Important quotes explained

Important quotes

1. "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.”

This quote opens us up into the story, and into the mind of Meursault. His mother died, and he doesn’t seem to find any importance in the fact that she is gone. This opens the story to one of its major themes; the meaninglessness of life. Meursault has this view of death as something that is unimportant because it doesn’t affect you and life still goes on from that experience. Meursault views it as a normal unavoidable experience which we will all face one day; so there is no point in really being afraid of death because it’s just a matter of time.

 2.    “A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.”

      His responses to Marie, and to everyone as a whole, reveal his honesty and his ignorance. He is unaware that in saying these statements he would only emotionally hurt her. However, Meursault lacks many of those emotions. He cannot possibly know if he’d hurt anyone by just telling them what he truly has to say because he doesn’t know how to act or what to say; the only thing he can give, is his honesty. This quote helps to characterize Meursault.

3.   “It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed.”

      This quote helps to convey one of the author’s major themes in the stranger; the meaninglessness of human life. It shows that though a person dies, it does not change anything; not your schedule, not your personal relationships, not anything. Of course when losing someone very important in your life, it can be difficult. However, it doesn’t change the fact that, after that experience, life still goes on. Maybe psychologically it can be different without having that person here anymore, but physically; nothing really changes in a person’s life after that experience.

4. “She said, 'If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church.' She was right. There was no way out.“

            This quote helps to convey a philosophy that the author has set out with this novel; not being able to escape death. During the long, hot funeral procession Meursault is told by the nurse that if he “[goes too] slowly, [he would] risk getting sunstroke. But if [he goes] too fast, [he would] work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church.” Upon hearing this, Meursault realizes that she was right, “There was no way out.” Symbolically, the sun’s harsh effects represent death; trying to avoid or escape it is impossible.

Themes

Themes

1        1.  The Meaninglessness of Human Life.

In the story, the stranger, Albert Camus exemplifies his true philosophies through the character Meursault; the insignificance of death. When a person dies, it doesn’t stop the earth from rotating, nor does it mean that humanity has no chance of survival; it has no long term or significant effect on life as we know it and that is a philosophy that the author reveals through his writing.  When Meursault’s mother passed away, Meursault doesn't grieve because even though she is dead, it doesn’t mean that his life has really changed: work, schedule, etc. A person dying, though on a personal level it is important, is just a normal every day thing that happens to everyone in this world, it’s just a matter of when and where. Once Meursault strengthens that view of the world, as he is spending his final minutes in his prison cell, he finds it much easier to cope with the fact that he is going to be executed because, whether he was proven guilty or not, he was still going to die sooner or later. The author demonstrates how life has no importance or meaning as Meursault does not show emotion after taking some one’s life away as well. If someone, at least someone sane, kills another person, they grieve and show regret; Meursault is in his right mind and he does not show regret or remorse for his actions. Not only does the death not affect his character, it also doesn’t affect life; it has no significant impact on the way we live. The author is simply using symbolism when portraying Meursault’s actions in order to get his point across; the unimportance of human life.

2.      Death being unavoidable.

Death is an inescapable way of life. At one time or another, someone will die and there is no way to avoid that. So what can one do? Nothing, all they can do is wait. If you’re trying to escape death, give up because just like Meursault we will all have a day when we are going to die, and trying to escape that is pointless. Just like Meursault, we are confined in an inescapable prison cell awaiting our own deaths. This is an idea that the author tries to convey in some parts of the novel as Meursault is waiting for his execution date. There are even some instances when this philosophy is conveyed as Meursault is talking of the harsh effects of the sun. During the long, hot funeral procession Meursault is told by the nurse that if he “[goes too] slowly, [he would] risk getting sunstroke. But if [he goes] too fast, [he would] work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church.” Upon hearing this, Meursault realizes that she was right, “There was no way out.” Symbolically, the sun’s harsh effects represent death; trying to avoid or escape it is impossible.

Character analysis

Character analysis

Meursault - The stranger allows us to follow the thoughts of the main character, Meursault, as he undergoes events that eventually led up to his imprisonment, and the thoughts he has before his execution. Many of us have certain morals we follow such as how we view people, how we handle certain situations, and so on; but, unlike many of us, Meursault doesn’t have what society would deem as “normal”. From the very first page of the book, we know that he shows no remorse over his mother’s death and he doesn’t find that, along with little details about her, as important as today’s date for example. He is amoral because he lacks a moral sense and isn’t concerned with making the distinction between right and wrong. Moreover, he lacks any feeling at all when Marie confronts him with the question whether he loved her; to which he responded again “that it didn’t mean anything” but he “probably didn’t” [19]. His responses to Marie, and to everyone as a whole, reveal his honesty and his ignorance. He is unaware that in saying these statements he would only emotionally hurt her, and hurt his chances at his trial. However, his actions can be justified because he lacks many of those emotions, therefore, he cannot possibly know if he’d hurt anyone by just telling them what he truly has to say. Despite his response to Marie, he was still willing to get married; Meursault doesn’t seem to grasp the importance of personal relationships or the mentality that tells him why he shouldn’t allow himself to be this way. Meursault, throughout the book, has this idea of death, along with life, being of no importance at all and sees it as a normal everyday thing that everyone will go through eventually; he starts to fully grasp that idea the final minutes before his execution. At first he was afraid of the idea of dying, which was the first time he reveals emotion, but in his final moments, as he opened up “to the gentle indifference in the world” [122], he finds peace and gains an understanding of not only his mother, but the world around him. The Stranger demonstrates how society sets up this moral structure that you “have” to follow. Anyone who doesn’t follow this structure, or share the same ideas as one another, is condemned immoral and inhumane. Albert Camus, through Meursault, demonstrates just how illogical society can be to one who does not fit their standards. He even describes this situation as a man “faced with the absurd”, society.

Raymond Sintes - In the novel, the stranger, when Raymond is introduced to the story, unfavorable traits immediately become present: he is a woman beater, short tempered, vengeful, a liar, and, in a way, manipulative. Through these traits, some can say that Raymond serves as Meursault’s “foil”; Raymond is immoral, whereas Meursault is amoral. Meursault lacks a moral sense and isn’t concerned with making the distinction between right and wrong, while Raymond can just be defined as one who doesn’t conform with society’s standards of morality. He beats his mistress for “cheating” on him, while Meursault would of just remained passive and calm in the situation; Raymond initiates action, Meursault ignores it. Moreover, Raymond uses Meursault for his advantage, revenge. He tries justifying his cruel acts to Meursault as a way to get Meursault to view him as a generally good person; one you can trust. In doing so, if Meursault cared, he is giving Meursault a reason to help him; he is manipulating Meursault into thinking that he is a “good” person. Although, towards the end of the story we discover that there is more to Raymond other than what his traits are telling us; he presents loyalty by standing by Meursault’s side and claiming his innocence. Perhaps Raymond initially wanted to use Meursault to his benefit, but he ended up developing a friendship with him and even defended him during the trial. Raymond doesn’t fit the mold of what his initial traits set out for him. it seems as if he saw Meursault as someone who listened, cared, and one he can trust; thus, developing a friendship and contradicting his initial character traits, with loyalty. Then again, Raymond wouldn’t have to prove his loyalty had he not been the catalyst in the story and set off a chain reaction which led up to Meursault murdering someone in cold blood.

Marie Cardona - Marie Cardona, Meursault’s girlfriend, seems to be doing something within every chapter of the book that can be seen as ironic; she is supporting Meursault and remaining loyal to him, though he doesn’t feel the same type of affection as she feels for him. To him, it all doesn’t matter; for her, she truly loves him. Though he admitted that he may not have loved her, she still loves him. While he was confined to a prison cell after killing an Arab, she is anxious and worried for him as she sits down at his court hearings. While he is paying her no attention, or giving her any thought at all; he is all that is on her mind. Marie remains persistent, determined, and hopeful while under the face of adversity.  However, Albert Camus wouldn’t describe this as a good thing. As Meursault opened himself to the gentle indifference of the world, he became enlightened and gained an understanding of the world around him; he abandoned all hope. Marie wouldn’t be categorized as “enlightened” because she doesn’t open herself to the indifference of the world and grasp a concept that Albert Camus tries to convey with this novel; lose all hope in trying to avoid death.

Title page/ novel summary

Javier Rivera

Mr. Whetstone

SSR quarter 1 project

11 - 16 - 2012

Sparknotes

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Summary

            Meursault, the narrator and main character of the novel, is a young man who lives in Algiers. Upon learning of his mother’s death, he takes a bus to go visit her at the old persons’ home where she had been residing. The whole time, as he narrates the entire story, his tone seems very detached, plain, and as if he took no interest in the situation especially when learning of his mother’s death. He shows no sign of grieving which is subtly ironic yet insightful in showing the characteristics of Meursault. Once he arrived to the old person’s home, he declined seeing her body and kept vigil over her coffin that night. After the funeral procession the next morning, Meursault returns, reluctantly, back to Algiers. Meursault goes back to his normal everyday life upon returning to Algiers as if nothing ever happened. He even goes on a date with his girlfriend, Marie, to the beach, the movies, and back home with him to sleep in. After going back to work, and returning home, the book introduces Meursault’s neighbor Raymond Sintes, a women beater and catalyst of the story. Raymond and Meursault become good friends after Raymond confides to Meursault of his cheating mistress. He admits to beating her, but claims that her cheating on him was a “good” enough excuse for doing so. However, it did put him in serious trouble with her brother, but that didn’t matter to him; he just wanted to torture her even more and he needed Meursault’s help for that. He asks Meursault to write a letter so he can lure his mistress in order to devise a plan to torment her even more; Meursault agrees. The plan worked, but Raymond was thrown in jail because the plan consisted of him beating her. Raymond asks Meursault to testify and claim that he beat her out of self-defense; Meursault again agrees to Raymond’s plan and Raymond is let of the hook.

            Later on, Meursault is asked by Marie whether he loved her, to which he responded that he didn’t know, but “probably not”. Despite this fact, she still maintains strong feelings for Meursault and asks him if he wanted to marry her, to which he responded that it didn’t matter to him, so “yes”. As the book continues, Raymond invites Meursault and Marie to his friend’s beach house. Meursault agreed, and they all enjoyed a day of swimming and comfort. Until Raymond realizes that there are two Arabs on that very same beach; one of them being the brother of his mistress. A fight broke out and Raymond was stabbed; luckily it wasn’t serious. However, it did enrage Raymond. He took his gun out and was planning on shooting the Arabs, but Meursault talks him out of it and takes the gun away from him; they then returned to the beach house. Meursault, having a headache, goes to the spring to cool off, he runs into the mistress’ brother. As he has a grip on the gun, approaching the spring, the brother pulls out a knife; Meursault pauses and fires the gun four times, killing the mistress' brother. 

            He was immediately thrown in prison after the murder of the Arab. Many sat, including Marie and Raymond, and watched anxiously how his trial would turn out. At the trial, many people in the courtroom, including his own lawyer, seemed angry at the fact that Meursault showed no remorse or guilt for taking another person’s life.  During the trial they always seem to bring up his emotions including the emotions he had during his mother’s funeral as evidence for the case; in the story he acted normal and did not shed any tears in the entire novel. This was a huge disadvantage to Meursault, because the trial deemed him immoral and a danger to society. He was sentenced to be executed and, at that time, the ideal way of execution was death by beheading. After this, the novel focuses on Meursault’s thoughts as he is awaiting his execution. He is scared at first and even sets up an appeal. However, after opening himself to the gentle “indifference” of the world, he realizes that we are all going to die at one point or another; death is unavoidable, life goes on, and there is no greater meaning. Once accepting this, he feels at ease as he is waiting for his execution to take place.