Irrational Society in The Stranger

In The Stranger, author Albert Camus explores the aspects of one person’s unusual personality. Throughout the novel, the main character, Monsieur Meursault, is constantly viewed as an individual with a vast disconnect from the rest of society. In order to show this, the author uses various forms of symbolism, which are present throughout The Stranger, and help the reader to determine one of the main themes of the novel, the general irrationality of society.

One of the first times the author uses symbolism to show the disconnect that Meursault has with the rest of society is when he references heat at Meursault's mother's funeral.  While they are walking through the desert to the nearest town, Meursault only thinks of how hot it is getting, as well as the fact that his mother's friend from the nursing home is constantly behind them.  This is another form of symbolism that Camus uses, because Perez is constantly falling behind the rest of the funeral procession, which in this case is a reference to society.  In the end, these are only a few examples of the times that Camus uses symbolism in his novel in order to reinforce his themes.