The Outsider Term paper
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“Meursault is punished, not for his crime of killing another human being but for refusing to play the game.” This statement is of great relevance to the novel The Outsider, by Albert Camus. Society as a whole enforces its ideas and values, upon all individuals, but particularly on those who differ from the “norm”. Through Meursault’s view of the world, contrasted with that of both the religious and judicial system this notion is foregrounded.
Meursault’s outlook on death and dying is very different to that of the majority of people at the time. He was unemotional and indifferent to the death of his mother, something that was unfathomable and by no means acceptable. “…I didn’t know if I could smoke in front of mother. I thought it over and decided it didn’t really matter.” This is a classic train of thought for Meursault, he believes that when you are dead, then you really are dead, so smoking or not smoking will make no difference to the deceased. “I probably loved my mother my mother quite a lot, but that didn’t mean anything.” He accepts his mother is dead, and that his love means nothing to her, in fact, nothing means anything to her. These ideas were deplorable according to his societies standards and Euro-centric value system. “He said that I hadn’t wanted to see mother; that I’d smoked, I’d slept and I’d had some white coffee. And I felt something stirring up the whole room; for the first time I realised I was guilty.” This quote is a key aspect of the foundation philosophy in the novel. Meursault realises, at that moment, that he is on trial for killing a man, but he will be found culpable of the charge not for killing a human being but for the simple reason that he did not play societies “game” at his mother’s funeral, thus he is guilty.
The concept of love helps foreground Meursault’s differences to the social “norm” and builds the base for the guilty verdict and ensuing punishment. “She then wanted to know if I loved her. I replied as I had done once already, that it didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t.” Meursault does not take either love, or marriage seriously, because he believes that they do not really matter. Marie’s view, however, is diametrically opposed to that of Meursault, as she, like most of society, believed in the religious and judicial systems. She has faith in love and in all probability some form of God. Basically she conforms to society, she obeys it and “fits in”. While Meursault is by no means an anarchist, he does what he wants, and feels and expresses these feelings as he wishes. Meursault is not punished for failing to love Marie, but through the issue and discussion of love, the audience is able to grasp how vastly he differs from society, and that is what Meursault is essentially punished for.
Meursault’s honesty is another aspect that sets him apart from the rest of society. He is honest about every part of his life. While society does not endorse lying,...
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