Meursault's True Character

In Camus' The Stranger, the main character Meursault is a French Algerian who is condemned to death as punishment for his murder of an Arab man. At face value, this scenario makes perfect sense: Meursault must be some sort of insane psychopath, whose resulting death sentence is completely reasonable. However, as we read through the novel, we get to learn about Meursault's true character, and we see that his actual mentality is starkly different from the mentality that the murder sets him up to have. The series of events that take place, leading up to and after the murder scene, essentially present us with two different views that we can take on the situation. The first is that Meursault is indeed a psychopath, and that he shouldn't be trusted in society. The second is that Meursault is a genuine, honest man, and as a result the court's actions are too oppressive towards him. If we take into account Meursault's basic demeanor and actions throughout the first part of tho book, the second option seems to prevail. Increasingly, we can observe that Meursault is not this cold-hearted, delinquent criminal who has no sense of boundaries, but that he is instead very much a fundamentally good and honest man.

Meursault's natural character and appeal are apparent in various instances throughout the first part of the book and the trial. Meursault seems like one of the least likely people to commit something as severe as a murder, so when he does, it's only natural that the first thought that comes to mind is that there must something psychologically wrong with Meursault. Initially, this is the general reaction to the entire situation, as readers read "Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness" (59), and think that there is no way that someone who thinks and acts like this can be sane. However, after a taking a closer look at Meursault in the early chapters of the novel, we can see how this initial reaction is false. Our first hint that this notion doesn't properly describe Meursault is in his actions, and perhaps more importantly, reactions, to the words of the judge and the prosecutor. In a scene where a life-changing judgement is being made, Meursault never once lies about the events that occurred or his reasoning when he was enacting these events. For example, when Meursault's lawyer pushes on the caretaker for accepting a cigarette from Meursault, Meursault simply affirms the statement, even if it puts him in a vulnerable position: "The old man looked embarrassed and said, "I know I was wrong to do it" [...] "I was asked if I had anything to add. "Nothing," I said, "except that the witness is right" (90). We can see from this how Meursault's outlook on life works, he isn't concerned with fooling everyone that he is innocent or throwing fluff to divert the argument, he simply stays honest and states things how they happened. This implies that Meursault is genuinely a good man who isn't willing to lie for self-benefit, and detracts from the idea that Meursault's nature is one that is psychotic. If Meursault was a psychopath, his attitude and rationale would be vastly different in this scene.

Camus seems to place a lot of emphasis on Meursault's human qualities in the first half of the book, and as a result Meursault appears more "normal," that is, more like a regular human being. Essentially, analysis of Meursault in this section furthers the ideas that emerged from the trial, (sort of working backwards from the trial to determine what kind of character Meursault truly is). When Meursault sits on the balcony for the entirety of the Sunday, he exhibits his calm, non-psychotic, usual nature: "I turned my chair around and set it down like the tobacconist's because I found it more comfortable that way. I smoked a couple of cigarettes, went inside to get a piece of chocolate, and went back to the window to eat it" (22). Here, Meursault shows his true nature in the activities of his everyday life. We can see how Meursault exhibits several characteristics that are common of "normal" people. He adjusts the position of his chair and smokes multiple cigarettes to increase his feeling of peace and comfort in these lines, a completely rational and sane thing to do. It is important to note that Meursault doesn't express any psychotic or insane thoughts in this scene, one of the most peaceful ones in the book. This again supports the point that Meursault is fundamentally a good person, and that a man like Meursault shouldn't be condemned to a punishment as severe as death due simply to his type of character. If Meursault were sentenced based solely on his actions and the end result, it would make perfect sense to punish him to the extent deemed necessary. However, once it gets to the point where Meursault's character enters the discussion, the case is no longer valid, especially when we can almost only see the positive side of Meursault's true character, before he learns that he is to be executed.