Albert Camus’ The Stranger:
by Margaret Connolly and Shannon Barker
Albert Camus was born in French colonial Algeria in 1913, and moved to France at
the age of 25, where he became a journalist for a short time. He eventually returned
to writing fiction, philosophical essays, and plays, and produced the novel, The
Stranger, in 1942. The Stranger is often considered an existentialist novel, even
though Camus tried to distance himself from other existentialists. This novel
explores man’s search for meaning and the meaninglessness of life.
All page numbers refer to excerpts in the Vintage edition of the book, ISBN 9780679720201. Referring to the passages will assist in your close reading of the
novel. You are encouraged to read the part of the story from which the passage is
drawn prior to beginning this activity. Questions relating to the text are provided
below each section.
Excerpt 1
“Maman died today” (3) to “I offered the caretaker a cigarette and we smoked” (8)
Questions:
-
What impact do the first two sentences of the novel have on you and your
perception of the narrator? What do you notice about the style in which he
narrates? How does he tell his story? What is present? What is missing?
How does Meursault view others? How does he interact with other? How do
you know? (Make a note of the parts of the passage support your ideas.)
What do you learn about Meursault’s relationship with his mother?
Why does Meursault say, “it didn’t matter” on page 8? How does it influence
your opinion of him?
Excerpt 2
“It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of
it” (58) to “And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness”
(59)
Questions:
-
Notice how many times Meursault references the sun. What effect does the
sun have on him in this situation? How is his reaction to the sun consistent or
inconsistent with his character as portrayed in Part I?
What nature images does Camus offer in this passage? Compare his
description of the natural world to those from earlier in the story. Why do
you think he chooses to personify nature in this passage?
-
How is the concept of happiness portrayed? If shooting the Arab “knocks on
the door of unhappiness,” why do you think Meursault does it?
Excerpt 3
“Between my straw mattress and the bed planks” (79) to “No, there was no way out,
and no one can imagine what nights in prison are like” (81)
Questions:
-
-
Why does Camus include the news story in such detail? What message is he
trying to give? How does it connect to Meursault’s situation? Why does
Meursault say that it was “perfectly natural” (80)?
What does Meursault mean when he says “only the words ‘yesterday’ and
‘tomorrow’ still had meaning for [him]”? Did he feel this way in Part I?
Consider the way in which he narrates the story; look at your responses to
excerpt 1; how has he changed?
How does he react to his own reflection? To his own voice? How does this
realization show a change in his character? Why does he remember his
mother’s funeral here?