The Stranger #1

The novel is quite weird; Meursault is a man who just had his mother died. However, the day after he burried his mother, he went to a beach to enjoy himself. There, he met Marie, who was once his co-worker. He and Marie deepened their relationship as the story goes on. Marie was serious about their relationship and asked if Meursault would marry her. Meursault, however, did not feel the need to get married, and does not know if he loves her or not. Meursault also encountered a man named Raymond, who lived above his apartment. Raymond wasn't more like a local pimp; he hit his ex-girlfriend, and finally got in fight with Arabians. One day when Meursault and Raymond went to a beach, they saw the Arab and his friends who attacked Raymond. Meursault then shot the Arab and the first part of the novel ends.



I did not understand why did Camus created such a weird character like Meursault or what message did he want to tell the readers through Merusault. According to the text, he shot the Arab, because his eyes were hurting from the sun. This can not be a good reason to shoot someone. Meursault did not know his only mother's age nor moaned for her. He was not serious with any kind of relationships, including the one with Marie. He is portrayed a hallow and empty character. As I was reading through once again, I thought that the author tried to point out how people made some standards of 'how to react' to certain situations. For instance, we expect someone to be in very dismal mood when their family member dies. People also expect others to