Free Essays - The Stranger (The Outsider)

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The Stranger

What is life for? Different religions have different takes on life. There are many ways to view life. The way life is viewed by an individual is the way his morals are set. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and many other religions believe that a higher god sets morals and with the morals comes reward. Another camp, the existentialist, believes that life is absurd and meaningless. The existentialists believe humans live and humans die. They state that death is just a matter of time for everyone, a reality that is inescapable. In the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault realizes that death is a subject that cannot be erased. Meursault comes to the conclusion that death is the end result for every human's life.

The nurse tells Meursault how the weather affects the human body. "She says, `If you go to slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go to fast, you work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church'"(17). The heat's effect is inevitable. No matter the pace, the weather is still an influence in the human body. Meursault realizes this and responds with " She was right. There was no way out" (17). Most people have a problem with destiny. They have been raised to be in control of their circumstances or their decisions. Therefore, the average person has a hard time coming to the realization that the inevitable will happen.

Meursault kills an Arab. He is convicted for the murder. While in the courtroom Meursault is asked why he killed the Arab. The only response Meursault could give them was the sun. Meursault said, "I never intended to kill the Arab" (102). The judge replies and Meursault "blurted out that it was because of the sun" (103). Meursault did tell the truth, the sun did affect his judgment. Camus writes, "The sun was starting to burn my cheeks...it was burning, which I couldn't stand anymore, that made me move forward" (58-59). The Arab gets up and shows his knife. Because of the sun he is blinded in two ways. The first reason was because of the sweat in his eye. The second reason was because the knife was reflecting the light into Meursault's eyes.

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