The novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus follows the journey of Meursault, a young man who lives in Algiers. The storyline peaks when Meursault impulsively shoots and kills an Arab. This spontaneous act results in imprisonment. Prior to his arrest, Meursault formed several bonds amongst the people around him. While his relationship with his deceased mother remains questionable in quality and regarding its lovingness, Meursault also engaged in a relationship with a lady by the name of Marie Cardona, in which he seemed to keep his feelings quite secluded. In addition to these, he obtained friendly relationships with few people, one of them being Salamano, his neighbor who owns a dog in whose relationship compares and contrasts with Meursault’s
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The bond between the two of them seemed somewhat one-sided, as Meursault never really expressed his true feelings about her. Marie hopes to marry Meursault, yet her desires are not fulfilled when she questions Meursault for his thoughts on the subject. “A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” (Camus 44). She expresses her feelings quite often, while Meursault keeps himself fairly secluded and leaves the audience questioning the quality of their relationship. He enjoys spending time with her, yet says he doesn’t love her, which Camus reiterates a few times throughout the story. The physical attraction seemed the only factor drawing Meursault to Marie, as he lacks emotional bonds with people in general. After Meursault’s imprisonment, Marie becomes a distant thought and eventually just a piece of his life’s history. As the story comes to a close and Marie turns into a person no longer a part of Meursault’s mind, it still remains a mystery how Marie’s life continued without Meursault. The qualities this relationship possesses compares to Meursault’s relationship with his mother, as his true feelings remain unclear and hidden. The similarity in seemingly weak relationships could be coincidental, or due to Meursault's lack of ability to become emotionally attached. In Camus’ The Stranger, …show more content…
At the start of the novel, Salamano owns an old, skin disease-ridden dog. His relationship with his dog shows somewhat inexplicable aspects, as they hold a strong emotional connection, yet he abuses him often. Constant yelling and spitting at the dog portrays Salamano as nothing but awful to his dog. However, though Camus leaves the emotional bond unclear at first glance, when Salamano loses the dog and later informed that he passed away, he falls into a dark, depressed state. Despite the ways he treated the dog while alive, his death still affected his owner heavily. Camus reveals the true emotional bond here, as most wouldn’t typically feel such severe effects from the passing of an old dog with such an extreme disease. Yet although this emotional connection that came about following the dog’s death seems unusual considering Salamano’s past treatment towards him, they were inseparable for eight years. This somewhat excuses the contrast between Salamano’s behavior before and after the event. “They look as if they belong to the same species, and yet the hate each other. Twice a day, at eleven and six, the old man takes the dog out for a walk. They haven’t changed their route in eight years. You can see them in the rue de Lyon, the dog pulling the man along until Salamano
The bond between the two of them seemed somewhat one-sided, as Meursault never really expressed his true feelings about her. Marie hopes to marry Meursault, yet her desires are not fulfilled when she questions Meursault for his thoughts on the subject. “A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so” (Camus 44). She expresses her feelings quite often, while Meursault keeps himself fairly secluded and leaves the audience questioning the quality of their relationship. He enjoys spending time with her, yet says he doesn’t love her, which Camus reiterates a few times throughout the story. The physical attraction seemed the only factor drawing Meursault to Marie, as he lacks emotional bonds with people in general. After Meursault’s imprisonment, Marie becomes a distant thought and eventually just a piece of his life’s history. As the story comes to a close and Marie turns into a person no longer a part of Meursault’s mind, it still remains a mystery how Marie’s life continued without Meursault. The qualities this relationship possesses compares to Meursault’s relationship with his mother, as his true feelings remain unclear and hidden. The similarity in seemingly weak relationships could be coincidental, or due to Meursault's lack of ability to become emotionally attached. In Camus’ The Stranger, …show more content…
At the start of the novel, Salamano owns an old, skin disease-ridden dog. His relationship with his dog shows somewhat inexplicable aspects, as they hold a strong emotional connection, yet he abuses him often. Constant yelling and spitting at the dog portrays Salamano as nothing but awful to his dog. However, though Camus leaves the emotional bond unclear at first glance, when Salamano loses the dog and later informed that he passed away, he falls into a dark, depressed state. Despite the ways he treated the dog while alive, his death still affected his owner heavily. Camus reveals the true emotional bond here, as most wouldn’t typically feel such severe effects from the passing of an old dog with such an extreme disease. Yet although this emotional connection that came about following the dog’s death seems unusual considering Salamano’s past treatment towards him, they were inseparable for eight years. This somewhat excuses the contrast between Salamano’s behavior before and after the event. “They look as if they belong to the same species, and yet the hate each other. Twice a day, at eleven and six, the old man takes the dog out for a walk. They haven’t changed their route in eight years. You can see them in the rue de Lyon, the dog pulling the man along until Salamano