Question

How did Camus develop the character of Meursault? Identify and explain specific examples from the text that illustrate Meursault’s character. Your answer should be at least 250 words.

Answer 1

Camus made Meursault emotionally detached because Camus wanted to develop his  idea related to the philosophy of the absurd;  this was during Hitler's Nazi regime. This  idea meant, in Camus' opinion, that life had no rational meaning. Therefore, Meursault illustrated  that absurd indifference towards emotions in Camus' novel " The Stranger". When Meursault went to his mother's funeral, he did not cry. In spite of the fact he had to travel long to be present at the funeral ,and he encountered some difficulties, he just took the funeral  as an impersonal activity. His indifferent attitude was also percieved when he was with his girlfriend Marie, a co-worker of his. She said she was in love with him and proposed marriage to  him. He accepted coldly but he could not marry Marie because he was sent to prison. Meursault had got involved with a neighbour of his, Raymond. Raymond was an agressive man who used to beat his mistress. When Raymond's mistress left him, Raymond asked Meursault for help.  Although the police were after him beause of his agression towards his mistress, Meursault helped him. He not only wrote a letter to the mistress to torment her but he also defended Raymond in front of the police. Then, Raymond , Marie and   Meursault were spending some free time on the beach, when they came across the brother of Raymond's mistress. Raymond wanted to kill him but   Meursault stopped him. However,   Meursault finally killed the mistress' brother without any obvious reason.  Meursault was sent to prison but he did not care much. He never felt guilty because of his actions, so he had become dangerous for society. He was sentenced to  death. However,  he could not accept his fate easily; he had dreams of escaping prison.  Besides, he did not accept to become a Catholic because he did not believe in God. Finally, when he accepted "the gentle indifference of the world", he felt happy.