Literature Analysis #1

The Stranger by Robert Camus

1. A man named Meursault lives in the Algiers but takes a trip to Marengo, where his mom was living before she died. As he is there for his mom's funeral, his behavior was odd in which it seemed like he did not care about his mom’s death considering he “remembers little of the funeral.” That same night he returned back to the Algiers where things get heated. The day after he gets back he goes to the beach for a swim where he runs into Marie Cardona, his former co-worker and he eventually gets engaged to her. As things progress on he runs into a lot of friends but the key friends he runs into is Raymond Sintes and Masson. Raymond invites Meursault over for dinner, where Raymond talks about how his mistress cheated on him and so he beat her up. Raymond also had gotten into a fight with his mistresses brother and needs help from Meursault in this situation. Later on, Meursault, Marie, and Raymond go to Masson’s beach house and that afternoon, Raymond, Masson, and Meursault run into two Arabs on the beach. One of the Arabs was Raymond’s mistress’s brother, and they all got into a fight which led to a stabbing of Raymond. Later that night, Meursault goes back and shoots Raymond’s mistress’s brother for no reason. He then is thrown into jail and is forced to forget about his social life while he is in there. The inciting incident is that Meursault shoots an Arab on the beach 3 times and is arrested and put in jail for murder. He then is sentenced to death and gets beheaded.  Meursault is forced to think about his actions before his death and has figure out what he did wrong and try and find a God in which he does not believe in. Before his death he was showing odd behavior especially seen when he showed that he did not really care about life.

2. The main theme is the irrationality of the universe and or the meaningless of human life, or importance of the world. It is a universal theme in which I described. This is shown through Meursault’s behavior and attitude before he dies. He finds human life meaningless and does not believe in a god.  

3.  The tone of the book to me was plain, ironic, and depressing

“I had only a little time left and I didn't want to waste it on God.”

“There is not love of life without despair about life.”

“My dear,
In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.
Truly yours,
Albert Camus”

4.Symbolism- There is symbolism in the overall trial of Meursault’s murder case. The    trial symbolized society’s attempt to figure out the universe.

Flashback- There is flashback when Meursault flashes back on life itself and establishes that life is meaningless. He accepts the “gentle indifference of the world.”

Point of View- Meursault is the narrator and he narrates in the first person. His narration is of his own thoughts and not the other characters.

Imagery- Imagery is used in this novel when Meursault sees the world in a much different way. He questions life and believes it is meaningless but finds greatness in the physical world.

Inference- An inference is shown when Meursault’s behavior was odd because he was questioning life and its meaning. He showed that he did not really care about life which led him to kill the Arab which eventually led to his death.

Irony- "For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate." This shows that Meursault’s life was very absurd and his indifference to the world led to this.

Metaphor- “But the heat was so intense that it was just as bad standing still in the blinding stream falling from the sky. To stay or go, it amounted to the same thing. A minute later I turned back toward the beach and started walking.” The sun was uncomfortable to Meursault.

Simile- "The sound was like the muffled jabber of parakeets."

Pathos- There is pathos throughout the whole story in which it is very emotional and depressing.

Setting- The story takes place half the time in Algeria and the other half is Meursault’s trial in jail. This all occurred in the early 1940’s just before World War 2.

Characterization

1. Meursault- the main character who is a man who views and describes a lot of what occurs around him from a removed position. He also is refusal to his order of society. He was deathly and quite absurd as an overall man. He is an indirect character in which he is characterized by his thoughts, words, and actions.

Raymond Sintes- Meursault’s neighbor who is a local pimp who gets very angry at a girl that cheated on him. He abuses her with Meursault’s help which contrasts Meursault’s calm detachment. He is a violent man. He is characterized by indirect characterization in which the author includes what he thinks about other people and his actions.

2. Diction- reflects of Meursault’s attitude throughout the book in which he acts on basic instincts. The way he talks in short and simple sentences are an example on word choices that do not think much on instinct.

Syntax- The words are used to show how basic Meursault is. The way the author writes it is also how Meursault is a basic person.

3.The protagonist, Meursault is a dynamic character in which he does not change throughout the story. Throughout the story he is constantly stuck on his fact that life is meaningless and he shows this through his basic attitude throughout the story. His behavior throughout the story is also very absurd in which he views the world a lot differently than others.

4. I did not come away from this book feeling I had met someone or a character because it was very basic and somewhat boring. I did not know most of the characters feelings either because it was mostly about Meursault’s feelings, which were dynamic.