In the beginning of the novel, when Meursault just hears of his mother’s death, he states, “For now it’s almost as if Maman weren’t dead. After the funeral, though, the case will be closed, and everything will have a more official feel to it.” (3) In French and most other societies, one of the most basic expectations is some form of grief or emotion at the hearing of their mother’s death. Meursault says that after the funeral “the case will be closed” and that it will now have “a more official feel.” Meursault is treating the death of his mother as a chore or verdict, which goes directly against what society believes he should fee... ... middle of paper ... ... purge his guilt. Thus, when man believes in a divine being as the whole reason of his existence, then when his belief is put into question, his entire existence in questioned. Thus, people are incapable of living up to their religion.
The absurdity of Meursault’s viewpoints that is rooted in Camus’ existential perception of reality forces the reader to rationalize his actions and thought processes throughout the book. The first instance in which we see Meursault’s detachment is in Part One of the book with the death of his mother. Camus starts off the novel by saying, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know”(1). Meursault’s casual and nonchalant attitude throughout his mother’s funeral creates an emotional wedge between him and the reader insofar as their inability to justify his behavior.
Steve Jobs commencement speech for Stanford’s graduation ceremony and through personal experience jumps further into death and how I feel about it. Your time is on earth is limited one day you will die and there are many ways of grieving at the death of a loved one. I believe that the fear of death and the death of a loved one will hold you back from living your own life and the fear of your own death is selfish. Everybody grieves at the death of a loved one or close friends differently. The loss of somebody that was close to you is never an easy thing to get over.
They also blame him for the death of Josef Behm, one of their classmates who was the first of them to be killed. In truth, Baumer and his friends resent all authority at this point in their lives; the brutality of war that they have experienced has caused them to lose faith in the older adult generation. The chapter next focuses on Franz Kemmerich, a friend ... ... middle of paper ... ... one month before the Armistice. Ironically, on the day of his death, "all was quiet on the Western Front." Notes The last chapter is filled with irony.
When he arrived at the nursing home, the funeral director brought Meursault to his mother’s coffin. The director asked if he wanted to see her and he quickly replied to keep the coffin shut. Meursault sat in the room and nearly went through an entire pack of cigarettes while blankly watching his mother’s coffin. At the actual funeral, Meursault shows no signs of normal emotion which would normally be induced at such an event. When Meursault returns home he decides to take another day off and relax at the beach.
Camus had a very nihilistic point of view when he wrote about Meursault's relationship with his mother and how he handled her death, during his own mothers funeral he was complaining that it was too bright, showed no grief for his late mother and then smoked a cigarette; then later that night he went to a comical movie and spent the night with a girl. Nihilist reject the concept of morals and from mersualts monologue, most would say that he is disconnected with his morals; that he should be broken over the death of his mother. But Camus believed that one should not love their mother simply because of the
The senseless man has “nothing to prove”. He is blameless for what is acceptable and what is prohibited. Even if he is innocent for every sense, he is considered an ignoramus. This concludes of why Camus uses the title “Stranger” for his novel. Meursalt is considered one of the strangers who “shock a society by not accepting the rules of its game” (78).
Looking around, she saw several people who came to say good-bye some dressed in black, others appeared to be in a party mood and dressed as such. She didn’t know if they had come to pay their respects to the manager of the Eastern Auto Parts Store, or if they wanted to make sure the old man was dead. Even though he had warned them about the activities on the mountain, they ignored him, but still blamed him for their losses. It was time to leave when someone announced, “This now completes the service for Bert Bishop. ” After sitting there for forty minutes without hearing a single word the minister said or being conscious of shaking hands with anyone, it was time to be alone.
“We should go home now…” Julie whispered, walking quickly after Shane but hoping not to attract attention. “Fine,” Shane replied reluctantly listening to Julie through his wide ears. Since their parents’ death, he was disconsolate. Each night around eleven in the night he would visit the spot his parents were killed and let out all the tears that had bottled up inside him. He could still smell their blood as if they were just killed.
Meursault is viewed as an outcast because he doesn 't weep at his mother 's funeral or feel guilty because he put her into a nursing home. Society has developed patterns of behavior for given moments in our lives. Meursault’s insensitivity doesn’t match up with societal expectation of showing some sense of grief. Meursault says that the funeral itself happens “so fast, so deliberately, so naturally” that he can’t remember it. He has only a few fragmented memories, including the “the sun bearing down, making the whole landscape shimmer with heat, it was inhumane and oppressive” and the nurse saying “there is no way out” (Camus