Frustation is paid off with a little bit of insight...

The Stranger

Ch. 1-2 Part II (pgs. 63 through 81)

August 25, 2007

12:30 P.M.

I have to express the complete frustration I felt in Chapter 1. In this section, he doesn't at all seem to care that he is a criminal, instead he is bother by the petty details of his interrogations, such as the bugs and how hot the room is. The magistrate gives him an opportunity to completely redeem himself and possible escape a jail conviction, yet Meursault totally ignores this offer (any other criminal in their right mind would accept it to avoid jail!) and answers the questions without emotion or possible remorse. "I thought about it for a minute and said that more than sorry I felt kind of annoyed (70)." How can you have no remorse after injuring, and possible killing someone that hasn't done something directly to you!?!? Does he not care that he has a very big chance to rot in jail for the rest of his life? Does he not at all care about the perks of freedom?

I've known throughout the novel that he does not care about any one or anything that isn't him, yet this is about him. He will either be allowed to live the rest of his life as he has been so far, or to be confined to a very small cell that would give anyone claustrophobia! This just comes to show, that at this point in the story Meursault doesn't even care about himself. Throughout the story, I've always questioned whether his indifference was fueled by his selfishness or by something else, but his indifference to get out of jail completely denies any possibility that it is fueled by his selfishness. If he was as selfish as Camus leads the reader to believe, then he wouldn't mind misleading the Magistrate and the reader into believing that he was truly remorseful in order to continue his life and save his, as if nothing had happened. I just think that Meursault cannot show his emotions because he does not know how to accept them or even how the deal with them, so acting as if they don't exist is his best solution.

Although in an earlier post I infered that the pulling of the trigger might mean some foreshadowing in Meursault's character, Chapter 1 completely would change that inference if it wasn't for Chapter 2. Finally, Meursault shows some sort of emotion which seems to be genuine. Although for anyone else it would be considered somewhat unimportant, for Meursault's cold and indifferent character it is definitely a step forward and allows the reader a little insight into why Meursault is so indifferent. He misses women and his cigarettes at the very begining, however his most important accomplishment is his recollection of memories while in jail.

Memories are characterized by holding very strong emotions that you feel particularly attached to. When Meursault relives his memories in his jail cell, the reader can see that a more human side to him. No matter how indifferent and unhuman he might seem, there's a human side which he attempts to hide that shelters all his emotions even from himself. I think the changed that I had infered would take place is just starting its process, now all the reader can do is wait and see what the future might have in store for Meursault's character.