Themes in The Stranger

In the first half of The Stranger, by Albert Camus, Meursault, the protagonist, is clearly an unreflecting, unapologetic person. He is moved only by sensory experiences. Thus, Meursault kills the Arab because of his response to the glaring sun, which beats down upon him as he moves toward the Arab on the beach. The Arab’s death isn't particularly meaningful in itself, it's merely something else that happens to Meursault. The significance of this episode is that it forces his life and its meaning as he contemplates his impending execution. Only by being tried and sentenced to death is Meursault forced to acknowledge his own mortality and the responsibility he has for his own life.

Truth is another motif in the book. Meursault, despite being judged as amoral, is consistently honest and direct. In his unyielding candor, he never displays emotions that he does not feel. Neither does he participate in social conventions calling for dishonesty. Although grief is considered the socially acceptable or "normal" response, Meursault does not exhibit grief at his mother's funeral. This incorruptible honesty takes on a naïve dimension when he goes through the trial process; he questions the need for a lawyer, claiming that the truth should speak for itself. Much of the second half of the book involves this theme of the arbitrariness of "justice". A public official compiling the details of the case tells Meursault he will be saved if he repents and turns to Christianity, but Meursault refuses to pretend he has found religion. More generally, Meursault's honesty overrides his self-preservation instinct; he ultimately accepts punishment for his actions, and refuses to try put off justice.

       A main theme in the novel is the absurd, and it is a theme that at times throughout the book seems to override the responsibility aspect of the powerful ending. The ending seems to reflect that Meursault is in fact satisfied with his demise, to the extent that one can be satisfied with death, while also of course being terrified. It seems that, in facing death, he's found revelation and happiness. But even that revelation was in the "gentle indifference of the world". A central contributor to this theme was that of the pause after he shot the Arab for the first time. In one key moment, while being interviewed by the magistrate, he mentions how it did not matter that he waited and shot four more times. In this incident, Meursault thinks completely objectively, and truly there is no difference in tangible results: the Arab died in one shot, and four more shots did not make him any "more" dead.