In chapters 1-3 of The Stranger we begin to see the type of person that Meursault is. This is mainly done through the interactions that he has with other characters. One part that really struck me was how submissive Meursault is and how he is unable to stand up for himself. He does things because they are easy for him and not because they are the right thing to do. For example, he is apologetic towards his boss for having to take two days off for his mothers funeral. When he sees that his boss is not happy about Meursault taking days off, he says “‘It’s not my fault.'” I thought that it was odd that he was saying sorry to his boss when he is using that time to attend the funeral of his mother.

He does not stand up for himself and later in the story, he tries to understand why his boss was upset at him taking time off. “And, naturally, my boss thought about the fact that I’d be getting four days’ vacation that way, including Sunday, and he couldn’t have been happy about that” (19). He makes excuses for his bosses behavior and accepts his bosses belief as the right one. I found it interesting how compliant Meursault is and how he does not defend himself but instead apologizes.