The Stranger by Albert Camus
Characters
Meursault is the protagonist. Meursault is the main character and he is telling the story. He is a Frenchman, but lives in Algiers. He is a shipping clerk and lives by himself. He does whatever he wants to do. He is a man who does not express feelings. He does not have any cares in life. He commits a murder and goes on trial.
The Antagonist can be the society that Meursault lives in because they are against the way he views things. They do not understand how Meursault could not have any remorse about the death of the Arab he killed, or why he did not feel any sadness about his mother who died at the beginning of the story. Meursault can also be considered the antagonist because he is not able to express any emotion. This is what causes the conflict in the novel. Meursault is given the death penalty, mainly because he did not have any emotions after the death of his mother.
Marie Cardona is another character in the book. She is in love with Meursault. Marie wants to marry Meursault but Meursault doesn’t care. Marie is one of the witnesses at Meursault's trial.
Masson is also a character in the book. He is Raymond's friend. Masson is a big guy, very tall and has broad shoulders. Masson lives in a little wooden bungalow. Masson was also one of the witnesses at Meursault's trial.
Setting
The beach is one of the major settings in the novel. At the beach, Meursault sees the Arab lying down on the sand. The sun blinds Meursault. The Arab draws out his knife. The sun reflects off the knife and hits Meursault in the face. The reflection and the intense heat confused Meursault. He pulls the trigger and shoots the Arab.
Another major setting is the courtroom where Meursault is being tried for the death of the Arab. Meursault is sentenced to death by having his head cut off.
Point of View
The story is told in the first person. Meursault is telling his own story, using "I", "myself" and "we".
Examples of "I", "my" and "we" in the book.
~ Meursault said "I smoked a few cigarettes."
~ Meursault said "We swam together."
~ Meursault said "I wanted to boil myself some potatoes."
This is how I know the novel is in first person.
Literary Devices
"The blood-red earth spilling over Maman's casket, the white flesh of the roots mixed in with it." Is a quote from the book and is an example of imagery. Imagery is the ability to form mental images of things or events. This quote form a picture of what the Maman's burial was like.
"It was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness." is another quote from the book and is a simile. A simile is comparing two unlike objects using "like" or "as". In this quote, Meursault is saying the gunshots were like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness because he knew that this was going to bring him problems.
Plot
Exposition: The Stranger starts with Meursault who is a Frenchman living in Algiers. He receives a telegram telling him that his mother had died. His mother lived in an old persons' home. Meursault goes to the home. He meets the director of the home, the caretaker and the nurse. Meursault does not want them to open the casket in order to see his mother. He stays at the vigil that night. The next day they have the funeral procession. It is very hot and was a difficult procession. He returns home that night. The day after the procession, Meursault goes to the beach. He sees Marie Cardona. She had worked with him before. They go see a movie, and then she comes home with him. The next day was Sunday, Meursault did not do anything but watch people. The following day, Meursault goes to work.
Rising Action: Meursault see Raymond Sintes, who is his neighbor. Raymond has Meursault over for dinner. He tells Meursault how he beat up his girlfriend because he thought she was cheating on him. Because of this, Raymond got in a fight with the girlfriend's brother. He was to get back at his girlfriend and wants Meursault to help him by writing her a letter so that she can come back. He plans to have her come back, sleep with her then kick her out. Meursault help him and writes the letter. The girlfriend comes back and Raymond beats her again.
Climax: The following Sunday, Mason a friend of Raymond invites Meursault to his beach house. Raymond, Masson and Meursault see two Arabs at the beech. One of the Arabs was Raymond's girlfriend’s brother. They fight each other and Raymond gets stabbed by a knife. They left to go tot he doctor to take care of the cut Raymond had on the face from being stabbed. After this Raymond thinks about shooting the Arabs with a gun. Meursault convinces him to just fight him one on one. Meursault holds the gun. Meursault tells him that if they pull out the knife, he will shoot them. They go out again and find the Arabs, but the Arabs ran away. They returned to the beech house. It was so hot that Meursault did not want to go up the stair. He went walking on the beach by himself. He wanted to go by the spring because it was so hot. At the spring, he ran into one of the Arabs. The Arab pulled out the knife to show it to Meursault. The knife reflected the sunlight and blinded Meursault. Meursault tensed up and shot the Arab once, then 4 more times.
Falling Action: Meursault was arrested and put in jail. The lawyers and the magistrate cannot understand why Meursault does not feel remorse for killing the Arab, and why he did not grieve his mother's death. Instead of focusing on the death of the Arab, everything focuses on Meursault's response to when his mother died. The prosecutor calls Meursault a monster.
Resolution: Meursault is found guilty and is sentenced to die by guillotine. Meursault goes back to prison to wait for his execution. A chaplain talks to Meursault about God. Meursault gets mad and shouts at him. He tells him he does not believe in that. Meursault accepts that he will die and feels happy again. He looks forward to his execution and wishes to have a large crowd of spectators.
Theme
The theme of The Stranger is that life is pointless and senseless. Meursault does what he wants, when he wants. He does not express anything that he does not feel. He does not believe in God and only cares about himself.
Vocabulary
While I was reading The Stranger by Albert Camus there are some words that I came across that I wasn't familiar with. These are 10 words that I wasn't familiar with and sentences using the words:
1. Mortuary page 5 - (noun) funeral home or morgue.
Every person will visit a mortuary once in their life.
2. Atheist page 6- (noun) a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
An atheist has a hard time accepting that everything created needs a creator.
3. Complexion page 6- (noun) the natural color, texture, and appearance of a person's skin.
After the long journey, my brother had a pale complexion.
4. Abscess page 7- (noun) a swollen area within body tissue.
I had an abscess form on my right thigh after a cut was exposed to dirt.
5. Oppressive page 15- (adjective) unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint.
Some Spaniards were very oppressive towards the Aztecs.
6. Hearse page 17- (noun) a vehicle for conveying the coffin at a funeral.
The hearse led the row of cars to the cemetery.
7. Vaudevilles page 44- (noun) a type of entertainment popular chiefly in the U.S. in the early 20th century.
My great grandparents enjoyed vaudevilles in their teenage years.
8. Cordial page 70- (adjective) warm and friendly.
Our teacher was very cordial on the first day of school.
9. Parricide page 101- (noun) the killing of a parent or other near relative.
I can't understand how someone can commit a parricide.
10. Guillotine page 111- (noun) a machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people.
A guillotine will get rid of your worst headache.
Recommendations
I think that this novel is sad because it does not have a happy ending. Meursault does not see any importance in anything or anyone. He does not have any feelings or any motivation. The book is a well written novel but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't like sad endings. For those who don't mind a sad ending, the book is interesting because it uses a lot of literary devices.
Meursault is the protagonist. Meursault is the main character and he is telling the story. He is a Frenchman, but lives in Algiers. He is a shipping clerk and lives by himself. He does whatever he wants to do. He is a man who does not express feelings. He does not have any cares in life. He commits a murder and goes on trial.
The Antagonist can be the society that Meursault lives in because they are against the way he views things. They do not understand how Meursault could not have any remorse about the death of the Arab he killed, or why he did not feel any sadness about his mother who died at the beginning of the story. Meursault can also be considered the antagonist because he is not able to express any emotion. This is what causes the conflict in the novel. Meursault is given the death penalty, mainly because he did not have any emotions after the death of his mother.
Marie Cardona is another character in the book. She is in love with Meursault. Marie wants to marry Meursault but Meursault doesn’t care. Marie is one of the witnesses at Meursault's trial.
Masson is also a character in the book. He is Raymond's friend. Masson is a big guy, very tall and has broad shoulders. Masson lives in a little wooden bungalow. Masson was also one of the witnesses at Meursault's trial.
Setting
The beach is one of the major settings in the novel. At the beach, Meursault sees the Arab lying down on the sand. The sun blinds Meursault. The Arab draws out his knife. The sun reflects off the knife and hits Meursault in the face. The reflection and the intense heat confused Meursault. He pulls the trigger and shoots the Arab.
Another major setting is the courtroom where Meursault is being tried for the death of the Arab. Meursault is sentenced to death by having his head cut off.
Point of View
The story is told in the first person. Meursault is telling his own story, using "I", "myself" and "we".
Examples of "I", "my" and "we" in the book.
~ Meursault said "I smoked a few cigarettes."
~ Meursault said "We swam together."
~ Meursault said "I wanted to boil myself some potatoes."
This is how I know the novel is in first person.
Literary Devices
"The blood-red earth spilling over Maman's casket, the white flesh of the roots mixed in with it." Is a quote from the book and is an example of imagery. Imagery is the ability to form mental images of things or events. This quote form a picture of what the Maman's burial was like.
"It was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness." is another quote from the book and is a simile. A simile is comparing two unlike objects using "like" or "as". In this quote, Meursault is saying the gunshots were like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness because he knew that this was going to bring him problems.
Plot
Exposition: The Stranger starts with Meursault who is a Frenchman living in Algiers. He receives a telegram telling him that his mother had died. His mother lived in an old persons' home. Meursault goes to the home. He meets the director of the home, the caretaker and the nurse. Meursault does not want them to open the casket in order to see his mother. He stays at the vigil that night. The next day they have the funeral procession. It is very hot and was a difficult procession. He returns home that night. The day after the procession, Meursault goes to the beach. He sees Marie Cardona. She had worked with him before. They go see a movie, and then she comes home with him. The next day was Sunday, Meursault did not do anything but watch people. The following day, Meursault goes to work.
Rising Action: Meursault see Raymond Sintes, who is his neighbor. Raymond has Meursault over for dinner. He tells Meursault how he beat up his girlfriend because he thought she was cheating on him. Because of this, Raymond got in a fight with the girlfriend's brother. He was to get back at his girlfriend and wants Meursault to help him by writing her a letter so that she can come back. He plans to have her come back, sleep with her then kick her out. Meursault help him and writes the letter. The girlfriend comes back and Raymond beats her again.
Climax: The following Sunday, Mason a friend of Raymond invites Meursault to his beach house. Raymond, Masson and Meursault see two Arabs at the beech. One of the Arabs was Raymond's girlfriend’s brother. They fight each other and Raymond gets stabbed by a knife. They left to go tot he doctor to take care of the cut Raymond had on the face from being stabbed. After this Raymond thinks about shooting the Arabs with a gun. Meursault convinces him to just fight him one on one. Meursault holds the gun. Meursault tells him that if they pull out the knife, he will shoot them. They go out again and find the Arabs, but the Arabs ran away. They returned to the beech house. It was so hot that Meursault did not want to go up the stair. He went walking on the beach by himself. He wanted to go by the spring because it was so hot. At the spring, he ran into one of the Arabs. The Arab pulled out the knife to show it to Meursault. The knife reflected the sunlight and blinded Meursault. Meursault tensed up and shot the Arab once, then 4 more times.
Falling Action: Meursault was arrested and put in jail. The lawyers and the magistrate cannot understand why Meursault does not feel remorse for killing the Arab, and why he did not grieve his mother's death. Instead of focusing on the death of the Arab, everything focuses on Meursault's response to when his mother died. The prosecutor calls Meursault a monster.
Resolution: Meursault is found guilty and is sentenced to die by guillotine. Meursault goes back to prison to wait for his execution. A chaplain talks to Meursault about God. Meursault gets mad and shouts at him. He tells him he does not believe in that. Meursault accepts that he will die and feels happy again. He looks forward to his execution and wishes to have a large crowd of spectators.
Theme
The theme of The Stranger is that life is pointless and senseless. Meursault does what he wants, when he wants. He does not express anything that he does not feel. He does not believe in God and only cares about himself.
Vocabulary
While I was reading The Stranger by Albert Camus there are some words that I came across that I wasn't familiar with. These are 10 words that I wasn't familiar with and sentences using the words:
1. Mortuary page 5 - (noun) funeral home or morgue.
Every person will visit a mortuary once in their life.
2. Atheist page 6- (noun) a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.
An atheist has a hard time accepting that everything created needs a creator.
3. Complexion page 6- (noun) the natural color, texture, and appearance of a person's skin.
After the long journey, my brother had a pale complexion.
4. Abscess page 7- (noun) a swollen area within body tissue.
I had an abscess form on my right thigh after a cut was exposed to dirt.
5. Oppressive page 15- (adjective) unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint.
Some Spaniards were very oppressive towards the Aztecs.
6. Hearse page 17- (noun) a vehicle for conveying the coffin at a funeral.
The hearse led the row of cars to the cemetery.
7. Vaudevilles page 44- (noun) a type of entertainment popular chiefly in the U.S. in the early 20th century.
My great grandparents enjoyed vaudevilles in their teenage years.
8. Cordial page 70- (adjective) warm and friendly.
Our teacher was very cordial on the first day of school.
9. Parricide page 101- (noun) the killing of a parent or other near relative.
I can't understand how someone can commit a parricide.
10. Guillotine page 111- (noun) a machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people.
A guillotine will get rid of your worst headache.
Recommendations
I think that this novel is sad because it does not have a happy ending. Meursault does not see any importance in anything or anyone. He does not have any feelings or any motivation. The book is a well written novel but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't like sad endings. For those who don't mind a sad ending, the book is interesting because it uses a lot of literary devices.