The Stranger - Journal #1

In the beginning of the book, Meursault finds out that his mother has just died, so he takes two days off of work to travel to Marengo to the "old people's" home where she lived. He speaks with his mother's caretaker and the director of the home, then is sent to her vigil in a small room in the garden where he dozes off every now and then. The next morning, the funeral procession begins, with the hearse leading the way to the church through the countryside. It is followed by several people including the director of the home, Meursault, and Perez (Mersault's mother's very good friend). After the funeral, Meursault rides the bus back home to Algiers, where he goes swimming at the beach and finds a woman named Marie who used to work at his office. He takes her to the movies, then they sleep back at his house. Meursault stays in bed most of the next day, and after finally getting up makes lunch then sits in a chair on his porch until evening, watching people go about their Sunday activities. After making dinner it occurs to Meursault that his mother is dead, yet he feels nothing has changed.

I don't understand the character of Meursault, mostly because of the disinterest he shows to the world. He seems very quiet, professional, and unemotional, yet some of the things he does are caring gestures (such as taking a date to the movies, and visiting his mother after her death). However, for the most part Meursault acts in a way that suggests he is not sensitive towards the feelings of others, or even towards his own. In the first chapter, Meursault describes how Perez, a grieving old man, keeps falling behind in the funeral procession. He does not show any sympathy towards the man, nor does he make any attempts to help him. He simply tells the facts of what is going on. Meursault's lack of emotion makes it hard for me to like him because I cannot relate well to his story.

By creating a character like Meursault, Camus is trying to emphasize the importance of emotions in the world we live in. Through the lack of emotions seen in Meursault, it is highlighted that emotions are necessary to empathize with others. Another reason for Meursault's apathy might be so the reader can take meaning simply from Meursault's actions without feelings getting in the way. The story has a completely different mood to it when told from a straight, unattached point of view as is through Meursault than it would through another more connected point of view.

In 1942 in Algiers, France, World War II was being fought. As part of Operation Torch, Oon November 8, 1942 the allies staged an invasion of Algiers, led by the United States. The allies landed along several coasts in France, then fighting began in Algiers when French troops fired artillery to prevent another party of United States troops from landing. The french troops were surrounded, and with little resistance they surrendered to the Allies.