Sundays, for Meursault, are usually stagnant days — no routine, no fun, no impromptu outings. This Sunday, however, is the climax of the novel’s action, leading us to Meursault’s philosophical insight and conversion and, then, to his decapitation. Other than Meursault’s mother’s funeral, which was described somewhat journalistically, nothing much […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter VISummary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter V
After a Sunday that was more unusual than most of his Sundays, Meursault begins another week of work, another week of monotony, doing the robot-like actions that most people perform in order to make a living, the same monotony that Camus despises because of its intoxicating, suffocating effect on the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter VSummary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter IV
A work week passes and Camus resumes his story on Sunday. It has been a busy week: the letter which Meursault wrote for Raymond has been sent, and Meursault has seen two movies with Emmanuel. Emmanuel doesn’t seem too bright because Meursault has to explain what is happening on the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter IVSummary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter III
Camus moves us in this chapter through one of Meursault’s work days. It opens on a Monday and there are references to the age of Meursault’s mother. Meursault does not know how to answer when he is asked how old she was; it is a matter that never seemed of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter IIISummary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter II
After showing us Meursault’s reaction to death, Camus shows us a day during which Meursault reacts to life. Meursault wakes up and realizes how exhausting the funeral has been, physically. It would be nice to go swimming. There are no introspective feelings about his mother, about how she looked when […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter IISummary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter I
The Stranger is a very short novel, divided into two parts. In Part One, covering eighteen days, we witness a funeral, a love affair, and a murder. In Part Two, covering about a year, we are present at a trial that recreates those same eighteen days from various characters’ memories […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part 1: Chapter ICharacter List
Meursault The narrator, an Algerian clerk who is sentenced to death for murdering an Arab. Celeste Meursault’s friend and owner of a restaurant where he usually dines. Warden In charge of the old age home in Marengo where Meursault’s mother dies. Gatekeeper Inmate and employee in the same institution. Perez […]
Read more Character ListAlbert Camus Biography
Albert Camus was born November 7, 1913, and reared in Algeria, a country exposed to the blistering African sun and the plain by the Mediterranean sea. These roots — the sun and the sea — have spread into all of Camus’ writings — the novels, the plays, and the essays. […]
Read more Albert Camus Biography