The power of a scene in a novel is its ability to “illuminate” or shed light on characters and important themes. Wharton states that such scenes are “casements”, a window that opens up the meaning of a piece of work to a reader. In Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”, the novel is rich with such scenes. Meursault is a man of mystery throughout the entire novel, behaving in ways any ordinary person would view as strange, hence the title “The Stranger”. Through Meursault’s experiences and reactions, Camus is trying to show how life has no rational meaning or order.
