noun
a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.
It is evident through the entirety of The Stranger that Albert Camus' protagonist, M. Meursault, is a clear sociopath. He repeatedly demonstrates his extreme lack of empathy in every situation he finds himself in, even admitting to himself that he feels no remorse.
"I didn't feel much remorse for what I'd done. But I was surprised by how relentless he was. I would have liked to have tried to explain to him cordially, almost affectionately, that I had never been able to truly feel remorse for anything. My mind was always on what was coming next, today or tomorrow," (100).
The only guilt Meursault feels after his mother's death is the guilt projected on him by others. Meursault gladly assists Raymond write a letter to his mistress, knowing that she will come back to him and be abused, but doesn't give it a second thought, even after he hears her being beaten and the police arrive. And of course, after Meursault kills a man, he only regrets spoiling the nice day.
These tendencies are alarming, and especially are so when they belong to the story's hero.
It is evident through the entirety of The Stranger that Albert Camus' protagonist, M. Meursault, is a clear sociopath. He repeatedly demonstrates his extreme lack of empathy in every situation he finds himself in, even admitting to himself that he feels no remorse.
"I didn't feel much remorse for what I'd done. But I was surprised by how relentless he was. I would have liked to have tried to explain to him cordially, almost affectionately, that I had never been able to truly feel remorse for anything. My mind was always on what was coming next, today or tomorrow," (100).
The only guilt Meursault feels after his mother's death is the guilt projected on him by others. Meursault gladly assists Raymond write a letter to his mistress, knowing that she will come back to him and be abused, but doesn't give it a second thought, even after he hears her being beaten and the police arrive. And of course, after Meursault kills a man, he only regrets spoiling the nice day.
These tendencies are alarming, and especially are so when they belong to the story's hero.
I am going to have to disagree with you here. I think Meursault does have emotion and a lack of conscience however they are not shown in ways our society is used to. It is important to remember that Meursault is not the average person in society. He does show emotion and conscience but to things that we deem immoral, but he does show them. This is not a reason to discredit him as a character/hero.
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