Meursault Character Analysis

The title The Stranger makes Albert Camus novel seem mysterious. The novel itself is pretty straight forward, like the main character, Meursault, so it makes you wonder about who the stranger is suppose to be. Is it the murdered Arab, whose name is never revealed, or the dead mother, who is rarely mentioned, despite the fact the novel began with her death? I think the Stranger refers to Meursault. Camus makes Meursault 's personality stands out in a time period where it is imperative to blend in and gets judged because of it. Meursault also seems to lack an understanding of who he is. In a time where everyone follows the same beliefs and social rules, Meursault is a stranger.

Camus ' character, Meursault, doesn’t follow the social norms …show more content…
Meursault is very aware of the world around him; he seems to be able to observe every little detail. When it comes to being aware of himself though he seems to lack the understanding of how to do so. Meursault even admitted the he, "had never been able to truly feel... anything."(100) His lack of emotions show that he can 't even understand himself. Meursault is a stranger to himself and if he doesn’t know himself, how can others expect to understand him. Plus, he knows nothing about his cultural heritage. Growing up his Maman "used to spend her time following" Meursault " with her eyes, not saying anything," so she probably didn’t tell him anything about his cultural background.(5) Meursault "never knew," his father, the only story Maman ever told about him was that, "he 'd gone to watch a murderer be executed," once so he knows nothing about his culture either.(110) When everything a person is supposed to believe in is passed down through their family and they know nothing about their family, they lose a big part of their cultural heritage. Meursault knows nothing about his so he is a stranger to his ancestry 's past. Camus ' has made Meursault a stranger to those around him and