Explication of Paragraph 1 of "The Stranger"
             In Albert Camus' The Stranger, " the opening sentence "Maman died today," carries a powerfully rousing message that prepares the reader for an upheaval of emotion and sorrow. The narrator's double take "Or yesterday maybe," immediately shows that this is not to be the case. It nullifies any feelings of compassion and sympathy that the reader was prepared to share with the narrator, either because they lack respect for them for not mourning their mother's death, or simply because they see that they are not grief struck by it. For most people, their follow-up comment" I don't know," does nothing but reinforce their previous emotions. However, some may begin to feel sympathy for the narrator, believing that the experience of losing their mother has affected them so deeply that they have lost sight of time. In the subsequent sentence, "I got a telegram from the home: "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours," the narrator's voice changes once again, this time asserting a more pragmatic tone. Some people may become disgusted by the narrator's matter-of-fact, nonchalant attitude about their own mother's death, while others may respect the courage and inner-strength that they are able to carry for addressing the matter for what it is, without a side dish of emotion. The next sentence "That doesn't mean anything" continues to play with the reader's indecision and leads them to once again re-evaluate the narrator. This is probably the point where most people who had trouble knowing what to think of the narrator made up their minds. One either outright dislikes them, for feeling no sorrow for their mother's passing, or respects them as a strong-willed individual. The final sentence, "Maybe it was yesterday," sends the message home hard – the narr
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