Study Guide: The Stranger
On your own paper, clearly label each chapter and question. Write thoughtful
answers to all questions in complete sentences. Yes or no answers need to be
explained. Remember to use names not pronouns to start each answer.
PART ONE
Chapter 1
1. The first sentence of Chapter One is one of the most famous “opening lines” in
literature. What was your reaction when you read the first paragraph? How does
the direct quotation of the telegram add to the mood?
2. Can you tell how Meursault feels about anything he mentions as he gets ready to
leave for the funeral?
3. Does Meursault seem to feel guilty about putting his mother in the home – or is
he just defensive?
4. The director tells Meursault that his mother had expressed her desire for a
religious funeral, yet Meursault is sure his mother had “never in her life given a
thought to religion.” Why then didn’t he tell the director this, perhaps insist that it
would not be her wish?
5. Do you find it odd that Meursault did not want the caretaker to open the casket?
6. Do you think it was rude for Meursault and the caretaker to smoke while they
were sitting by the casket – or do you agree with Meursault that it didn’t matter?
7. What things does Meursault notice at the wake? Does he ever mention an
emotion?
8. Who is Thomas Perez – and how does his behavior contrast with that of
Meursault?
9. Skim the chapter for references to light and heat. How does the sun and heat
affect Meursault?
10. Prediction (based on your own experiences, information from the book, and your
own inferences, tell what you think might happen and why):
Will Meursault have a “delayed reaction” to his mother’s death – will his grief “hit
him” when he wakes up the next day?
Chapters 2 and 3
1. Does it seem that Meursault’s boss is treating Meursault unfairly?
2. Who is Marie Cardona? What surprised her?
3. How do you interpret the lines “I felt like telling her it wasn’t my fault…” and
“Besides, you always feel a little guilty”?
4. Why do you think Camus had Meursault spend an entire Sunday, a beautiful
afternoon, inside in his rather depressing room?
5. Does the boss seem angry with Meursault?
6. Would you say that Meurault is a keen observer of physical sensations, but less
aware of emotional responses to things?
7. Does Meursault seem to have any sympathy for either old Salamano or the dog?
8. What sort of person is Raymond?
9. What favor does Meursault do for Raymond?
10. Prediction: How will Meursault’s association with Raymond get him in trouble?
Chapters 4 and 5
1. As you read Meursault’s description of the Saturday Marie and he spent at the
beach, what was missing in the narrative?
2. How do Meursault and Marie react to the incident with Raymond and his
girlfriend?
3. Does Meursault express his own opinions to Raymond – or is he just saying what
he thinks Raymond wants to hear?
4. Does anything about Salamano and his dog remind you of Raymond and his
girlfriend?
5. Why do you suppose Camus chose to have Meursault think of his mother when
he heard Salamano crying about his dog?
6. Do you agree with Meursault that “people never change their lives, that in any
case one life was as good as another”?
7. If you were Marie, how would you have felt about Meursault’s answer to your
marriage proposal?
8. How was Salamano’s relationship with his wife similar to the one he had with his
dog?
9. How does Meursault’s conversation with Salamano (pp. 44-46) differ from the
other conversations he has reported so far?
10. Prediction: What will happen to Raymond when Meursault talks to the police
about Raymond’s girlfriend?
Chapter 6
1. What is the mood of the first few paragraphs of this chapter? What phrases does
Camus use to create this change in mood?
2. Do you think Meursault feels at all guilty about telling the police that Raymond’s
girlfriend was cheating on him?
3. As you read the long paragraph that begins “We got off in the outskirts…” (p. 49),
what do you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste?
4. How is Meursault affected by meeting Masson and his wife and seeing their
beach house?
5. The beach seems considerably less pleasant after lunch than it was before.
Why?
6. Raymond doesn’t want Meursault and Masson to go with him when he goes out
on the beach the second time – but Meursault follows him anyway. How is this
out of character for Meursault?
7. How do you interpret the line, “It was then that I realized that you could either
shoot or not shoot”?
8. Meursault decides to walk down the beach for a third time, alone. How does the
sun become a kind of “antagonist” – almost like a character itself?
9. In Meursault’s description of the actual murder of the Arab, does he seem to be
aware of what he is doing? What does he immediately realize?
10. Prediction: Meursault says “…there, in that noise…is where it all started.” To
what do you think he is referring? What will happen to Meursault in Part Two?