Murder Scene in Camus The Stranger
Albert Camus was an absurdist writer that expressed his concepts about the meaninglessness of life in many novels and essays, including the novel, The Stranger, which was probably his best known and widest read work. ... Eventually, his carelessness leads him to murder an Arab. The novel follows the event and the trial that results, as Camus demonstrates through Meursault the absurdist outlook on life. One of the most important scenes in the book is the actual murder and death of the Arab. ... Upon a first and mostly superficial reading, one will grasp the obvious purpose of this scene to develop a plot. ... Prior to this passage, his boss asks if he is interested in changing his life, he replies that “people never change their lives, that in any case one life was as good as another”(Camus 41). Then, he commits murder, on a man that he doesn’t know, without any apparent reason at all. This scene, although it lacks direct explanation, is the only account of the murder that will dominate the rest of the book, and therefore is crucial in developing the plot and in understanding the novel as a whole. ... The plot is furthered by this scene which provides a conflict for the characters and a test of what they represent, particularly Meursault. Meursault narrates this scene, thus allowing the audience to gain a better perspective on what was going through his head at the time that he committed the murder, and allowing us to better understand Meursault, his motive, and absurdism.