Seminar 2: The Outsider/ L'Etranger by Albert Camus

This short novel is based around a core existentialist theme where the main character exists in the present, and the idea of past and future only come into play in the second part, when they are forced upon him by society. Meursault is only concerned by sensory experience and the here and now.

Another main theme of this book is the idea that there is no rational order in life, as is exampled by Meursault; order and rationality and explanation are forced on an action or even by society. Camus can be seen to be commenting on the search for purpose in a rational universe; saying that nature and the universe are unresponsive to human action or reason. Camus is therefore rejecting both Nietzsche and Romanticism.

Meursault’s character is fascinating as he does not feel sadness or guilt until part 2 when he is forced by imprisonment to acknowledge the past and the future. However, I see this as a very selfish way of existing; many people living this existentialist way would mean that everything our society is based on would begin to crumble; who would organise health care? Or regulate the economy and currency so that we can still afford (just) to buy food and shelter? All kinds of planning for future needs, whether they be years ahead or minutes, would go out of the window because everyone would be thinking about their personal needs in the here and now.

Another interesting part of the characterisation is that he believes in the individual and doesn’t attempt to make connections with people. I find this strange because we need to work together as a society in order to gain knowledge, skills, run our lives etc, and it would be an awfully lonely world if everyone just kept themselves to themselves.

Camus used several interesting techniques by which to show existentialist thought; he only shows events and leaves out any kind of emotional reaction or reflection. So while we see everything from Meursault’s point of view, we never actually know what he is thinking or feeling and so the reader is distanced from the character.

An important point to remember about existentialism is that it is believed that no-one should have influence over you. Meursault is seen, at first, to be immune to the actions of others, until he is forced into the trial and imprisonment, at which point you could say that he has no control to make his own decisions. However, it can also be argued that the whole story is caused by the actions of others; by the death of his mother, his friend asking for his help, the Arabs turning up on the beach and carrying a knife. All of these events, and the way that he reacts to them, to an extent come together to mean that he commits murder, for which he must, of course, go to trial. Therefore none of his actions are completely independent; only the way he thinks about them is.

Another point that came up in the seminar was that existentialists believe that the body and soul (or mind) are connected, and that they both die at the same time. I found this interesting because it invalidates most religious views. I am not what you would call a religious person, but I can see that someone who is may well take offense to reading Camus rubbish one of the cornerstones of, say Christianity. I imagine that they would take even more offence at the depiction of Meursault as a Jesus-like figure, as a hero. He is shown as sacrificing himself and is shown almost as a martyr for his different way of thinking.

Meursault accepts his death as part of the status quo, seeing that he is different and that different doesn’t fit in and isn’t allowed to exist outside of society. While this shows he had integrity, especially in the way that he didn’t take the easy way out by just saying ‘yes, I am sad about my mother’s death’, he has stuck to his beliefs which can be seen as admirable. However, he was killed because he wouldn’t accept society’s standards and morals, which seems pretty ridiculous and on the surface, appears to go against his ‘live for the moment’ attitude. However, Jenni pointed out that it doesn’t necessarily go against this; it just means that he is taking it in his stride and accepting what life is throwing at him.