The Stranger Blog Post #2

It is 1942 when Camus publishes The Stranger, a book about the absurdity of the universe, meaning that there is not a god giving out values to humanity and giving a meaning to life and death. Meursault has commited a murder that is definitely not premeditated. He was burning up from the Algerian sun and when he saw the glint of light reflected on the knife of the Arab, who was the enemy of his friend, he shot him. Meursault is unable to explain to his lawyer or to the court why he did it because there is no reason they will accept. Meursault’s only explanation is that the sun made him do it. This is actually the truth. The law represented by the prosecutor, the jury and even the people in the courtroom judged him not on the murder, but on the impression that he did not seem sad enough about his mother’s death. The fact that the caretaker had offered him coffee and he had accepted while in the room with his dead mother seemed to be reason enough to make the courtroom find him guilty. And on top of the coffee crime, he offered the caretaker a cigarette. Another one of his crimes that was worse than the murder was telling the examining magistrate that he did not believe in god. The magistrate shouted at Meursault, “Do you want my life to be meaningless?” The murder was absurd and the trial was absurd. This book reflects the time of World War II when Hitler and the Nazis were not only trying to take over Europe, they were also committing genocide against the Jewish people. They had occupied France and Camus was a member of the underground resistance against them. There were some French people who collaborated with the Nazis out of fear. It must have seemed to Camus that there was no meaning in the universe and no god who would let so much death and torture happen.

Now that it is 2009, how can I relate this book to my time? There is still plenty of absurdity around. Right-wing politicians still say that President Barack Obama is not American, although he was born in Hawaii, one of the 50 states in case anyone has forgotten. Also, during the campaign, Republicans said he had no experience in international affairs even though Bush was causing America to be hated by most of the countries in the world. The Republicans also accused the Democrats of not having family values for reasons like supporting abortion, when the Republicans were not interested in helping poor families and especially giving them health care. Family values also do not go along with torture, which the Bush administration used a lot.

When the magistrate takes out a crucifix in order to get Meursault to repent his lack of belief in God, Meursault still has to say that he does not believe. The magistrate cannot prove that God exists and should not force his beliefs on others. It is fine for people to have religion to give their lives meaning, but they need to accept the fact that other people find meaning in their lives without religion or with a different religion. What is absurd and dangerous is when people act as though their beliefs are facts and do not accept other people’s beliefs. Meursault is a stranger in his society because he is a non-conformist. When Bush was president, a lot of Democrats and others felt like strangers in their own country because they could not go along with Republicans’ policies. Going into Iraq seemed absurd, and it was later proven that it was absurd. Unfortunately for Merusault, no one finds the justice system that sentenced him to death absurd. Luckily, he found peace knowing that the universe was not judging him.