Why does Meursault kill the Arab?
Albert Camus said,
“In our society, any man who doesn't cry at his mother's funeral is liable to be condemned to death.”
What does this mean? How can you connect this statement to The Stranger?
Why is it relevant whether Meursault believes in God or not?
What is the significance of the scrap of newspaper that Meursault finds in his cell?
On p. 81, Meursault references what the nurse says on the day of his mother's funeral (17) which he interprets to mean there is no way out. Out of what? What is he talking about here?
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ReplyDeleteMeursault folds under the heat of the sun on the beach, but maybe it is something deeper. He is characterized as this emotionless man, no matter what situation he is apart of. Meursault feels nothing at his mother's funeral, and I think it was extremely important when Meursault mentions, "The sun was the same as it had been the day I buried Maman...", this to me shows that there is some kind of emotion in him, but he just does not know how to express it? I also don't understand what the conflict is that they have with the Arab's, do they just follow them around and they feel threatened by them? Also, the Camus quote about not crying at your mother's funeral may be talking about how heartless that makes a person, which could mean they are capable of doing anything with no remorse. Which seems to be true in Meursault's situation, especially when he's in jail and he says, "...and it all seemed like a game to me", it is very hard to figure out if there is actually something wrong with him, or if he really is just "on the spectrum"
ReplyDeleteI feel that Meursault kills the arab because he's realizing that he doesn't grasp the idea of bad things and death. I think he kills the man in order to feel something other than knowing something is bad. Camus statement I think relates to Meursault because he doesn't fully understand the seriousness of death or get how permanent it really is. So him not crying or understanding that his mother is gone would be understood once he dies himself and he'll understand what death is.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Meursualt killed the Arab as a scapegoat to express his feelings. The quote can connect to this story because Meursault didnt show signs of being sad or remorseful at his own mothers funeral. This then of course led to him being capable of killing a man and so he did. Meursault believing in God is relevant because without a figure to look upon as a sign of peace, he doesnt have anything to guide him from his emotional disturbance. On page 81, Maresault is saying their is no way out of this life of death that we live in. He cannot escape the fact his mother had passed and that he is constantly being reminded of it everywhere he goes (Ex:Beach and Prison).
ReplyDeleteMeursault ends up killing the Arab man because the Arab man pulled out his knife and tried to slice him. In his reaction he then shot the arab man. Though it seems like this on the surface i believe he had a deeper meaning behind killing the arab man. You see he was still upset subconsciously about the arab man slicing his friend, so he went back maybe hoping to come across at least of the arabs they had the altercation with. I feel he wanted revenge for his friend, as if he needed to even up the score. I don't believe his intention was to murder the arab man. I believe he just wanted to hurt him the way he hurt is friend. After the initial shot he shot the man four more times. Those four extra shots I believe were to confirm what he had done.
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