The Stranger
How Merusault Changes In The Stranger By Camus
Meursault appears to be a typical, middle-class young man. He works as a clerk, rents an apartment, and enjoys women, the sea, the sun, and smoking. He appears normal ? almost boring. His neighbors seem to trust him and approach him for help and advice. However, he lacks any emotion or passion towards anything in his life. Meursault lives life through the sensations of the here and now, describing these in much detail: the sun, sea, and sky; the feel of a crisp towel; the taste of good food, good wine and cigarettes; the feel of cool water on his skin; and making love to pretty girls like Marie. Yet he is incapable of looking beyond the feeling of the moment. He sees one thing just like any other: an experience, an objective fact, and all leading to the same conclusion. To his experiences, he adds no differential value or meaning. This unattached lifestyle is evident in his reactions to his mother?s death and his relationship with Marie.
?Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don?t know?(1). This, the opening line of The
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