Raymond and Meursault: Friendship of Foils

In my opinion, Meursault's oddest choice in the first half of the first part of Albert Camus's The Stranger was to befriend Raymond Sintès and assist him in his domestic issues. Despite both Meursault and Sintès being social pariahs, they are fundamentally distinct from each other, which Camus emphasizes through effective character development and light-handed symbolism.

From first glance, Raymond and Meursault contrast in more ways than one. While Meursault is a chronic pacifist and tends to avoid confrontation, as shown by his reluctance to confront his boss about his mother's funeral, Raymond is shown to be arrogant and spontaneous in his actions, such as when he punched the man at the train station for insulting his manliness. While both men appear to both have no sense of sympathy, Meursault's lack of sympathy seems to stem more from apathy such as an inability to connect with his dead mother, while Raymond's draws parallel to hubris, shown in his treatment of his girlfriend. This juxtaposition is equally present in many of the minor character traits of the two, with Raymond described as being rough and boxer-like and Meursault being portrayed as a lowly businessman with few edges. Such distinctions can also be drawn from the foods they enjoy, with Meursault drinking coffee with cream, which can be extended to state that Meursault dulls his own senses of emotion to the point of making himself characteristically bland. Likewise, Raymond is shown to have a fondness for blood sausage and (presumably red) wine, which are known to have exceeding strong flavors, that reflects his brash, strongman-like attitude.

Altogether, Meursault's decision to befriend Raymond was one of his oddest choices so far, but has the potential to become one of his greatest assets. Being perfect foils to each other, Raymond and Meursault can learn from each other and develop into more well rounded people.