World Literature And The Stranger English Literature Essay

What a careless lifestyle, Who can sleep at his mothers funeral? , in this situation, who can be that reckless?, seems impossible to everyone. Instead of praying for her, he just smoked his cigarette with a cup of coffee. Here is the some of the personal descriptions of Meursault, Meursault has no sense to anything, what can you wait from a people that he cant even respect his mothers funeral.

After the death of his mother, everyones expectations are a lamentation, which is the normal behaviour. Of course he didnt do it as the readers predict. The following day after the funeral, he took a bus and went to the public beach located in his region.

In the beach, Marie Cardona was waiting for Meursault. Marie was a secretary and working together with Meursault in the same company. They have a past together and Meursault likes her. They spent their time in the beach, before going back to the Meursault’s house, they also went to a cinema to watch a movie. After the cinema when they get to the house, it was clear that they will have something sexual from the flow of the book.

It is the normal that you have a sexual relationship with someone you love and of course Meursault did it too, but the following conversations and events were so interesting.

In the following days Meursault and Marie were together always and Marie started to think that this relationship needs a name. But as we used to, Meursault was thinking nothing about her, not just for her, he didn’t feel something special to anyone in his whole life time, he was so insensitive.

Sometimes Marie was asking Meursault, that he loves her or not, and Meursault was always saying that ‘I like you’. In one of their conversations, they were talking about marriage and Marie asked Meursault that if the thinks about marriage or not. The answer of Meursault was so absurd, he said that it doesn’t matter for me, if you want we can do it, it all depends on you.

From the first line of the book we all understand that Meursault is a careless person but none of us expect that Meursault can cause to kill someone.

This part starts with the friendship with Meursault and Raymond. They both have some similar personalities. They mostly talk about their relationships , their personalities and the common issues.

In the following days, Raymond get Meursault and Marie to the beach, they realized that a group of people are walking behind them. Raymond realized that one of the people in the group is the brother of his ex-girlfriend. Raymond was thinking that his ex-girlfriend cheated on him but there was no proof. After a speech, they started to fight and then the strangers including Raymond’s ex-girlfriend’s brother escaped.

It was just seem like a fight between the Raymond’s friends and the strangers who want to take revenge of Raymond’s ex-girlfriend’s. But the following didn’t happened as we think. Meursault returned to the beach with a gun that he brought from Raymond, then he found the strangers who attacked them and started to shoot one of the strangers with the gun and killed him.

As we predict the next part is about his arresting and the prison life. Here we should go through Meursault personality and his way of thinking.

When I was reading the book, I started to think that how Meursault become a people like that. How was his childhood?, who affected him?, because clearly, he has no humanity at all and he is a murderer.

It is a truth that there is many variations of people in the world but I want to understand how Meursault can be that careless and soulless. In the whole reading, usually I found myself saying that he can’t do it that is too much or is he doing it again?.

Instead of Meursault’s behaviours on the funeral and also his behaviours to his girlfriend, I want to focus on his murderer side.

How can someone become a murderer?. Before I read this book the defining of a murderer was so different in my mind. I was thinking that the backgrounds of the murderers are so dark, bad relationships, problems with the family, bad earnings, totally a tough and unhappy lifestyle. But Meursault has none of the specialties that I mentioned above.

That is the point about Meursault that I can’t understand, what makes him so desperate and thoughtless. As I understand from the book I can’t see anything that can cause him feel bad, I couldn’t see a potential murderer.

As we know this novel belongs to absurd literature, I can clearly say that the personality of Meursault and the behaviours of him make the novel a part of absurd literature novels, the characteristics of Meursault are so pointless, inscrutable, unpredictable and misunderstanding. When you are reading the book, in most of the parts the writer makes you think like ‘there is no reasonable explanation of doing this or this is so pointless’.

Before I started reading this book, I already know that The Stranger was a part of Absurd Literature, but I had no idea about what is Absurd Literature, and I didn’t predict that much unclearness about the absurd hero, as I said before some of the behaviours of Absurd Hero was so pointless but still keeps you reading because every misunderstanding part of the reading make you more curious about next parts, at least The Stranger by Albert Camus was like that, as I define myself someone can stop reading when he began to get bored, the novel kept me going and it was really

interesting.

Lastly I want to discuss about some quotations from the book that I am impressed;

‘Maman 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.’

Again and again I can’t stop saying, how can you that much careless?, it is impossible and not just for his mother, if anyone in my life would be died, I would be gloomy and respectful to him or her.

Another quotation that I want to discuss is;

‘A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so.’

That is, maybe the only thing that I agree with Meursault, and not his thought, I respect his honesty. He talks what he thinks, that is a good manner, in these days none of us act like that.

I am glad that I read that book written by Albert Camus, I earned a new aspect for my life.