Philosophy With Meursault in The Stranger by Albert Camus 

    The Stranger is one of the more strange books that I have read. The plot revolving around the main character Meursault, is unable to feel emotions which leads him to have a very questionable attitude towards many of the plot points in the story. However in Meursault's eyes it all seems acceptable as he has the mentality that nothing matters. This ideology as Camus depicts it, is extremely dangerous and wrong, which can be seen throughout the story with Meursault's actions. This philosophy is called Nihilism which means that life is pointless and that there is inherently nothing good nor bad. Camus, as mentioned earlier takes Nihilism and flips it on its head by suggesting that if there is nothing good or bad Meursault should have the freedom to do whatever he pleases. 

    The most obvious instance of the presence of Nihilism in The Stranger is when Meursault murders a man in what I would like to call lukewarm blood (he didn't have a motive so it is neither hot nor cold). As the reader learns later, Meursault feels indifferent about the murder as seen when being interrogated by the judge where he says "I thought about it for a minute and said that more than sorry I felt kind of annoyed." (70). Meursault's annoyance towards the judge stems from the fact that in Meursault's life he feels more inclined to worry about his physical well being rather than his mental well being. A testament to this is when he does kill the Arab he describes what he feels physically rather than what he feels emotionally. All of these are symptoms of someone suffering from a nihilistic mentality. 

    Although I would like to say that the reader would be proven wrong with the notion of nihilism in the story, the ending doesn't really show it. Instead towards the end of the story when Meursault is sitting in isolation in his cell he has more time to reflect and ponder about himself and the world. Meursault isn't able to reach the conclusion that a lot of us would have hoped for, instead he understands that he was correct. He grows as a person in his time in prison, realizing that instead of fighting the uncertainties in life he needs to accept the meaningless aspects of life and in doing so he was set free and found peace/acceptance within himself. Meursault's story is not one of conversion, rather one of acceptance and understanding that he needed to embrace the harsh reality and not fight it. 

Comments

  1. JessyNovember 18, 2024 at 10:56 AM

    Good job, it really captures Meursault's unsettling detachment and how his outlook shapes his actions and worldview. The idea of "lukewarm blood" is an intriguing way to describe his indifference.

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  2. DavidDecember 3, 2024 at 11:22 AM


    Your analysis captures Meursault's nihilistic outlook well, especially the idea of the murder occurring in "lukewarm blood." While Camus explores meaninglessness, his philosophy leans more toward absurdism, where freedom comes from accepting life's lack of inherent meaning. Your conclusion that Meursault’s story is one of acceptance and peace is insightful. Great work!

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