In the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, the main character is Meursault. He is a man who has strange views and behaves different from what people think of as normal. I believe that this is because Meursault has a condition known as Antisocial Personality Disorder.
             In order to claim someone is a sociopath you must understand the diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder. The diagnostic criteria as stated in the DSM-IV (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders) for antisocial personality disorder is as follows:
             A. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights
             of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
             [1] failure to conform to social norms and respect lawful behaviors
             [2] deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
             [3] impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
             [5] reckless disregard for safety of self or others
             [6] consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior
             [7] lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated or stolen from another
             B. The individual is at least 18 years.
             Since we do not know Meursault as a child we must make assumptions. We can assume that he did not wake up one morning and just start acting strangely, or that some event changed him, because it would have been noted in the book. What we do know about, is his behavior leading up to and after he commits murder. Right from the beginning of the novel it is clear that something isn't right about Meursault. His mother dies, and he doesn't feel anything, or at least doesn't seem to. He does not cry, which for some is not strange, but later on we learn that this is because he is trying to stay awake. This behavior falls under "failure
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