1. The Stranger

2. Existentialism
Existentialists reject the idea that there is a fundamentally true human nature. Instead, they point out that those who seek to understand human nature undervalue the individual. The individual is free, as Sartre says, “radically free”. The individual can shape its own life and defy its so-called nature. The individual makes decisions and bears the responsibility for its actions alone.
Existentialism is a philosophy of the individual and its struggle through life — a focus on the subjective life that we all actually live, rather than a search for objective truths external to us.
Philosophy Index

3. The Absurd
The idea of the absurd is a common theme in many existentialist works, particularly in Camus. Absurdity is the notion of contrast between two things. As Camus explains it in The Myth of Sisyphus:
The absurd is born out of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.
This view, which is shared by Sartre, is that humanity must live in a world that is and will forever be hostile or indifferent towards them. The universe will never truly care for humanity the way we seem to want it to. The atheist view of this statement is that people create stories, or gods, which in their minds transcend reality to fill this void and attempt to satisfy their need.
Philosophy Index

4. The Absurd Con’t
The philosophy that encompasses the absurd is referred to as absurdism. While absurdism may be considered a branch of existentialism, it is a specific idea that is not necessary to an existentialist view.
It's easy to highlight the absurdity of the human quest for purpose. It's common to assume that everything must have a purpose, a higher reason for existence. However, if one thing has a higher purpose, what is the reason for that purpose? Each new height must then be validated by a higher one. This evokes the common theological question: if humankind was created by God, who or what created God? (And, if God answers to a higher power, to what power does that answer?)

5. Critics of Absurdism
Critics of absurdism tend to focus on two areas of the philosophy. The first is the proposition, as Camus described, that life's absence of meaning seems to remove any reason for living. Camus answers this with methods of living with the absurd: through coping or through revolt — and by pointing out that this lack of purpose presents humankind with true freedom. Others consider the theory itself to be arrogant, stating that although the purpose of life may not be apparent, that does not confirm that it does not exist.

6. Quick Background on The Stranger
Algeria is a country in Maghreb region of North Africa on the Mediterranean coast
The capital and most populated city is Algiers, where our story takes place
The French invaded and colonized Algeria in and by 1940 it was French territory
The French were considered superior to the Arabs

7. Map of Algiers, North Africa

8. Part 1 – Chapter 1
What contradiction do you note in the first paragraph?
What conclusions do you draw about the narrator based on the 1st page?
What do you notice about the sentence structure?
Why didn’t the narrator visit his mother much after she was placed in a home? What does this say about his character?
Why was it odd that Madam Meursault desired a religious burial?
Does Meursault give an explanation for wanting/not wanting to see the open casket? Why would someone respond in this way? In your opinion, is this normal behaviour?

9. What is Thomas Perez’s relationship with Maman?
Closely examine the character of the Arab nurse. What particular things do you note about her?
Examine the narrator’s behaviour during the overnight observance. What strikes you as peculiar? Give specific references.
What stands out to you in the funeral procession, especially at the end of the chapter?

10. Chapter 1 Notes:
Meursault may be a stoic - a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining
Displays apathy - a lack of interest, enthusiasm or concern
Meursault is very detached from his surroundings
Meursault seems to react to the weather - the funeral was 50 miles away and he often complains about the heat
Director tells Merusault not to feel guilty about putting his mother in a funeral home - should he feel guilty? Why imply this?

11. When Meursault reflects on the time his mother spent with him in his home, he notes that she displayed boredom and contempt and got used to staying at the home - implies that we can get used to anything
“It was hard for me to believe that that really existed” - Solipsism: the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist. Everything could be a figment of the imagination. This could explain why he can’t sympathize/empathize with others.

12. “If you go slowly…” - Nurse is saying this about both the weather and the human condition. The sun’s heat is inescapable just like death. There is no way out. You must accept that death is inevitable and death is the ultimate equalizer.

13. The Stranger
Chapters 2 and 3

14. Chapter 2
Meursault meets his old flame Marie Cordona. What happens between them? Why might the timing be considered inappropriate? Does Meursault consider his behaviour with Marie wrong? Explain.
How does this chapter deal with Meursault’s experience of time’s passage after the death of his mother? How does the chapter also convey a sense of emptiness?

15. Chapter 2 Cont’
What does Meursault mean when he says, “It occurred to me... Really, nothing had changed”. Explain.

16. Chapter 2 notes:
In the same way as the world is indifferent to human struggles, Meursault is indifferent towards his mother’s death. He can go swimming with Marie, have sex, see a Finandel movie (a comedy) and go about life as per usual because he does not view her death as part of a larger structure of human existence. It just is.
He doesn’t rationalize the world around him – the details are interesting but he has nothing to say about them – he has no comment

17. Chapter 3
What is the point of Camus including a chapter of this sort – one in which we are introduced to several of Meursault’s friends and acquaintances?
In this chapter, Meursault describes his meeting with Salamano and his old dog. How does that relationship contrast with the way Meursault lives his life?

18. Chap 3 cont’
What do you make of Meursault’s compulsion to wash his hands?
Meursault describes his friendship with Raymond Sintes. What explanation does Sintes give for the fight he has had with an Arab man – what isn’t quite honest about the order in which he tells the story? How does Meursault react to the story and to Sintes’ offer of friendship?

19. Notes on Salamano
Salamano – we are creatures of habit and as such, can grow accustomed to anything
If content, no need to reach for more
Salamano and his dog (death and decay) – both are old and “sick”... Man and animals equal by death

20. Notes on Raymond “The Pimp”
Raymond is Meursault’s foil:
Meursault is Amoral (the absence of morality)
Raymond is Immoral (does not conform to standards of morality)
Both share an indifferent attitude when it comes to responding to the world around them
Moor = Arab
Raymond uses physical act of revenge for sex
Meursault’s physical acts bring him delight

21. The Stranger
Chapters 4 and 5

22. Chapter 4
What do Meursault and Marie hear coming from Raymond’s room? What is happening?
How do you know if Meursault is upset or calm about what just happened?
What happens to Salamano’s dog?
How does Salamano react?

23. Chapter 5
What changes are offered to Meursault in this chapter? How does he react to them?
How does Meursault introduce his trip to the beach? What does he mention that foreshadows the possible events in Chapter 6?
What is the purpose of the episode in which a rather perky woman joins Meursault for dinner and then promptly leaves?

24. Chapter 4 and 5 notes
Marie asks Meursault if he loves her and he feels love is too vague of an emotion, says no.
Marie emotionally responds to the violence to the point where she loses her appetite – Meursault isn’t phased.
Raymond slaps his girlfriend and society would agree that it is never acceptable and is morally wrong.
The cop slaps Raymond and one can argue that Raymond deserved it
Camus highlighting the absurd ie. Society’s accepted moral order.
Meursault thinks of his mom when he hears Salamano crying and goes to bed without dinner (emotion?)

25. Notes Con’t
Meursault is ordinary and challenges nothing in his day to day life. He exists – unconsciously sleepwalking through life. Each day is separate and Meursault makes no effort to link events and as such, feels that nothing is a consequence.
This for most is disturbing and as a result, the people he floats through, and we as readers, attempt to assign meaning (rational order) to his life like Salamano.
Salamano and his dog – death and decay inevitable and absurd.
“Peculiar Woman” with purpose.

26. The Stranger
Chapter 6

27. Chapter 6
Meursault returns to the beach alone. What is your understanding of the following quotation: “There was the same dazzling red glare... With every blade of light...”? What is being inferred?
Why does Meursault feel threatened and consequently pull out a gun?
What is meant by, “it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness”?

28. Chapter 6 Con’t
What role does the sun play in the unfolding of this chapter’s events; especially Meursault’s shooting of the Arab man on the beach? How do references of the sun obscure our understanding of the shooting?

29. Why shoot the Arab?
Meursault has no reason to shoot the Arab – don’t ask why.
When we make an attempt to rationalize Meursault’s actions, our rationalizations would be based solely on a consciousness that we establish for Meursault – an order that we impose on his state of mind.
Nature transitions from being positive to being negative

30. The Stranger
Part 2
Chapters 1 and 2

31. Part 2 Chapter 1
What does the Magistrate want to hear from Meursault? Why is he upset with Meursault’s responses?
What difficulties does Meursault have in responding to the Magistrate the way he is expected to? Why do the expectations annoy him?
Meursault is questioned about his emotions connected to his mother’s death. In what way did he respond? Does his response help or hurt him? Why do you think the focus of the case is on Meursault’s actions before he committed the crime instead of the crime itself?

32. Chapter 1 Con’t
The examining Magistrate questions Meursault about the murder. Where does the conversation lead for the remainder of the chapter? Why do you think the magistrate focuses his questions on God and Meursault’s lack of belief in God?

33. Part 2 Chapter 2
What strategies does Meursault employ to habituate himself to life in prison while he awaits trial? Does he change as a result of prison confinement? Explain.
Explain your understanding of the following quotation: “I then remembered what the nurse said at mother’s funeral. No, there was no way out and no one can imagine what the evenings in prisons are like.”
Make connections from this chapter to “The Myth of Sisyphus”

34. Notes!
Magistrate (officer of the state/judge) tries to rationalize with and categorize Meursault in terms of Christianity. The Magistrate is obviously Christian.
When Meursault doesn’t respond, the Magistrate dismisses him.
Meursault and his attitude present a threat to society.
“Why, why did you fire at a dead body?... Why? You must tell me. Why?”
On God: “That was his belief, and if he should ever doubt it, his life would become meaningless. ‘Do you want my life to be meaningless?’”

35. “I explained to him that by nature my physical needs often distorted my feelings” (65)

36. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people. He believed that individuals possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires.
Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on.
Basic needs are said to motivate people when they are unmet. Also, the need to fulfill such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied. For example, the longer a person goes without food the more hungry they will become.

37. Maslow Cont
One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs.   Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization.
Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization.  Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. Life experiences including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of he hierarchy.
Maslow noted only one in a hundred people become fully self- actualized because our society rewards motivation primarily based on esteem, love and other social needs.

38. Meursault on Prison
He is indifferent – his life in prison incites neither guilt nor regret.
Continues to focus on physical details rather than on emotional elements.
The physical aspects weigh most heavily on him – nature, ocean, cigarettes, sex – and this for Meursault, the absence of these things, is punishment.
Marie – doesn’t miss her, just women.

39. “When I was first imprisoned, … the worst thing was that I kept thinking like a free man… After that, I thought like a prisoner. I’d look forward to my daily walk in the courtyard… I managed quite well for the rest of the time… I’d got used to it… you ended up getting used to everything” (75).
“Freedom… you’re deprived of freedom… otherwise it wouldn’t be punishment” (76).
“I realized that it was all part of the punishment. But by that time I’d got used to not smoking, so for me it was no longer a punishment (77)”

40. “I realized all this time I’d been talking to myself”…
Meursault stares at himself and realizes that he had been talking to himself – this could symbolize an emerging “self”:consciousness and awareness.
When he begins to understand himself and prison, he realized he could adapt anywhere.
Again: NO WAY OUT of prison or a life that inevitably ends in death.

41. The Czech: Absurd There is no reason for the son to have died.
There is no logic or reason that governs human existence.
The Arab’s death is also meaningless.

42. The Stranger
Part 2 Chapters 3-4

43. Part 2 Chapter 3 What is Meursault’s first impression of the jury?
A previous incident occurred between the caretaker and Meursault, which is briefly discussed during the trial. This leads to Camus’ title of the novel. What is the incident?
When Celeste, the fourth witness, is called to testify, how does he show support for Meursault?
How does the prosecutor attempt to prove that Meursault has no conscience?
What is the prosecutor implying when he questions Raymond? (refers to "chance" numerous times.)
Explain what Meursault means when he says, "it was back to my cell...sleep of the innocent”.

44. Part 2 Chapter 4
Does Meursault feel like he has anything to say to defend himself?
In your opinion, does Meursault believe that his crime was premeditated?
On p. 100, Meursault reveals the key to his character/personality. What is this?
What penalty does the prosecutor ask of the jury?
Does Meursault have faith that his attorney will convince the jury of his innocence?
p "left me with the impression.... Was making me dizzy." In your opinion, what is Meursault feeling at this point?
Why can’t Meursault return Marie’s smile in the courtroom?
What is Meursault’s sentence? In your opinion, is his reaction normal?

45. Chapter 3 and 4 Notes!
The courtroom narratives represent the idea that we live in a world of reason and order though Camus views them as an illusion.
We as readers know that there is no reason as to why Meursault shot the Arab – the court however, tries to explain it with false realizations.
Court uses Meursualt’s mom, coffee, cigarettes and Marie, all logically unrelated events, to make him out to be a monster.

46. Chapt 3 and 4 notes Con’t!
Society demands rational order and where Meursault is concerned, there isn’t one. The jury is left to decide between two lies (shot the Arab with intent or it was because of his mom)
Prosecutor links this trial with an upcoming parricide (father killing) though no connection exists.
Meursault comes to understand that his failure to interpret his OWN life and to find meaning in it means that others will do it for him. Meursault WATCHES the trial as though it is happening to someone else.

47. More chapter 3 and 4
Meursault realizes that part of his being is beyond control because it exists only in the minds of others. WOW!
All of the witnesses discuss Meursault yet they all have a different interpretation of who he is and Meursault has nothing to do with it

48. The Stranger
Part 2 Chapter 5

49. Chapter 5
According to Meursault, why is witnessing an execution so important?
What is "the trouble with the guillotine"?
What is ironic about this when compared to how Meursault originally got into this predicament?
When Meursault’s situation finally "sinks in", what are the two things he always thinks about?
What is Meursault’s pessimistic view on life and living?

50. Part 2 Chapter 5
Meursault shows no respect for religion or the priest. Give one example of this.
What does the priest mean when he says, "your heart is blind.“
In the last few paragraphs, how does Meursault finally relate to Maman?
Why does Meursault wish that a large crowd of spectators greet him with cries of hate at his execution?

51. Chapter 5 Notes Meursault ponders inevitable death
Hope = torture because there is no way the he can change the fact that he is going to die – hoping to escape death stops him from enjoying his final hours. Hope interrupts calm and prevents him from coming to terms with his reality.
Coming to terms with death is Meursault’s triumph.
Remorse would acknowledge the murder was wrong and his punishment would be justified

52. Chapter 5 cont
Meursault’s indifference concerning his death means that the trial and conviction were pointless exercises – this view makes him an enemy and a stranger to society (crowds cheering in hate and he looks forward to being an outsider)
“Gentle indifference of the world” – like him, the world doesn’t judge nor does it rationally control or order events of human existence – he finds freedom here