Albert Camus's The Stranger review

 

Albert Camus was born in 1913 in Mondovi. He was a French Algerian philosopher, author and journalist. He studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. He is a noble laureate and won the noble prize in literature in 1957 at the age of 44. His works usually contains themes of absurdism and existentialism and other ideas that are usually considered thought provoking.

            The Stranger is Camus’s first novel. It is about a man being a stranger amid a group of people who constitutes a society with a designed set of ethics, rules and norms that everyone should abide to. However, Camus’s perception is inclined towards the absurdism being the unique perspective that opposes the society’s made norms. The novel has themes related to life being with no meaning and that our own existence is irrational through the protagonist and his reactions to his destiny. Camus’s main purpose was to deliver a story that would reinforce his views of absurdism and try to convince people lost in their lives and looking for an answer that there’s no specific answer that one should aspire to find; that life or no life at all in this absurd world is actually the same. All these views are portrayed through the protagonist journey as an example of a possible absurd life that the reader may actually face.

            The book is considered a pioneer work of literature that presents a prominent theme of absurdism. The main and most important aspect of the book is not its story line or literary devices but the powerful message it delivers and upon which this book must be judged.

            The stranger is the story of Meursault who receives the news of his mother’s death with complete apathy. Through the funeral and the burial, he seems complete neutral and doesn’t show any signs of grief. Upon his return to his usual lifestyle, he gets involved in his friend’s Raymond fierce issue with a girl. Meursault ends up killing her brother on the beach and it is mentioned that it was a complete coincidence even though he shot him with five bullets. Meursault is then taken to trial during which he tells the lawyer assigned by the court that “my physical needs influence my emotions.” During the trial he tells the court that he had no intentions of killing the victim but it was the heat of the summer that enticed him.  The trial ends with a death sentence that even brings about more absurd meaning to his life.

            In my opinion the novel was convincing in its depiction of the stranger who was completely indifferent no matter what happened in his life. I guess what mainly the book left out are the opposing viewpoints. Camus only presented his ideas and tried to advocate them but never presented the opposing beliefs which would have been a strong strategy to truly convince the reader. There were many points in the book that were not convincing. Meursault’s beliefs were flawed especially religious wise. He did not believe in God because it was not important and it did not matter to him. He did not know whether he loved his mother or not he just believed that it was a matter of habit only. All this is completely illogical or simply not related to our pure human instincts that can be located in every human soul. Meursault was portrayed as completely normal despite having those abnormal thoughts. Another thing is the theme of absurdism, and if it was right that all this life is completely meaningless and with no purpose. Then all morals are nonsense and what is left is enjoyment which is totally not natural.

            One relevant anecdote is when my aunt passed away alone in her apartment away from her sons and all relatives. They knew about her death when her son visited her after she didn’t answer his calls, I then truly wondered how absurd this life can be, I mean one can grow up, make money, have kids and then die lonely just like my aunt. But a divine message came after I knew what my aunt said to her sone two days before her death, she told him that her life was totally worth it. I came to know that this journey no matter what happens is purposeful and worthy.

            This book is truly unique and it makes you re-evaluate your insights. Moreover, it is an entertaining piece of art whether you agree with the ideas presented or not. It will make you confront your beliefs and then you would discover things that you didn’t know about yourself. The author has written multiple works related to the same theme such as The plague but what differs in The stranger is that it is more vivid in its depiction and more straightforward.

 

Rating: 7.5/10