The Reality of an End...

The Stranger

Ch. 5 Part II (pgs.108-123)

September 2nd, 2007

7:02 P.M.

. INDENT I finally finished my trip through Meursault's life. In this last chapter Meursault completes a drastic transformation from his indifferent self. Meursault lives in loneliness and doesn't really like to confront people or humanity; however, in this chapter his last wish is that there are a lot of spectators present during his execution so that they can greet him with "cries of hate." Meursault has never cared about anything until now.

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. INDENT He has a head on collision with life and his reality. He has always liked to fade in the background without feeling any repercussions for his indifference. With his impending death, he begins to analyze the system in which he lives in; he wishes he had paid more attention. Before his jail time he had the chance to make a change, a chance to change his life around. Now that he has been sentenced, he doesn't have a choice anymore, yet he wishes he did. Meursault's character expresses a true reality.

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. INDENT We want what we can't have, and we don't want what we have. It's never good enough; we are always looking for the next best thing. As a society we are non-conformists, no matter how adjusted to our lifestyles we may seem. The search for more, for something better, for something we don't have is what drives our day to day life. I am not saying this is bad, however; that drive is what makes our life interesting. We have something to look forward to, something to fight for, something to care about. Life is always about exceeding yourself; it gives a method to the madness of everyday life. Life would lose its meaning if you had nothing to fight for, no passions, no desires, nothing. Imagine that, how boring life would be!

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. INDENT The Stranger was not my favorite book of all time. In my opinion, it doesn't compare to literary masterpieces such as The Scarlet Letter or Wuthering Heights. It does express the pessimist realities of existentialism, and personally I don't agree with the existentialist ideology. I think it's too surreal and exagerates reality too much. Although, it's meant to get a point across, I don't think the end justifies the means.