Meursault: The Absurd Hero

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In the novel The Stranger, Albert Camus expresses his idea of the absurd hero. The main character Meursault takes pride in the fact that, whether he realizes it or not, that he does not conform to societal norms and he only lives in the moment. Throughout the entire novel he basically contemplates his life, from the time of his mother’s death in the beginning to his own execution at the end. Camus uses these events as well as the murder Meursault commits and the trial that follows to shed light on the fact that the meaning of life is only understood when one is staring death in the face and it does not affect a person’s outlook on life. At the beginning of the novel, Meursault receives word that his mother has died. From the very start he …show more content…
Masson that Meursault first seems to realize the insignificance of any action – therefore of human existence. He begins to think “As far as I was concerned, the whole thing was over, and I’d gone there without even thinking about it” (Camus 58), again bringing about the idea that Meursault does not care about the world around him. Meursault consciously thinks “It occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it” (Camus 58) one second and the next “shattered the harmony of the day” (Camus 59) with a gunshot not just once, but “four more times” (Camus 59). This sudden jump from a seemingly tranquil thought to an unnecessary murder does not affect Meursault in the slightest. Just like Hamlet, Meursault is not a man of action, but a man of ponderance, of thought. At this point he realizes the futility of human existence and that death means nothing when it comes to other people. The thing that Meursault does not understand is that at one point death will come for him as well. Part two of The Stranger begins with Meursault’s arrest and trial. Throughout the period leading up to his trial Meursault again takes on an air of indifference about his situation and the consequences of his actions. While talking to the “examining magistrate” Meursault at first “didn’t take him seriously” (Camus

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