Chokyab Sherab

Mr. Gallagher

12 CP Period1

14 Jan. 2011

The Absurd Judgement For The Stranger

In The Stranger, the author Camus uses the protagonist and the narrator of the story

Meursault’s strange and odd character from the rest of the society to show that, if someone has

strange characters from rest of the society, people will take their behaviors to judge it, not from

the person’s real characters. As author Camus may experience that kind of situation while he live

in Algeria and also because of his mother had hearing problem and hard to express her really

thought and emotion out for others people “[Camus mother] was illiterate, hearing impaired, and

largely silent. By all accounts she was unable to show or express affection. For the young

Camus, she epitomized a silent and indifferent universe”. (Cosper, Dale.4). Author Camus wrote

novel The Stranger in France during WWII and that time period because of the war, deaths are

very normal in their life, and mental emotion and loves have no value. As main character of

novel Mearsult consider his physical emotion and day to day life are the most important things.

Social during that period of the time is absurd and love and relationship, future, moral are not

matter for any one. Their lifes are totally control by physical emotion and present.

In the part one of the novel, when Raymond who is foil to the main character is totally

mad for the two Arab guys and want to immorally kill them, Meursault’s morally stop

Raymond.. But unluckily the Arab guy stands up to face them. So as of Meursault is the person

that decide thing by physical emotion, he shoot the Arab guy without any purpose but prosecutor
and society blame him that he is guilt to morally killing the Arab guy. Also author Camus uses

sun as symbolist of moral and god, but over time it changes to immoral and evil, that makes

Meursault to kill the Arab man.

In The Stranger chapter 6, part one, when Raymond hands the gun to Meursault, and

Meursault told Raymond to shoot the second guy. If he get up Albert Camus suggests that when

some one in bad luck life is very short and death can also happen fast. Camus shows this by

describing the thoughts of the protagonist and the narrator of the story, somebody death and live

is sometime depend on whether get up or back off. People don't care for future speacail during

the war. Their life will be depend and decide by present situation but every thing has

consequence.

In the beginning of the passage, author Camus uses symbolist sun. Camus describes

Mearsault “[the] whole time” surround by “nothing but the sun and the silence,” (55) to show

that sun as god and moral that was watching Meursault action, and let him to do the good things.

In the passage Meursault agree Raymond to shoot the Arabs guy. Camus describes

Mearsualt wasn’t morally kill Arab guy "Raymond ask me, "should I let him have it" I thought

that if I said no he'd get himself all work up and shoot for sure”, Mearsualt want to save Arab

guy life "he hasn't said anything yet. It be pretty lousy to shoot him like that,"" (56) The reality

Meursault is the one who tried to stop Raymond from shoot the Arab guy, and deep inside

Meursault’s heart, they very good quality and kindness which let him to save someone life, but

most of time he don’t show his real emotion and characters.

In the middle of the passage, Meursault promise Raymond to shoot Arab man if he move

or other draws the knife. Camus describes Mearsualt’s physical emotion go beyond the mental

emotion “if the other one moves in or if he draws his knife, I will let him have it." (56) Future
and consequence are really not matters as Meursault has a strange character, which he depend

everything on present, like he want to be with Marie, but don't really care about marriage her and

live with her, like he is depend his life on day by day.

At the end of passage when Meursault get gun and about to shoot the guy if guy move, in

the passage, "It was then that I realize that you could either shoot or not shoot." (56) That he

realize it is not only he doesn't care, but whole worlds don't care and either shoot a guy to end his

life or not. It really no matter and they have no different between two choices.

During the war everyone life is totally distribute, death and murder are very normal.

Whole world just care for there own day to day life, and don’t care for the other. So it is a danger

to live the life during like that kind of situation, because everyone just care for present.

Person who doesn't care about future and follow or go alone with things comes present,

or deals with present situation without think of future. They will put other life in risk and their

own life in highly risks too. As they think they have no different between two decisions, but the

reality it that Meursault had no intend reason to kill the Arab guy.

But other people will hardly understand that kind of strange characters and they will basically

judge it by their own experienced and behaviors.

In the passage when Meursault shout in the trial to tell everyone that he isn’t intend to kill

the Arab man and the guilt put on him as morally kill Arab guy is absurd, Albert Camus suggest

that sometime small decision make huge change in the people life even they don’t mean to that.

Camus shows this by Meursault reaction toward prosecutor word, that Meursault was morally

guilty of killing Arab man. People life is depended on decision they make and every decision has

consequence, whether people be careful or careless. Other will take their own judgment or

thought base on their behavior.

 In the middle of the passage when he tell trial that he kill the Arab man because of sun

heat let him do it. In the passage “[Meursualt] blurted out that it was because of sun”. (103) Sun

is the symbolist of immoral and evil, Meursault really think that heat of the sun make him to shot

the Arab guy like war change everyone mind and turn to immoral, for him it is more like

accident than morality to kill some one. Which he is person, who consider physical emotion is

more important than mental emotion, and only care for present situation.

In the passage when Meursault mention sun heat let him shot the Arab, all the people in

the trial reaction is totally unbelievable for him. In the passage, “People laughed, my lawyer

threw up his hands, and immediately after that he was given the floor”. (103) Meursault think

sun is the only cause him to shoot the Arab man and he has no other reason to kill Arab man, but

when he mention it to other people, it is more like jock to them and they cann’t even imagine it is

a fact. Meursault’s strange opinion and emotion put himself out from rest of the society.

The people life is depended on what decision they make in their daily life. They have

consequence for every decision, but other will judge you base on their own behavior, so

sometime strange opinion and emotion person in a society get judgment from other base on their

own behavior, but not on that person real personality.

In The Stranger Meursault kills the Arab guy is fact, and it is more like accident than

mortally to kill him. But people judge Meursault from their own behaviors and found that he is

morally guilt to kill the Arab guy. Reality is that Raymond is the one who really want to take

revenge and intend to kill the Arab guy. In a society if they have a strange character, other will

rarely recognize it, so they will judge it by their own experienced and behaviors, it is really hard

to recognize person real personality and fact. So that person will be remain away and odd from

rest of the society.

 Annotated Bibliography for Albert Camus’ The Stranger

Abukhalil, As'ad. "Special Forces of the Levant." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and
North Africa. Ed. Philip Mattar. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. New York: Macmillan Reference USA,
2004. 2086. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.

Summary:

League of the nation gave the France power to control Lebanon through the mandate, and
France build the Military and special force power in those countries to fight france war.

Important quotes:

After France gained control of Lebanon through the mandate from the League of Nations,
it formed the Troupes Spéciales du Levant, which recruited Lebanese and Syrian soldiers
and was commanded almost exclusively by French officers.(par.1)

The percentage of officers who were Lebanese or Syrian increased over the years
although the power of command and control remained in French hands. By 1945, 90
percent of the officers in the 14,000-strong Special Forces were Arabs.(par.1)

During World War II, Lebanese Special Forces troops were ordered to fight on the side of
the Vichy French against the British and Free French. When the Vichy forces in the
Middle East surrendered in 1941, volunteers from the Special Forces were recruited by
the Free French to fight actively in North Africa, Italy, and southern France.(par.2)

Purpose:

From that we can now the bond between France and Arab countries. When the period of
Author Albert camus wrote “The Stranger” Arab nation was under control of the France
nation, Arab men were needed to service military and special force duty to France
nation’s war. Which was unfair and immoral.

Aubrey, Bryan. "Critical Essay on 'Immigration Blues'." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Ira Mark
Milne. Vol. 19. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Dec.
2010.Document URL

Summary:
 Filipino immigrant Alipio was still think about his own homeland, even he spend long
enough time to became a old in California.

Important Quoatation:

The protagonist Alipio is an old timer who lives alone in California and still thinks often
of his homeland. But more than being a study of a Filipino immigrant from a certain era,
(par.1)

In American culture, the elderly do not generally occupy positions of honor and respect.
In a society that values youth, success, and material productivity, the old are relegated to
a position on the sidelines of life. What they contribute to society is not so easily
measured as it is for those in the prime of life. In addition, popular culture, in everything
from television to jokes (the cognitive lapses of the elderly often being the subject of
humor), creates negative stereotypes of old people. Numerous studies of attitudes to the
elderly on the part of the young as well as the middle-aged suggest that old age is viewed
as a time of helplessness, loneliness, dependence, senility, and passivity. (par.2)

Alipio is a religious man. His explanation for the loss of his wife is that God took her.
And in his eyes it was a matter of God's will regarding whether he would walk again after
his car accident. Monica notices and comments on his strong belief in God. Toward the
end of the story, Alipio twice uses the phrase, "God dictates." This does not seem merely
to be a routine statement of faith but one that has real practical consequences for him.
(par.8)

Purpose:

Been a life of Immigrant was lonely, you will feel you are not fit in rest of society. You a
strnger to the society, most of things were odd and strange in you eyes when you looked
other. Other will also much likely misjudge you. Like in the Camus “the Stranger”
Meursualt strange character was total differnet from the rest of the society and other
people took their on charater and judge him. Sensely killer became guilty of morality
killer.

Cosper, Dale."Albert Camus."Twentieth-Century French Dramatists. Ed. Mary Anne O'Neil.

Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 321. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature.

Summary:

Albert Camus was French-Algerian writer, who was very independent and having strong
political view on history and society around that period of time. He was raised by single
cleaning woman mother, where algerian Neighborhood. His life was effect by his mother,
that she was a uneducated and had problem with hearing, and she unable to express her
feeling, mostly she was silent and she was stranger in society. Albert Camus studied in
university of Algiers. While studying at the University he was involved in Communist
 Party politics. In 1937 Camus began his journalist work for Republican Algiers and he
wrote many political and literature.

Important quotas:

Albert Camus was a French-Algerian novelist, essayist, dramatist, and journalist whose
concepts of absurdity and revolution made his writings among the most famous in
postwar literature. (par.2)

social realism and psychology to stage a philosophy of freedom, rebellion, and action
against a background of history and politics. (par2)

Camus's entire life and work was marked by the influence of his mother, who was
illiterate, hearing impaired, and largely silent. By all accounts she was unable to show or
express affection. For the young Camus, she epitomized a silent and indifferent universe.
(par.4)

In 1933 Camus enrolled at the University of Algiers. The following year, Camus joined
the local Communist Party. (par.7)
In Le Mythe de Sisyphe, Camus articulates his philosophy of the absurd. It is at once a
feeling and a concept resulting from the encounter between human demands for
rationality, clarity, order, and immortality, and a universe offering indifference, obscurity,
chaos, and death. The Greek mythological figure Sisyphus, who was condemned to roll a
rock repeatedly up a mountain, is for Camus the absurd hero incarnate. Meanwhile,
L'Etrangerillustrates this absurd human condition. The hero of the novel, Meursault,
condemned to death for an accidental murder, rejects the false consolations of religion
and affirms the joys of earthly life. (par.13)

Purpose:

By reading Author Albert Camus' biography, we can understand the "the Stranger" in
deeper level. Also we can understand the purpose of the author Camus created a
Meursualt’s strange character in the novel. Because of the WWI his father was became a
fatherless and because of the WWII he was became a fatherless. So as in Novel "The
stranger" the human existence was not important for Camus, everyone have to die
someday specail during war. People's greedy and immorality create World War and leave
every where with the death and hunger, poor, orphan. Camus thing that war was Absurd,
which was nothing, but full of sorrow destruction at the end. On the other hand Camus
created a strange character who was total different from the rest of the world, to express
his influce of mother, who was unable to express her feeling to the world and for her, she
was a stranger to the society.

David William. "Social Criticism, Existentialism, and Tremendismo in Cela's La familia de

Pascual Duarte." Kentucky Foreign Language Quarterly 13 (1967): 25-33. Rpt. in
 Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 122. Detroit: Gale Group,
2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.Document URL

Summary:

Pascual Duarte was spainish writer, who express the idea existentialism social criticism
during the civil war. He tell us human craziness and impaction of war to people
psychologic.

Important quotes:

La familia de Pascual Duarteshocked the sensibilities of the Spanish reading public when
it was published in the early '40's. Somehow, despite the cruel experiences of their Civil
War, his countrymen were not prepared to receive graciously the repentant confessions of
a man whose story relates in turn the killing of his hunting dog, the killing of his mare,
the murder of the lover of his wife and sister, the murder of his wife, to culminate in the
bloody scene of son murdering mother--all presented in a tone of meek apology and
transmitted to us through a novelistic format which shields the source with lost
manuscripts and detached letters of transmittal. (par.1)

One of the most important thematic considerations concerns the optimistic versusthe
pessimistic implications of the novel. Both Cela and innumerable reviewers and
commentators have spoken at some length concerning the seeming condemnation of
society and the adverse environmental pressures which are brought to bear upon Pascual
in the course of the novel (par.3)

Purposes:

In Pascual Duartes novel he espressed existentialism and impaction of the war toperson.
People life was very different from normal. Life will be very certain, death was very
normal. Like in Camus Novel main chacrater Meursualt doesn’t care for his life at all and
death seem to be nothing for him. For him existen of any one would not matter for him at
all.

“Deborah Scranton on her *War Tapes*.” TED. Pub. Deborah Scranton Sep. 2007. 17 Dec.201.

Summary:

Deborah Scranton basically saying her experienced about the Wrold war II unforgettable
experienced in here. Death and hunger injury, destruction were every where. She thinks
war was most unworthy thing that human can do to destroy themselves and other.

Dunbar, Paul. L “We wear the Mask”. Poetry out loud 15 Dec. 2010.

Summary:
 We hide our really emotion behide, let the other see our fake emtion.

Important Quoation:

WE wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, (par.1)

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile, (par 1)

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask. (par.2)
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile. (par3)

Purpose:

In this Poem like Author Camus’s Novel “the stranger” Main character Meursualt. Some
body was somehow hiding their real emition inside, and show fake emtion. In “the
Stranger” Camus created the Meursualt as a stranger and hiding Mental emotion, and
considering he had physical emoiton or only care for the physical emoiton. But hiding
emtion person will snape, and surprise everyone. Like that in the Poem P. Dunber
meation he was also want to show his real emotion out to the world.

MARTIN, V. M. "Absurdity." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2003.
48-49. Gale World History In Context. Web. 14 Dec. 2010.

summary:

This is an essay that explain what absurdity is, It's a basic notion for a number of modern
thinkers. There's no
believing in god. there are no reasons for things, and all things come from nowhere and
are going nowhere.
Important Quotation:

Absurdity is a basic notion for a number of modern thinkers such as A. Malraux (1901–),
J. P. Sartre (1905–80), A. Camus (1913–60), F. Kafka (1883–1924), E. Albee (1928–), F.
Arrabal (1932–), S. Beckett (1906–89), J. Genet (1910–86), E. Ionesco (1912–94), and H.
Pinter (1930–). (par.1)
The absurd is a situation, a thing, or an event that really is, but for which no explanation
is possible. Because the affair is inexplicable, it offends reason; it is senseless; it is
absurd. (par.1)
 To indicate that the Incarnation was beyond the understanding of human reason,
Kierkegaard called it the absurd, meaning by that something unintelligible and
incomprehensible to reason. He insisted that Christian absurdity was neither nonsense,
nor irrationality, nor something meaningless; for notions such as these follow on the
judgment of reason examining its legitimate data, whereas the Christian accepts the
Incarnation by faith. In the light of faith he sees that the Incarnation is in no way absurd.
(par.2)

He can also be grateful for his faith, which enables him to see atheism as the most absurd
of all absurdities; for the visible things of this world do declare the hidden attributes of
God (par.4)

Purpose:

Absurdity was notions for many thinkers for modern time. Who think the having a next
life was absurd. In the Camus’ “The stranger” at the end of the Novel Meursault was
anger with Chaplain and don’t want to see him. When Chaplain was trying to pursue him
to feel guilt himself and commit his crime for the got to have better next life. But
Meursualt don’t believe that kind of thing at all.

"Maginot Line." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Reconstruction. Ed.
John Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 1709-
1711. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2010.

Summary:

Maginot Line was defensive line of the France from invasion of Germany. France spend
hugh money and Human life to protect the line.
Important quotas: On 15 March 1935 the French war minister General Louis Maurin
addressed the Chamber of Deputies in the following terms: "How could anyone imagine
that we were still thinking in terms of offensive movements when we have spent billions
building a fortified barrier?(par.1)

A stalemate period of trench warfare that was also very costly in human lives;(pas.2)
The building of the Maginot Line was thus a vain enterprise; it pointed up the French
command's disastrous strategic notions and, worse still, swallowed immense amounts of
money that would have been better spent on tanks and aircraft.(par.3)

Purpose:

Maginot line was a France defensive line from Germany, it was a war cost and France
spent large Number of human life and money to protect it. War was a destructor in world,
that doesn't have any moral reason, Nations involved in WWs was like in the "The
Stranger" death is very common and they have no much different between two result.
(Camus.59) We can inmagine what kind of the social life Camus lived during that time.