What’s more, he stubbornly declines to appeal to religion as an avenue of finding solace. At one time, after becoming agitated with an irritating padre, Meursault eventually denounces Christianity.

In essence, the jury deems his personality – not crime, punishable by death.Īs he awaits his execution on death row, Meursault finds it difficult to face the reality of his impending death. The court finally resolved that Meursault is a nonconforming, cold-hearted and detached misanthrope, thereby sentencing him to death. The only explanation he gave was that it was a hot day.ĭuring his murder trial, the jury was more intrigued by Meursault’s coldness over the death of his mother than the alleged seriousness of his crime. He gets arrested and questioned by the authorities. Suddenly a fight erupts that ends in Meursault killing one of the attackers. However, in the course of their beach vacation, Meursault and his companions are accosted by two Arab men. He romps with his new girlfriend, becomes friends with a pimp, and even goes on a beach holiday with both of them. In the course of the next two weeks, Meursault continues with life as if the unfortunate incident never occurred. At his mother’s funeral, he leaves other mourners and well-wishers rather amused with his bizarre calmness and detachment. The story commences with Meursault getting a telegram with the message about his mother’s demise. He is a young, ordinary man who seems detached. Meursault is a shipping clerk dwelling in the 1940s French Algiers. However, Camus himself declined the latter categorization. Its outlook and theme are usually cited as anecdotes of the author’s philosophy of the absurd and existentialism. “The Stranger” is a novel composed by Albert Camus, a French author, in the year 1942.

The stranger the outsider albert camus