Meursault's Resignation

Meursault comes off to many as an evil man, yet I view him as neutral above all else. While he occasionally shares his opinions to the reader, his actions are entirely unmotivated. He lacks any real emotion, drive, or meaning in his life. It's frustrating to see him conspire with his abusive neighbor or stare apathetically at his mother's funeral, yet Meursault shows no malicious intent in these actions. I believe he is simply resigned to the hardships of life and allows them to take their course unopposed.

The nature of humans is to strive towards personal success and happiness, yet Camus has written a character entirely devoid of these inclinations. By doing so he portrays the world in an extremely bleak way, full of suffering that our actions merely keep at bay. Meursault is a unfulfilled man being swept through life by unending struggles, implying that to be the natural course of life. This is exemplified when a "curtain of tears and salt" dripping into his eyes causes him to shoot Raymond's stalker, a man who he has no meaningful relation to (59). This ultimate act of inhumanity and needless violence isn't induced by psychopathic urges, instead merely the environment of the beach blinding him. This reveals the full depth of his apathy and unassertiveness, while furthering the tragic portrayal of life Camus is set upon. While there perhaps exists a more positive interpretation where we, unlike Meursault, can fight against the hardships of reality, I doubt Camus intended this to be a call to arms. It appears more so to be a lamentation on our inability to escape the tragedy of our human condition and a cold portrayal of a man who has accepted this status quo.