The Stranger1
The way a person reacts to ordinary situations determines the opinions of others based on their behavior. Yet, when this behavior is abnormal or different from the rest of society, it causes society to form an opinion based totally on a person's behavior not their true personality. In Meursault's case, his strange opinions and unexpected remarks put him in this position, without ever really giving him an opportunity to be truly understood. However, Meursault cannot change his actions and behaviors from the past, therefore making him responsible in the society he freely chooses to live in. Meursault's complete indifference to society and human relationships causes him to appear as the actual "stranger" with those he encounters, which eventually leads to his incarceration and inevitable date with the guillotine. Meursault is definitely a man who is set in his ways. He has his own opinions and outlooks on life and because of that fact he is constantly reminded of his inadequacies within society. His refusal to look at his mother one last time after she had passed away seemed pointless to Meursault at the time, where as the funeral director
Meursault was almost like a young child that was never taught right from wrong and how to be considerate of others. " (83-84)The only thing Meursault is worried about is the press, not the fact that his fate is about to be determined by a group of people that don't even know him. What a person can not understand makes them defensive, and when a person is defensive they scrutinize what they don't understand, only to make themselves feel better. Meursault's relationship with Marie was not the only odd relationship he had with a female. He looks at himself without trying to analyze his actions and their consequences. People overlooked what his true personality was and what his true intentions were, causing him to appear as an unwanted stranger. In chapter three part two Meursault explained this by saying: Usually people didn't pay much attention to me. " I said yes but that really it was all the same to me. I said to the policeman, "Some crowd!" He told me it was because of the press and he pointed to a group of men at a table just below the jury box. Also, the closest thing to a friend that Meursault had was Raymond. I am not saying that the way Meursault lived his life was justified nor were his actions because he did live a self-centered life. Unlike the rest of society, he didn't bother with things that required effort, which seemed as if he didn't like to express himself.
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