The Stranger By Albert Camus - 2132 Words

Does conforming to society’s standards help or hurt us in the long run? â€Å"The Stranger†, by Albert Camus, explores the evolution of Meursault, the nonconforming protagonist. Meursault continuously repeats, â€Å"It doesn’t mean anything† to his friends and acquaintances to illustrate how indifferent he is about the world. Meursault’s behavior affects people’s judgment of him, and he is later punished for believing in his own values. For most of his life, Meursault abstains from following society s norms, but by the end of the novel he evolves into someone who cares about what others think of him. Meursault, who used to follow only his own principles, realizes that the only way to live and feel alive is to be recognized. Having a†¦show more content†¦Many people would find his reply to be very disrespectful and unappreciative towards his mother. A mother plays an influential and loving role in a child’s development and ch aracter. Sadness is a common feeling experienced when someone passes aways. This is not the case for Meursault. When attending the funeral he did not cry, and many judged him for that. It seems as if he is heartless, but in reality he is just apathetic about the situation. He seems strange to some, but in reality he is being honest with his feelings by not crying when he does not feel the need to. Meursault decides to not waste his time expressing fake emotions just to receive pity from others. Because of him not crying, he then gets in a lot of trouble during a court trial that had nothing to do with his mother’s death. Also, the day after the funeral, instead of grieving about his mother’s death he has sex with an old friend of his, who eventually falls in love with him. His actions, once again, seem inappropriate because he should be thinking about his mother and reminiscing about the memories he had of her, instead of ignoring the funeral. Everyone has different ty pes of coping methods, and Meursault decides to move on with his life. He is a very practical character, who knows the world is not going to stop spinning just because of one unfortunate event. Society would look down at Meursault and say that he is selfish for not doing more to recognize his mother’s death. On the other hand,