At the end of the novel, he accepts the indifference of the world and accepts his new fate.

The chaplain tries to get Meursault to accept God and he loses his temper.

Meursault is condemned to death by beheading.

After, he grows used to his new schedule.

Meursault decides his biggest obstacle in prison is going to be the thoughts of his free life.

The magistrate brandishes a cross and asks Meursault about his faith.

The attorney and court magistrate don’t understand why Meursault acts the way he does.

Time passes and Meursault has been arrested.

Meursault returns to the beach with a gun and shoots the brother.

Raymond is stabbed by his mistress’ brother.Marie, Meursault, and Raymond travel to Masson’s beach house.The next day Raymond assaults his girlfriend and the police stop him.He is invited to dinner with Raymond, hears his story, and writes a letter for him.Meursault goes to the beach and movies with Marie.Other themes one will encounter in The Stranger include colonialism, sex, and friendship. He knew exactly what he was getting into, but embraced it anyway. As he kills the Arab Meursault says that it felt like “knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness”. His lack of emotion at the funeral comes back to haunt him at his trial when witnesses testify to his uncaring attitude. Meursault feels none of the same emotion.

At the home, there are mourners, one of which is so sad she won’t stop crying. Sadness or a lack of sadness permeates the novel. He reacts the same way to Marie’s proposal, his trial, the complexities of the legal system, and eventually, his death sentence. To Meursault, one city is as good as another. There is a particularly poignant moment in which Meursault’s boss becomes angry at him for not showing more excitement over the possibility of moving to Paris. He rejects religious meaning and secular whenever it comes his way. He’s deemed an anti-Christ and is forced to contend with new forced isolation he doesn’t like within his jail cell.Īs a reader learns from Meursault’s first-person narration, he does not find life to be meaningful. He thinks at one point, “it was hard for me to believe really existed”.Īfter his arrest, he is alienated from society by his action and inability to account for it. Meursault has no desire to say goodbye to his mother or connect with the mourners in the room with him. He continually presents himself awkwardly, or not as those around him expect. His emotions are stilted and often nonexistent. He separates himself from others by his inability or unwillingness to connect on a deep level. Meursault is the titular example of alienation from oneself, society, and nature. These are two of the most prominent themes, along with sadness. The novel deals directly with the idea of the meaninglessness of life.

The stranger albert camus cover