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The Relationships of Meursault's Character, And His Perceptions of The Worlds Senses. In the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursaults was the main character who lived a simple and an uneventful life as a shipping clerk. Life was not all that important to him, except for daily physical pleasures. He was content with only of his existence and was not concerned or reacted to the responsibilities that society dictated to him. He had a casual attitude about his life and the relationships with others.
However, Meursault was very perceptive of the sensory inputs of the world including: light, heat, sound, physical objects and its orientation, colors, shapes, and time. He was always distracted and very sensitive to the presence of these sensory inputs. Furthermore, his perceptions of these sensory inputs were evidence of his beliefs about his life and were results in the construction of his character. The first clue of his character began with his reaction to the death of his mother. His actions before, during and after the funeral were emotionless and carefree. Although one would expect tears of sorrow and sadness from Meursaults, he was tearless and reacted casually toward his mothers death.
His beliefs in the meaninglessness of life and the continuous cycle of life and death led him to be insensitive to his mothers death. According to Meursault's view of life, life is continuous regardless of what happens and men and woman will naturally go on living- and for thousands of years. [I]t doesnt much matter whether you die at thirty or at seventy (114). With this belief, he casually planned the funeral trip so that it did not disrupt his lifes routine. Furthermore, his beliefs also led him to be more perceptive on his environment and the people he encountered.
Believing that he was living in the lifes cycle of living and dying, he lived day-by-day doing things that would bring him personal pleasures. For example, during the visit to the funeral home, Meursaults did not want to see his mother for the last time; nevertheless, he would notice little details about the funeral home. Instead of being emotional, his attention was mostly on physical objects, the lighting and the people at the funeral. Meursault's sensitivity toward the sensory inputs of the world led him to be more concerned about his physical nature. He experienced pain and discomfort whenever he encountered these sensory inputs. For example, he constantly complained about the heat and the sunlight: The sky was already filled with light.
The sun was beginning to bear down on the earth And it was getting hotter by the minute. I dont know why we waited for so long before Getting under way. I was hot in my dark clothes (15). Meursaults was more concerned about his physical comfort than his mothers funeral. Due to Meursault's physical discomfort, he was not concerned with his mothers existence or the memories of her. He attended the funeral because he was expected to be there and for the most part, he was waiting for the funeral to finish so he could go back to Algiers to go to bed and sleep for twelve hours (18).
Meursault's reaction toward death was casual. In fact, his reaction toward life and others was always casual. After the funeral, he casually continued with his daily life routine, doing things that gave him physical pleasure. He went to swim, picked up Marie to have sex with her, and went to see a comedy show. However, on Sundays, he seemed to be lost and uneasy. According to Meursaults, everyday had its routine, Mondays through Fridays were working days and Saturdays were for fun, but Sundays had no meaning to him.
He would waste the whole Sunday sleeping or just observing the streets from his apartment balcony. Nevertheless, his sensory perspective was keen on the outside environment. When he was bored, he observed his surroundings and noticed every little details in his room and the streets. For example, he noticed the saggy straw chairs, a wardrobe whose mirror has gone yellow (21). He also noticed the people on the streets and how they were living their lives on Sundays, and his was just at a stand still. Similarly, Meursault's perspective on his life reflects his attitude toward relationships with other people.
The relationships with Marie, Raymond, Salamano, Masson, and many others are merely casual. He had no close friends except for Marie who he did not love. His relationship with Marie was intimate, but he did not have special feelings for her. When he was asked by Marie if he loved her, he would answered it didnt mean anything, but that I didnt think so (35). However, later when she asked if he would marry her, he said yes.
This respond from Meursaults might have been viewed as inconsistent, but this was an excellent example of his character. Being married or not married, loving Marie or not loving her had no importance to him. He would simply agree to marry Marie just to satisfy her; in return, he would get sex and pleasure. In a similar comparison, Meursaults agreed to write a letter for Raymond to frame his girlfriend, just because Raymond treated him with food and wine.
For Meursaults friendship was not important, only his physical needs were important to him. He enjoyed a special freedom, to be carefree and to be insensitive toward death, that many people did not enjoy. He had no obligations to anyone but to himself; he satisfied himself by fulfilling his physical desire and avoided senses that brought him pain and discomfort. He had no emotions or passion for anyone or anything except for his desire to be comfortable and free.
However, he found that his freedom was limited when he committed an irrational act. Meursault's freedom was taken away when he shot an Arab at the beach. Again, his sensitivity toward light, the sun and sound were mentioned during the encounter. This time, because of the extreme heat and the glare on the water was unbearable to him, he reacted with violence (52).
In fact, he used this excuse in his defense when he was on trial for the murder of the Arab. Meursaults reacted irrationally because he was experiencing discomfort and was not able to rationalize the situation. His casual attitude toward the whole situation reflected his character and his beliefs. For example, he did not realize that he was being interrogated when he was in the police station. Furthermore, he thought it was all a game and did not ask for a lawyer.
His casual attitude toward the questioning had made him forget that he had committed a serious crime. In a sense, Meursault's reactions toward the questioning from the magistrate resembled a childlike-innocent man who is unaware of the seriousness of his wrongdoing. When his lawyer asked him if he felt any sadness on the day of the funeral, he replied: My nature was such that my physical needs Often got in the way of my feelings. The day I buried Maman, I was very tired and sleepy, So much so that I wasnt really aware of Meursault's response was typical for his nature; his physical needs had always been a priority for him, therefore, he was not fit to feel sadness toward death.
In similarity, the suns rays and the heat at the beach distracted Meursaults; therefore, he was not capable of feeling guilt for the shooting. Consequently, Meursaults was tried and found guilty by the court for the murder of the Arab. Once again, his attitude toward the verdict was indifference; he felt confused and did not understand why he was being questioned about the day of his mothers funeral. He was not aware that his moral values and his character were being on trial. Because Meursault's refusal to accept society's law, God and Christianity, he was condemned by society. During the scene of the trial, Meursault's character and attitude remained the same; he was distracted by the heat inside the courtroom and was feeling uncomfortable.
He was more concerned about his comfort rather than the outcome of his trial. Lastly, because Meursault's keen perception of the worlds sensory inputs and his beliefs in the meaninglessness of life and death, it transformed him into a stranger in this world. He lived his life only in the present and the immediate future, not pausing to think about the past or the future. He was indifference to what life had to offer. He viewed life and death as a cycle that millions of human beings must go through, and there are no ends. With this belief, he lived seeking only physical pleasure and avoided any senses that brought him pain and discomfort.
Since life and death was a continuous cycles, it is illogical for him to have feeling for another human being who was going through the same cycle. Finally, when his death was near, he realized that the memories of him would be forgotten when he died. He was indifference to what life had to offer, therefore, in the end, life was also in differen Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Life And Death Mothers Funeral
