A few chapters into the book, a thought, or rather a question, occurred to me. What if Meursault is a relatively normal character who is just written more truthfully than others? To put it more clearly, maybe Meursault is the only sane character in the story. As this isn’t the kind of topic with a definitive answer, I find it difficult to argue my point. Nevertheless, I will try.

Meursault seems, at least to me, to have a strong grip on or acceptance of reality. He tends not to complain about the cards he is dealt, as he realizes quite early on that he cannot do anything about them. For example, Meursault accepts his prison punishment relatively fast. One of his prison guards even points this out to him, saying, “[Y]ou see, you understand these things. The rest of them don’t” (78). We see this again in Meursault’s response to his problem of “killing time” (78). He mentions that, “apart from these annoyances,” by which he means his punishments, “I wasn’t too unhappy” (78). He cured his boredom by traveling back to his apartment by way of his memories, remembering, “every piece of furniture; and of every object, all the details; and of the details themselves–a flake, a crack, or a chipped edge” (79). This recollection process keeps him quite occupied and brings him to realize that, “a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison” (79).

To me, what others see as Meursault’s disconnection from reality, is just his acknowledgment that life must be taken as it comes, and that one must make the most of their given situation.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, there is a very distinct parallel between “The Myth of Sisyphus” and The Stranger. The timing of this discovery has helped my understanding of not only the evolution of this story, but life in general, too. Over the weekend I not only learned who Sisyphus was, but I discovered that he was happy because he was aware. He was conscious of his situation and he was realistic about the hope he carried with him throughout. Therefore, every time he walked back down the hill, it was in that moment that he could reinvigorate his superiority. That is where he had power, even in a situation where his “whole being is exerted toward accomplishing nothing.”

Similarly, while waiting in his cell for the day of his execution, Meursault spends his time awake thinking of his appeal. He always begins by “assuming the worst” (114). That is, he considers how his life will go when there is simply no escape from his execution. And, although frightening to him, that is where Meursault seems to be able to find peace and clarity with the outcome. When his hope ceases and he stops giving himself any benefit of the doubt… that is when his journey towards indifference begins: “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world” (122).

As the new school year rolls around students prepare their school supplies and teachers are prepare their curriculum. We all began the year expecting to be informed on the subjects we find ourselves in by the end of the year. And every single year we start back at the beginning, longing to become more educated in more subjects. For teachers their systems are almost the same, starting the year with students uneducated on their specialty, ready to help them become masters by the end. But for teachers this becomes more repetitive, while us students come in ready to learn a new subject every year, the teachers are stuck with the same subject. Each years students are like a photo copy of the last, just with a few name changes.

Sisyphus is constantly met with a challenge that he knows how to complete, but the outcome is not consistent. Along with teachers, when Sisyphus reaches the top of the mountain, like a teacher reaches the end of the school year they, have a feeling of accomplishment. They have gone through the obstacles it takes to get to the end. What keeps them going is the fall of the boulder, the beginning of a new year, refreshing everything they have worked for, for another chance of success. They say Sisyphus was the happiest man, maybe this is why teachers are the happiest people.

Throughout the first few chapters we learn about the death of Meursault’s mother as well as his reaction to said event. As we begin to unravel the text it becomes increasingly obvious that he seems to not care at all about the fact that his mother is dead and even further seems annoyed that he had to talk to his boss about missing work to attend the funeral. “I asked my boss for two days off and there was no way he was going to refuse me with an excuse like that. But he wasn’t too happy about it. I even said, “It’s not my fault.” He didn’t say anything.” The tone of the story as well as the way that it is told gives the impression that Mr. Meursault cares little for the death of his mother. Unlike most people Meursault is unfazed and it caused me slight uncomfort through the first part of the story but it also caused a fascination that allowed me to fall even deeper into the world of that Camu created. As I read the layers around the funeral I began to see not only the surface level of uncaring that Meursault seems to display but that he is actually quite annoyed with certain things that seem irrelevant, such as the old man falling behind while the funeral procession was going to the church. The smaller details that seem to be swalloed by the overall uncaring attitude and tone of the book made it even more fascinating to me and make me excited to learn even more about Meursault as well as The Stranger.

In part two of The Stranger, Albert Camus describes Meursault’s experience throughout the trial. We are taken through the testimonies of several people along with Celeste, Meursault’s friend and Marie, his “love interest”. 

At first she seems like an open book, she willingly gives details of their relationship and a key date that the prosecutor points out “was the day after Maman died” (93). This provided some weight to the prosecution’s debate in Meursault’s lack of emotion or reaction to his mother’s death as earlier mentioned by the director and caretaker. Marie had unintentionally played into their hands, further strengthening their argument and in the process hurting Meursault’s defence. 

The prosecution continues on by having Marie explain what they had done on that day. In this instance she understood that she must be cautious of what she would say knowing the weight of her words could hurt Meursault. Additionally she also seems a bit reluctant to give out details possibly because she wanted to keep the memories only to herself and Meursault.

When asked what movie they had watched that day Meursault describes that “[i]n an almost expressionless voice she did in fact tell the court that it was a Fernandel film” (94). Fernandel films are known to be comical and providing this detail, Marie is seen accepting the consequences of her actions. She recognizes her doing and is now burdened with the knowledge that she has aided in the downfall of her partner.