The Stranger

Albert Camus
In the 1940’s Camus became well known
as a world-class literary intellectual from a
local author and playwright unknown to
anyone outside Algiers. When he
published The Stranger he became
internationally known. Albert Camus was
well known as a novelist, dramatist,
journalist, philosophical essayist, and
champion of freedom. During this time
period there was war going on in Europe,
official censorship and crackdown on left-
wing journals. Camus did not have a
secure job or much income. He married
his second wife Francine Faure in
December of 1940. He moved from Lyons
back to Algeria to become a French
history and geography teacher to have
some sort of income. This was all going
on while Camus was finishing up The
Stranger. When it was finally published in
1942 this particular novel made him
famous in the literary world.
About the book
 The Stranger/ The Outsider was to become one of Albert
Camus’ most famous novels when it was released in Paris
1942 during the beginning of the Second World War.
 It wasn’t exactly a best-seller in its early years.
 Camus wrote The Stranger as an enticement to his readers,
to think about their own mortality and the meaning of their
existence.
 
 Meursault, resident of
Algiers, received a
telegram that his mother
died so he went to the
town of Marengo where
his mother lived.
 Finally he saw his
mother who was already
in a coffin and spent the
rest of the night beside
her.
 There with him were an
Arab nurse with a tumor
and the caretaker who
tried to unscrew the
coffin for Meursault to “Mother died today. Or maybe it was
see his mother but yesterday, I don’t know.” 
Meursault disagreed.
 Meursault went back to Algiers that night and the next day he went
to the beach where he came across Marie Cardona whom he
asked for a comedy movie date, then slept with her but waking up
with Marie gone.
 Meursault shows no affection towards Marie though she still asked
him to marry her.
Meursault became associated with his neighbor Raymond Sintes
who is known as a “pimp” and has beaten his girlfriend because she
is cheating on him. He plans on beating her more and asked
Meursault to write a letter to lure his girlfriend back.
 One day, they went to a beach
where five Arabs followed them.
Meursault killed one of the Arabs
who happens to be a brother of
Raymond’s mistress.

The day of the trial came where

the talks shifted from the issue of
murder to Meursault‘s personality
especially his reaction towards his
mother’s death. Even Marie
testified that they went on a date
after the funeral. Lack of grief was
clearly seen on him during the
trial which led the prosecutor to
sentence him death.
 “I said that people never change their lives, that in any case one life
was as good as another and that I wasn’t dissatisfied with mine here
at all.”
 “Mother died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a
telegram from the home: Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow.
Faithfully yours.” That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was
yesterday.”
 “In the midset of winter, I found there was,within me,an invincible
summer.”