The Stranger, by Albert Camus

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The Stranger, by Albert Camus, begins with Meursault receiving a telegram informing him of his mother's death. He attends the funeral and shows no remorse during it, but he complains about how hot it is. After returning, he goes on a date with Marie Cardona, a former co-worker, and has a sexual relationship with her. The day after he encounters an alleged pimp, Raymond Sintes. Raymond asks Meursault to write a letter to lure his mistress back so he can torment her after he found out she was cheating on him. Meursault feels that there is no reason to not write the letter, so he agrees to do it. Marie visits Meursault and questions his love for her. He doesn't say that he does and when he is asked to marriage he responds indifferently, but says if she wants to they can. While at a beach house Meursault shoots Raymond's mistress's brother for no reason, killing him.

The second half of the book begins after Meursault is put in jail and is awaiting his trial. Rather than being on trial for the crime, he is on trial for his values, like the lack of grievance for his mother's death. Meursault is found guilty and he is convicted and sentenced to the guillotine because of his lack of moral feeling. While awaiting his execution, he thinks about how his life has no meaning besides just living and how death does not scare him. When asked to reform to Christianity, Meursault grabs the chaplain in rage and tells everything on his mind. He comes to the realization that life is meaningless and the world is irrational. This suddenly makes him happy and he accepts his death.

One meaning of the title of the novel, The Stranger, is that if you live a life different than what society accepts, then you are a stranger; an outcast, and will be punished by the rest of society. In other words, the title means that Meursault is a stranger to society. Nothing discussed in Meursault's trial had anything to do with the murder. It was all about the way he acted and how different he was. This was used to prove that people who are different are judged by their character over their actions. Also, most of the society was Christian in the book and held Christian values. They believed in an after life and a heaven while Meursault did not, since he was an atheist.

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