Introduction
The main purpose of this essay is to explore the character of Mersault in the Outsider and determine why this character is a controversial figure. The Outsider which is also known as the Stranger is a novel written by Albert Camus in 1942 during the Existentialist movement that took place in France during the same year. The Outsider explores various schools of thought that are based on philosophy such as naturalism, determinism, and absurdism. The main character of the novel, Mersault, is a citizen of France who has been domiciled in Algeria after killing an Arab man. Mersault’s character comes off as detached and emotionless in the novel where these two aspects portray existentialism in the novel. Camus creates the character of Mersault to be one that the readers can be able to relate with because Mersault has been placed in realistic situations that affect humans in their daily lives.
Camus’ writing in the Outsider is simple and direct with the choice of language being used to convey Mersault’s thoughts and actions being represented in a simplistic manner. The storyline in the novel has been divided into two where the first part of the story explores the development of Mersault’s character and attitude towards himself and the rest of his surroundings. It also involves a description by the narrator of the objects and people that surround him without him necessarily analyzing them. The job of analyzing Mersault’s environment is passed on to the reader where they have to make sense of Mersault’s actions especially when he has to confront his past.
Camus creates a fictional story in the Stranger that mostly depicts the absurdity of life which is expressed by depicting the events that were taking place (World War II) during the writing of his book. The storyline did not only offer a response to the horrors and atrocities caused by war but it offered its readers a vision of the timeless struggles that human beings went through in their daily lives. The absurdist idea explored within the storyline demonstrated that human beings around the world lived in a world that had no meaning despite the desire that human beings had to exist. In Camus’ view, human beings had to come to the realization that life had no meaning after which they could be able to move to a new state of happiness.
The plot of the Story
In the first part of the story, Mersault is notified of his mother’s death to which he does not cry or demonstrate any form of emotion during his narration. He refuses to view her body during her wake and prefers to smoke a cigarette instead. In his narrative, he does not in any way express his feelings but he instead opts to talk about the other mourners in the funeral. A day after the funeral, Mersault meets with a former colleague of the company he works for, Marie Cardona, and they soon forge a sexual relationship. This demonstrates his uncaring side and lack of any emotional connection to his mother’s funeral. During the same time, Mersault decides to help Raymond Sintes, his friend and neighbor, in devising a revenge attack on his girlfriend who he suspects is cheating on him.
Mersault is not concerned that the revenge being planned by Raymond is mostly violent as his friend intends to beat up his girlfriend before leaving her. Mersault does not express any concern about Raymond’s revenge plan on his girlfriend as she is more than likely to get hurt. He believes Raymond’s story that she is cheating on him and his lack of empathy and sympathy drives him to take part in Raymond’s plan. Mersault writes a letter to Raymond’s girlfriend convincing her to come and see Raymond, which she does. Raymond ends up beating her and she goes to report him to the authorities who later come to arrest him. Raymond is taken to court and Mersault is called on to testify in his friend’s defense. Mersault tells the court that Raymond’s girlfriend had been unfaithful to him during the course of their relationship.
Raymond is let off with a warning after Mersault’s testimony but he begins to be stalked by his girlfriend’s brother and his Arab friends. They even follow Raymond, Mersault, and Marie to a beach house they had visited for the weekend. A confrontation ensues between the brother and Raymond that sees Raymond being stabbed with a knife. Mersault later arms himself with a pistol when the Arab confronts him with a knife. Mersault shoots the Arab man before he attempts to stab him and despite killing him with only one shot, he proceeds to shoot him four more times without displaying any form of emotion or reason for his merciless killing.
In the second part of the story, Mersault is arrested for the murder of the Arab and he narrates his incarceration by providing the reader with details of his arrest and the prison where he is being held. Mersault’s general detachment to his surroundings and also to his existence ensures that his prison experience is tolerable especially when he gets used to the idea that he cannot go anywhere. He passes his time in prison by either sleeping or mentally reflecting on the items he possessed in his free life and also those that were in his apartment. During his trial, Mersault demonstrates a sense of passivity and lack of emotion which shows that he has no sense of remorse or guilt for his actions. The prosecuting attorney notices this and decides to pursue Mersault’s lack of guilt while building his case against him. The attorney tries to get him to demonstrate some form of emotion which Mersault is unable to do. This leads the attorney to portray Mersault as a soulless monster because of his incapability to demonstrate remorse for his crime. Mersault later narrates in the novel that he is unable to feel any form of remorse for his actions or show any emotional feelings.
While Mersault’s attorney convinces him that he will get off with a light sentence, he is surprised when the judge decides to hand him a sentence of public decapitation for his crime. As he is waiting for his public decapitation in the guillotine, a chaplain approaches him with a request to Mersault to change his ways and turn to God before his death. The chaplain’s constant persistence that Mersault should change from his atheist ways causes Mersault to accost him with a fit of rage and anger. He lashes out at the chaplain venting his lifelong frustrations as well as his view of the absurdity of the human condition. As he comes to terms with his impending execution, he grasps the universe’s indifference towards mankind.
The first part of the story demonstrates Mersault’s unperceptive nature demonstrating that he exists through sensory experiences that are demonstrated by his relationship with Marie, his mother’s funeral procession, and swimming in the sea while he was on the beach house with Raymond and his girlfriend. Mersault’s narrative demonstrates that he is unaware of the absurdity that exists in human beings but his actions throughout the novel demonstrate the absurdity of his life. The killing of the Arab man on the beach demonstrates how Mersault views the life of other human beings as meaningless and inconsequential. It demonstrates how much importance he places on his own life and his past experiences.
The second part of the story examines the aspects of justice where during Mersault’s incarceration the chaplain convinces him to turn to God so that he can be forgiven of his sins. While he is in the guillotine, Mersault is overcome with emotions as the idea of being executed begins to sink in. His view of the Arab’s death was irrelevant as he still held the belief that the Arab deserved to die for his actions regardless of whether the Arab man had a family or not. The humanity of the victim according to Mersault is not an important aspect of his life as he viewed humanity and murder to be non-important issues. While facing his death, Mersault experiences a sense of revelation and happiness which creates a feeling of absurdity on the part of the reader. Mersault is satisfied with his death as he views it as punishment enough for his actions including the killing of the Arab man and his other indiscretions.
Characterization of Mersault
The way people react to various situations in life determines what kind of personality, character, and behavior they have. Mersault’s behavior is deemed to be abnormal because of his actions and his lack of emotion to events that take place around him such as his mother’s funeral and his court trial. Mersault’s indifference to life, in general, causes him to appear as a stranger in society and to the people that he interacts with. The general lack of remorse or guilt on the part of Mersault during his trial eventually leads to his prosecution for the murder of the Aram man on the beach. Mersault’s character in the Stranger is portrayed as that of a man who has his own opinions and outlook on life. He is unable to understand what is going on in his surroundings which adds to his indifference or detachment from the rest of the world.
He rarely makes any judgment calls during his narration and he rarely expresses his opinions to the reader on what he is doing in the story. The storyline also demonstrates that Mersault has a problem with emotions especially when he is unable to demonstrate any grief and anguish during his mother’s funeral and also during his court trial. When he receives news of his mother’s death, he is generally detached and unemotional which demonstrates to the reader that he is uncaring and cold. While he wished that his mother had not died, Mersault views her death as an interruption to his daily life which is demonstrated to the reader during the funeral. Mersault laments about the hot burial in the story as well as his discomfort during the bus ride to the funeral. He also experiences some discomfort because of the hot weather as he shoots the Arab man on the beach. His lack of emotions during the court trial is what leads to his general incarceration as he portrays the image of a heartless murderer with no remorse.
Camus tries to demonstrate Mersault’s emotional unavailability by contrasting his emotions in the two parts of the book. In the first part, Camus portrays Mersault’s character as being that of an indifferent person. This separation is important as it allows the reader to follow Mersault’s changing nature throughout the storyline. Mersault’s emotions are however seen during his final interaction with the chaplain where he finally comes to terms with his impending death. Mersault opens up to the chaplain after going through his fit of rage and he begins to enjoy their meetings as the chaplain is the only contact he has to the outside world during his incarceration. The difference between Mersault’s character and the rest of the society is demonstrated by his views on religion and the afterlife where he tells the chaplain that the way he lived his life was not wrong in any way. He sees his way of life to be what set him apart from the rest of society and other human beings.
Mersault’s view on life makes it impossible for him to accept other people’s opinions of life because he has formed his own opinions of them. His character comes off as close-minded in the story as he is unable to accept other people’s opinions of life and existence. His character also demonstrates that he does not get along with other people mostly because of his stubborn nature. According to Bloom, Mersault does not open up to other people in his society which makes it difficult for him and for them to get along. Because of his different perspective on life, it was impossible for other people around him to reason with him since his stubborn nature and close-mindedness made it difficult to accept other people’s views.
Mersault’s different view of life which emerges during his discussion with the chaplain makes him different from the rest of the society. While the chaplain views the prison walls to be a representation of God and salvation, Mersault views the walls to be a representation of the people in his life. Mersault views the prison cell to represent his place within society while the stone walls represent the society in which he exists. The prison cell is therefore a representation of Mersault’s life where he pursued his desires and ambitions that were deemed to be wrong in the society’s eye. His different perception of life is what made him be a stranger to the rest of society.
Reasons why Mersault’s Character was Controversial
Bloom views Mersault’s character to be controversial because of his apparent lack of emotion and general detachment from his surroundings. His apparent lack of emotion on hearing that his mother is dead is deemed to be controversial as the general reaction would be that of sadness, anguish, and grief. Mersault does not demonstrate any of these emotions during the funeral proceedings as he laments about his discomfort during the bus ride and also during the funeral. This demonstrates how emotionally detached he is from the funeral proceedings as well as to the loss of his mother as he is more concerned with how the heat is bothering him.
Bloom characterizes Mersault to be cold and uncaring because of the general disconnect that Mersault has during the funeral. Bloom also describes Mersault’s character to be selfish especially when he is asked by the warden if they should move his mother’s body to a smaller mortuary as it was upsetting the other residents in the nursing facility. Mersault sees this to be a disruption of his daily routine as he views moving the body of his mother to another mortuary to be a lot of work. While the warden expresses the concerns of the other people living in the care facility, Mersault keeps his opinions and concerns to himself.
A day after his mother’s funeral, Meursault forges a relationship with a former employee of his company, Marie Cardona, which demonstrates a lack of detachment towards his mother’s death. This behavior is viewed to be controversial as most human beings overcome with grief take a long time to heal from their loss. In the case of losing a parent or a spouse, people generally take a longer time to get over their grief before they move on with their lives. In the case of Mersault, he moves on with his life a day after his mother is laid to rest by forming a sexual relationship with Marie.
Another aspect in Camus’ the Stranger that leads the reader to view Mersault’s character as controversial is how he decides to take part in a revenge attack directed towards Raymond Sintes’s girlfriend. Just days after his mother’s funeral, Mersault agrees to take part in a revenge attack that Raymond has planned against his girlfriend whom he suspects is cheating on him. Raymond plans to beat her up and leave her for dead after he has had his way with her. He explains his plan to Mersault who does not seem to have any problem with it which brings to question Mersault’s moral character and integrity towards human life.
Mersault does not seem to be concerned that Raymond’s girlfriend will be injured during the attack. When she eventually meets with Raymond, she ends up getting hurt and goes to report Raymond to the authorities. Raymond is arrested for his crime and sent to trial where Mersault defends him for his actions. While any normal human being would find it difficult to defend a guilty man, Mersault vouches for his friend’s behavior by telling the court that Raymond’s girlfriend was cheating on him and she, therefore, deserved to be beaten.
Mersault’s character is also deemed to be controversial when he shoots the Arab after their confrontation with the brother of Raymond’s girlfriend. Mersault does not experience any feelings of remorse and guilt for killing the Arab man. He is rather concerned with the effect that the heat has on him while he is standing on the beach. He views the death of the Arab man to be irrelevant to his current predicament as he is more bothered by the heat. He narrates how the heat is burning his cheeks causing him to sweat uncontrollably and he even equates his current discomfort to what he felt during his mother’s funeral. The reader of the story might assume that the heat was a contributing factor to Mersault shooting the Arab as he is detached from the killing. He even goes on to shoot the Arab man four more times for no reason despite killing him with the first shot he fired.
During his court trial, Mersault demonstrates a lack of remorse or guilt which leads the prosecuting attorney to view him as a heartless monster. His lack of general emotions portrays Mersault as an uncaring person as he is unable to show any form of sympathy to the killing of the Arab man. Mersault views the Arab’s death to be another inconvenience to his life as he does not consider whether the man has a family during the court trial. His general detachment to the Arab’s killing demonstrates how Mersault is a controversial figure in Camus’ novel as his reactions are different from what is expected by society under such a situation. While an ordinary human being would react to the court proceedings with feelings of remorse, redemption, and guilt, Mersault chooses to demonstrate a lack of any emotions which is his eventual downfall at the end of the court proceedings.
Samuel Beckett demonstrates the controversial nature of Mersault’s character when he compares him with the main characters of his play (Waiting for Godot), Vladimir and Estragon. While Mersault does not want anything to do with religion in his life and during his stay in prison, Vladimir and Estragon live their lives waiting for God which means that their life had a lot of religion. In terms of emotions, Vladimir and Estragon are more emotional than Mersault, especially after their fights. The two characters embrace each other to demonstrate their friendship and love towards each other. Mersault on the other hand does not demonstrate any emotion especially during his mother’s funeral and also during the shooting of the Arab man. Mersault’s honesty and close-mindedness to the world makes it difficult for him to portray any emotion during his narration.
While Vladimir and Estragon lead a life that lacks meaning, their constant fights demonstrate their impotence and constant dependence on each other which shows how human beings depend on other people such as parents, friends, and colleagues for their emotional needs. Their friendship also demonstrates the close relationships that people have in society and in the general world which Mersault does not have. Apart from his relationship with Marie Cardona and Raymond, Mersault does not have a close relationship with anyone else which means that he lacks any form of dependence on someone for his emotional needs. Beckett views Mersault’s lack of crying during his mother’s funeral to be an indication of his inhumanity. Since society expects someone to cry during a funeral, Mersault does not as doing so would mean that he is complying with societal values and beliefs.
Mersault’s general behavior during the first part of the book and during the court trial is that of a man who is detached from the rest of the world. As he awaits his death, he opens up to the prison chaplain about his life by stating that he has done no wrong in his past experiences and actions. He however opens up to the chaplain about his fear of death which eventually leads to the two of them having frequent meetings. The last parts of the novel demonstrate how he has accepted his fate and how he has accepted the consequences of his actions especially when he says “A life in which I can remember this life on earth. That’s all I want of it.”
The aspect of absurdity is demonstrated in many parts of Camus’s portrayal of Mersault especially when he views the lives of other people around him to be absurd despite the fact that his own actions and experiences are deemed by the reader to be absurd and controversial in some respects. Mersault also demonstrates absurdity when he cannot take the questioning of the magistrate seriously when he narrates how he was about to shake the magistrate’s hand only to realize that he had killed a man. He also demonstrates absurdity when in his prison cell, he prefers to sleep and mentally count how many things he has in his apartment rather than reflect on his life. His natural instinct to make do with what he has enables him to develop a prison mentality. He desires women and cigarettes which is what most prisoners want while they are behind bars but he gets used to being deprived of these two aspects.
Mersault demonstrates absurdity again when during his final days in the guillotine he is overcome by a wave of nostalgia. He remembers the familiar sounds of the town he lived in as well as his perfectly content life in his apartment and his relationship with Marie Cardona. This seems to be absurd as Mersault never discusses these things during his life, only choosing to do so because of the growing awareness of his death. He remembers the words of the nurse during his mother’s funeral and also the words of the chaplain during their frequent meetings. This self-reflection demonstrates the absurdity of Mersault’s character as he views all these things to be important to him as he nears his death.
Conclusion
This essay has dealt with an analysis of Mersault’s character in the novel the Stranger written by Albert Camus. The essay has dealt with an analysis of Mersault’s character within the novel by looking at his reactions to various events that occur in his life. The analysis has revealed that Mersault’s character is controversial because of his apparent lack of emotion to various occurrences such as his mother’s death, the killing of the Arab man, and the events of the court trial. Camus’ writing portrays Mersault to be an emotionless man who seems to be detached from the rest of society. While some of his actions portray Mersault to be an honest man, he does not alter his opinions and lifestyle to reflect societal values and beliefs.
References
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David Caroll, Albert Camus the Algerian: colonialism, terrorism, justice (Columbia University Press 2007) 194
Diane Keegan, ‘Mersault the stranger: absurd hero par excellence’ (Udel, 2008). Web.
Emma Chastain, Sparknotes 101 literature (Sparknotes, Spark Publishing 2004)
Harold Bloom, Albert Camus’s The stranger (Blooms Guides, Infobase Publishing 2008) 13
Jerry Washington and Robert Butler, The Richard Wright encyclopedia (Greenwood Publishing Cincinnati 2008)
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Samuel Beckett, ‘Albert Camus’ the stranger and Waiting for Godot’ (123HelpMe 2011). Web.