of Chapter Four of Albert Camus’ Text the Stranger

Plot Summary

The chapter initially starts through a flashback as it takes readers back to the events that unfolded on the previous day, Saturday. During that day, the narrator reflects on their encounter at the beach with Marie and describes her vividly, an event that was preceded by an exhausting week that the narrator faced and the movie experience the narrator had with Emmanuel (Camus, 24). In the wake of the swimming ordeal, the narrator, whom Salamano describes as Monsieur Meursault, develops an affection towards a supposed girlfriend, Marie, as they play games during the event and eventually kiss before they rush to catch a bus. Fast forward, the plot of the story changes to the present period as Marie and the narrator meet as previously agreed during their swimming ordeal at the beach.

At present, Sunday, Marie is in the narrator’s house as they cook lunch as they planned initially. Despite the Marie cladding the narrator’s jumpsuit, an issue violently erupts as Raymond is seemingly embroiled in a violent argument with a woman in his house. The thuds and wails are emanating from the house rise as Marie expresses her fear of escalating violence. However, Raymond continues reminding the girl she has let him down, uttering all sorts of expletives and cursing as the cry calls for the intervention of the police officer. Subsequently, the officer knocks at the door of Raymond, who continues to smoke while talking to the police officer who slaps the cigarette out of his mouth, freeing the lady and charging Raymond. However, after the situation calmed down and the crowd subsided, Raymond visits the narrator buys him a beer, and convinces him to be his witnesses against the woman in court. After all the ordeals, the old Salamano resurfaces, complaining of his lost dog and expresses his fears over the potentiality of the dog getting disposed of by the authorities. Though the narrator explains to him how things work, old Salamano curses, panics, and whimpers in his room until the narrator sleeps.

Style

In chapter four, the dominant literary style used is dialogue. There are dialogues between Marie and the narrator, the narrator and Raymond, the police officer and Raymond, and Salamano and the narrator, among others. The use of dialogue in the chapter does not only make the story animated but also give the readers an insight over various issues in the chapter. For instance, the dialogue between Raymond and the narrator gives the readers an insight into the genesis of the violence that arose. Raymond coaches the narrator on what to say to the authorities and spills the beans by saying that “You’ve only got to tell them that the girl had let me down.”(Camus, 26). Though the knowledge of how the lady let Raymond down is incomprehensible to most readers, it hints at the genesis of the drama that ensued. Again, the dialogue between the police officer and Raymond exposes the character of Raymond as a coward who trembles at the sight of the police officer, and it also allows the lady to tell how Raymond violently attacked her..

Themes

The main thematic concern in chapter four is violence and immorality. In the chapter, the theme of violence manifests in different forms. First, physical violence arises when the lady tells the police officer that Raymond hit her during the altercation (Camus, 25). The police officer also metes violence against Raymond when he hit him for failing to remove the cigar from his mouth when addressing him (Camus, 25). Again, verbal violence also manifests among different characters in the chapter. For instance, Salamano always refers to his dog as “The bastard! The filthy cur!” (Camus, 26). Camus notes that Raymond shouted at the lady humiliatingly, “You let me down, you bitch! I will learn you to let me down!” (24). On other occasions, Raymond derogatorily refers to the lady as my pet (Camus, 25). Such words paint these individuals as violent individuals in this chapter.

Work Cited

Camus, Albert. “The Stranger.” Vintage Books, a Division Of Random House, New York (1946): 24-27.