The Stranger

12 Pages 3032 Words

emotionally. Mersault and the caretaker then proceed to have a fairly amiable conversation, smoke some cigarettes and drink some coffee. Maman’s friends in the home then arrive and most of them are very distraught, crying, howling and being very demonstrative of their grief. The contrast between their reactions and Mersault’s further highlights his lack of emotion, these people knew his mother for only a few short years, while he had known her all his life. After the deathwatch Mersault cleans up a little bit in preparation for the funeral. He also shows a tiny bit of emotion: “...I could feel how much I’d enjoy going for a walk if it hadn’t been for Maman.” This is almost the only time that he indicates that he might actually feel some grief at his mother’s passing. At the funeral Mersault doesn’t cry or shows signs of great emotion, and the funeral proceedings quickly become a blur to him. He is asked if his mother was very old and he replies that yes she was while secretly knowing that he didn’t know her exact age. More lac...