The plot of the story "Stranger" seems absurd and boring at a superficial perusal, and language, with which he is described - dry and lifeless. And only at attentive study "Stranger" it appears by the real masterpiece of the European literature.
Meursault, a fine French official and an inhabitant of the Algerian suburb, receives news about the death of his mother. Three years back, being unable to provide for her on his lowly salary, he had placed her in an old people’s home. Having received a two-day leave, Meursault immediately departs for the funeral.
After a brief conversation with the director of the alms-house, Meursault decides to stay a whole night at the casket of his mother. However, he refuses to take the last look at the deceased, lengthily talks to the watchman, calmly drinks coffee with milk and smokes, and then falls asleep. During the night Meursault awakes to see friends of his mother, who seem to judge him for what he’s done. Next morning under the hot Algerian sun Meursault indifferently buries his mother and comes back to Algeria.
After sleeping over twelve hours, Meursault decides to go to the sea for a swim, where he meets Marie Cardona, a former typist from his office. She becomes his mistress the same evening. After spending all next day at a window, Meursault thinks that essentially “nothing has changed” in his life.
The next day coming home after work, Meursault meets his neighbors: the old man Salamano, as usual with his dog, and Raymond Sintes, a warehouse guard, who has the reputation of souteneur i.e. the pimp. Sintes wants to teach his mistress, an Arab woman, a lesson, because she was unfaithful to him, and asks Meursault to compose a letter, so to lure her into going on a date with Raymond, then catching her and beating her up. In a little while Meursault becomes a witness of a rough squabble between Raymond and his mistress, and when police interferes he agrees to act as a witness on Raymond’s side.
Boss proposes to Meursault a new place of employment in Paris, but Meursault declines—his life couldn’t be changed anyway. In the same evening Marie asks Meursault if he would he mind marrying her. Meursault doesn’t have the same interest in marriage as in a career advance.
Meursault is going to spend a Sunday with Marie and Raymond at the beach visiting Raymond’s friend Masson. After swimming and an abundant lunch, Masson asks friends to go for a walk on the beach. During promenade they notice two Arabs in blue overalls at the very far end of the beach. It’s seems that Arabs had tracked them down. The scuffle has begun. One of the Arabs wounds Raymond in arm with knife. Then Arabs retreat and run away. Meursault and his friends again come to the beach a bit later and see the same Arabs behind a big rock. Raymond gives Meursault a revolver, but a reason for quarrel doesn’t appear.
The world as though has closed on and has captured them. Friends left Meursault by his lonesome. Strong heat pressed on him; drunken torpor covered him. At a stream behind the big rock, he again notices the Arab, who has wounded Raymond. Being unable to bear the intolerable heat, Meursault steps forward, takes out the revolver and shoots the Arab, "like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness".
Later Meursault is arrested and interrogated several times. He considers his case to be a very simple one, but inspector and lawyer adhere to other opinion. The inspector sees Meursault as a fairly clever and a nice man and cannot understand the motives of his crime; he strikes a conversation about God with Meursault, but Meursault avows the disbelief in God. The murder creates the only disappointment for him.
The investigation lasts for eleven months. Meursault understands, that the prison cell becomes a home for him and his life is over. In the beginning he still mentally free, but after an appointment with Marie in his soul there is a change. As he pines away with boredom, he recollects the past and understands, that a man who has lived even one day as a free man, can be in a prison for hundred years and still have enough memories to last. Gradually Meursault loses the notion of time.
Meursault’s case is nominated for a hearing at the last session of court of jury. There are many people in a stuffy hall, but Meursault is unable to distinguish between them.
After a long interrogation of witnesses: director and watchman of the alms-house, Raymond and Masson, Salamano and Marie, the public prosecutor utters a very angry conclusion: Meursault, never crying on funeral of the own mother, never having wished to take a last look at the deceased, entering into relations with a woman the very next day and being a friend of a professional ponce, makes a murder into an insignificant occasion, just getting even with the victim. According to the public prosecutor, Meursault hasn’t a soul; human feelings, or any moral principles are inaccessible to him. In horror before callousness of a criminal public prosecutor requires a death penalty.
Meursault’s lawyer in the protective speech names him “an honest man, a steadily employed, tireless worker” and a model son providing for his mother, while it was possible, and ruined his life in a blink of the eye. A severe penalty is reserved for Meursault, which is inescapable repentance and reproach of consciousness.
After a break, the chairman of court discloses the verdict: "on behalf of the French people" Meursault will publicly have his head chopped off on the square. Meursault begins to reflect on the verdict and whether is it possible for him to avoid a logical course of events. He cannot agree with inevitability occurring. Soon, however, he is restrained with an idea on death, as the life is not worth for him to cling to it and since death is inevitable there is no difference when and how it happens.
Before the execution Meursault is visited by a priest, who attempts turn Meursault to God. Yet those attempts remain unanswered. For Meursault eternal life doesn’t make any sense, and he doesn’t want to waste the little time that he has on God, so he turns all the bottled up anger at the priest.
On the threshold of death Meursault feels as if the abyss of the future approaches him with a breath of darkness and that he has been predestined for this fate. He is ready to relive the whole experience and opens up his soul to a tender indifference of the world.
The title of this story is a very polysemantic for understanding. At first, we should explain the meaning of this word “stranger” and try to see how it’s relates to the plot. “Stranger” means an unfamiliar person. We can interpret this meaning by two ways. On the one hand, Meursault is a person who knows almost nothing about his mother and father. He doesn’t know mother’s age, he says, “I never knew him (father)”, but there is more important he doesn’t know relation’s feelings. His feelings are based on first impressions. Meursault had disgust to his father because of “he (father) spent half the morning throwing up”.
By another side, Meursault is an unfamiliar person for readers by many spheres of his life. He doesn’t tell us about his job. He just does it as a machine and doesn’t want to talk about it more in detail.
Meursault’s mistress Mary doesn’t know why she loves him. Even she knows that he doesn’t love her and he doesn’t want to marry her. Also, many witnesses in the court couldn’t say something positive and concrete about Meursault.
Also, Meursault is “alienated person” – “somebody who has become distanced or alienated from somebody or something”. The person who doesn’t want to improve his career, because of “ I had no ambition”, who wants his mistress but doesn’t want to marry her. He doesn’t want to see his mother before funeral. Everything proves that Meursault is the alienated person for his relatives and friends.
One of the characters of Camus’ masterpiece—Salamano—though is not the main personality, and even is not a secondary hero, but is mentioned to support the plot, cannot disappear from attention of the reader. For the first time he appears in the plot with a dog. In its entirety, particularly the image Old Man Salamano with the dog is the key to unraveling the plot. The behavior of despotic Old Man, seemingly hating the “Stinking bastard” is apparent. Even more amazing that his conduct changes when he loses the four-pawed companion. Rude Old Man suddenly becomes sentimental, helpless, melancholic and even his attempts to cover up his sentimental nature by the use of words—that he “won’t spend one penny to get him out of knockers yard”—cannot camouflage Salamanos inclination toward the poor animal. Salamanos life story somehow lets us peek into his inner world. We are beginning to understand that lonely Old Man simply is of need of a company of a living soul. Without an ability to express positive feelings and decent care for his charge, Salamano still gets a certain outing while dealing with the dog. It is possible to see a peculiar autist (autistic patient) in this character. The problem with autism is that the patient wants to have feelings, relationships, communications, but because of psychological disorder cannot express all of that. For example, when autist cries, he feels some satisfaction through that he can utter his attitude, express his feelings. Same in the case of Salamano: appearing of the pages of the tale, he constantly scolds his dog. Logically it is possible to make a conclusion that he hates the dog. Only the loss of his charge shows how much Salamano psychologically dependent on the dog.
We know, Camus had given important meaning to the body. The body is obvious evidence, argument, which cannot be denied. To exist is first of all to live. In this question we find conformity to opinion Hobbes. Hobbes considered: "body", - is something, having properties; that arises and perishes; he recognized material bodies as single substation. The story represents assembly of the descriptions of feelings and experiences, sensations and taste.
"Stranger" is a history about a death penalty. Condemned, before is indifferent concerning to all around, has felt vague excitement only before death: "How had I seen that there was nothing more important than an execution, and that when you come fight down to it, it was the only thing a man could truly be interested in".
The story "Stranger" today sounds very relevant. In the world the large evil - terrorism, perhaps, even more terrible again has arisen, than nazism. And each man should show all vigilance, force of will, endurance to resist to him. "Evil perishes on an instant earlier, than last defender of a Good’s fortress will fall". Let's remember this aphorism to not become once "extraneous" in our difficult varying world!
June 2007
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