An Analysis of a Passage in The Stranger by Albert Camas

This passage is set before Meursault’s execution with the chaplain entering the scene, and telling Meursault that his “heart is blind”, leading to Meursault to yell and delve into his rant, and moment of consciousness. The passage has a calm in the beginning as if Meursault catches his breath from yelling previously, and he starts to reassure himself that he is not wrong for expressing his views as it went against the public’s religious beliefs, and states that this moment was so important to him that it was if his life was merely leading up to it. Why this particular scene is important to Meursault is that this is an instance where he successfully detaches himself from the world, and begins to deconstruct the world’s ideals as his rant shifts on to focusing on how nothing in life mattered. Meursault describes his gripes with the chaplain’s words as he explains his reasoning as to why the concept of a god is flawed as Meursault saw that everyone was inherently the same, with equal privileges just how often people could express them separated them. The passage continues with Meursault arguing that everyone would be faced with judgment or punishment one day, and explains why his own situation was not significant as it was no different. After that explanation the passage ends with Meursault posing the concept of everything in the world being equal both in wrongdoing and life in general, evident in his example of saying “Sala¬mano's dog was worth just as much as his wife.” Although the passage shows Meursault challenging the ethics and morals that the world around him follows, it does have instances like the end in which we see that the rant is still expression of Meursault's complex emotions, as it is unclear whether it is fear or a...

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... if Meursault has been keeping this anger pent up inside him, and reveals the passive aggressive tone in his slow pacing; the reason the tone in the slow pacing is passive aggressive is that although it seems calm at first, if Meursault was truly fed up with the way the chaplain judged him then he has no reason to be calm, and it was merely a formality to try and keep his usual composure, so by shifting into the fast pace questioning we can almost visualize Meursault’s teeth grinding when he says “I had done this and I hadn't done that.” What this leads us to question is whether this moment of letting loose is Meursault finally not avoiding the “dark wind” that had been rising toward him, since describing it in such a manner makes have an ominous presence that is unpleasant, and by expressing his gripes with the world around him he can die with a clear conscience.