The Stranger review

The Stranger review

The Stranger by Albert Camus explores the idea of a man in distress as his actions have led to catastrophic events, and his character and behavior do little to help his situation. Chapter two of this story offers more insight into Meursault’s trial and his stay in prison. The confinement as a prisoner awaiting sentence offers Meursault a chance to reflect on his previous life and all the people he had interacted with in his life as a “free” man. His less talkative nature does not allow him to talk about things that he does not consider essential, and he comfortably gets used to the life of a prisoner even before he faces trial. Historically, the narration of Meursault’s fate is based on in French because the guillotine was initially designed by the French government to execute people until it was abandoned in 1981. This shows Meursault was a prisoner in France and was subjected to the “human razor” as a form of punishment to his deeds. Part two is characterized by events of Meursault coming to terms with who he is and finally facing the consequences of the murder of the Arab man.

Meursault barely changes in the second part of the story precisely on his nature of being an open, honest person. He has a confrontation with his lawyer because he refuses to shut up during a court session, and he instead speaks the truth, then sits and waits. The honesty lands him in more trouble and is seen as a person who is not remorseful for taking Maman to an elderly home. Camus claims that “At one time or another, all normal people have wished their loved ones were dead” (53). This statement correlates with his honest nature, which, unfortunately, he exercises brutally and insensitively regarding what other people would consider sane. The character of Meursault does not slightly change in part two, and he maintains his nature of always wanting to talk the truth despite a dire situation he is in at the moment. The idea of coming up with stories to defend his action of killing the Arab man or not experiencing “natural feelings” (53) when Maman died. Meursault’s stand does not change throughout part two, and he is honest about the whole situation that had happened, and in no instance, he tries to sugarcoat his actions.

Meursault’s introvert character does not at any time change in part two of the story as he chooses to speak when only necessary. The introvert in him is evident, especially when he says, “if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the flowering sky overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it” (61). Meursault was enjoying spending time alone, and he could rather sleep all day and get lost in his thoughts than interact with other people. The isolation gave him solace, and he felt happy being lost in his dreams. The prison was finally a place he thought he could call home, and he was so used to it that he started to feel comfortable. Even in his trial, when he is supposed to be anxious and attentive, he gets lost into his imagination and only notices the court proceedings when people laugh. Meursault’s introvert behavior was triggered by the fact many people did not understand him, and he even chooses to stay silent during his prosecution even when he knows he was losing the case.

The third thing that does not change is Meursault’s beliefs about religion and God in general. When he was first accused in court, the examining magistrate confronted him about the act of shooting the Arab man four times and if he believed in God, and he “said no” (56). The Meursault did not express any emotional or spiritual connection with anything rather than himself and would act to people’s expectations to end a conversation. The attempt of the examining magistrate to convince him about Christianity doctrine ends up with Meursault feeling annoyed. His lack of religious faith does not change even after being sentenced to death by guillotine, and instead, he continues to live in his fantasies. Camus goes ahead to state that “For the third time I’ve refused to see the chaplain” (83). This shows that his beliefs about the non-existence of God have barely changed even at the tip of facing death.

After being sentenced to death by guillotine, v realizes that it was a done case, and nothing else could be done to salvage the situation he was going through. He compares his situation to that of a patient who is condemned to a good collaboration and has to hope nothing goes wrong where he says, “I could see that the trouble with the guillotine was that you had no chance at all, absolutely none” (85). The realization comes to a reality after being lost in h9is imagination throughout his stay in prison, and his quietness in the case proceedings. The life of facing death most painfully became stressful for him, and he realized that he was not going to live for long, at one time he could now think about Maman who he had taken to the elderly house where her life faded away. Meursault t realized that he could barely sleep at night, and every time he heard footsteps in the morning, his “heart could have burst” (86). The statement shows that he had come into terms with his fate, and he was ready to embrace and face it.

Part two of the story, Meursault, is less active because he chooses to live in his world in isolation and sees self-reflection of life as the best thing he can find in prison. According to the author, Meursault felt like speaking his mind out in the whole trial but was instructed by his lawyer to say nothing (76). This shows that he was less engaged in what was happening in his own life, and other people were taking over his fate. The judges, juries, and lawyers are more active than him, and he sits in his chair and reflects about his friends and life when he should be actively listening to the evidence presented in his defense. After the prosecution is when he actively engages with the Chaplain but only because he also wants him to live so he can continue contemplating his fate. When Marie comes to visit him, he chooses to give less attention to her but passively listens about other people’s problems and even offers opinions on how he felt. The laziness in defending himself makes him less active in the court decisions about his fate, and he sees this when he says, “My fate was being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion” (76). This shows that he was feeling guilty that he did not actively participate in the decisions that were being made on his behalf.

Part two is an epic story that shows a man that is lost in his thoughts when he should actively be concerned about his brutal future. The lack of connection with the outside world and isolation lead Meursault to dwell in his thoughts that do little to help with his murder case. He is so detached that it becomes clear to the court that he cared less about the fate of Maman, and he goes ahead to say that “Maman and I didn’t expect anything from each other anymore, or from anyone else either” (Camus 69). This shows that he did not actively engage with anyone in society and saw no need to do that even when it was fundamental. Inactively failing to participate in his prosecution case or giving proper reasons for killing the Arab man. Meursault looks like a man with depression and sees no need to have hope in life because he refuses to accept anything even from the Chaplain. At the end of part two, he has given up in life and only hopes his execution will be a memorable one. He realizes the time to reflect or attempt to escape his fate is futile when he attacks the Chaplain because he sees it as the end to his dear life.