The Stranger

12 Pages 3032 Words

anguage he uses when talking of this event. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know...Maybe it was yesterday”. One can almost feel the nonchalant manner in the way it is written, yet it is not immediately obvious. That is what I mean by reading in between and through the lines. Maman had been living at an old people’s home in Marengo for the last few years of her life and Mersault must catch a bus there to go to her funeral. He catches the bus for the eighty kilometer ride at two o’clock in the afternoon. While on the bus he falls asleep for most of the ride. This slumber is another indication of the empty emotionless state the character constantly finds himself in. Once at the home he meets the director immediately prior to sitting his deathwatch. While talking to the director Mersault feels he is criticizing him for not taking proper care of his mother. His immediate response is to defend himself, the fact that he has enough of his faculties together to even be worried about such things is another disturbing indicator of his lack of grief and general lack of caring for his mother’s death. The director then asks Mersault if he’d like to see his mother, his only response is to get up and follow the director to where her coffin is. It is made clear in the book that there is no verbal response; this is important because throughout the book Mersault almost never lies to another human being. The lack of an answer actually means no. Mersault does not want to see his mother. He is only present for form’s sake. Mersault, when he comes to his mother’s coffin, chooses to have the lid left on. This surprises the caretaker and becomes very important later on in the book. It is also another indicator of Mersault’s persistent lack of “normal” human emotion. Most people when faced with such a significant event as the death of a loved one would have to confirm the event with their own eyes, the better to deal with i...