Often, when people smoke, they do it for comfort. It's warm and feels good and gives you something to think about. They continue their habits and soon get addicted. It's a physical connection that is extremely hard to break. While the physical aspect of smoking is present in The Stranger, it has a deeper meaning than addiction. Meursault smokes for a majority of the book, but once he is imprisoned he is forced to stop.
"There were the cigarettes, too... Once I was in my cell, I asked to have them back. But I was told I wasn't allowed. The first few days were really rough... Later on I realized that that too was a part of the punishment. But by then I had gotten used to not smoking and it wasn't a punishment anymore." (78)
He stops smoking, understands the punishment, and becomes accustomed to the cig-abstinence. He is later offered a cigarette before his trial. "The policemen told me we had to wait for the judges and one of them offered me a cigarette, which I turned down." (82)
He turns it down but doesn't even sound tempted. It seems as if he doesn't have an ounce of desire for the cigarette. Which is strange because most ex-smokers would be physically attracted to the thought of having a smoke. He is not. I believe that he might actually be tearing off the last social fetters that remained from the outside world. He sees the problems with the society he lived in and realized he didn't need the fake comforts that come with it; ergo, the cig's gotta go.
I definitely agree with you about the meaning of all of Meursault's cigarettes in The Stranger. Like you said, he seems to renounce the last comfort he has afforded himself, which originally came from the externality of society.
ReplyDeleteI love this unique perspective on the relationship between Meursault and society in the book. I never thought of the role that cigarettes played in this theme but now that you say it, I completely agree. I think that his acceptance of his punishment, whether it be the removal of cigarettes, women or nature, reflect Meursault's separation from the systems of society.
ReplyDeleteI love this unique perspective on the relationship between Meursault and society in the book. I never thought of the role that cigarettes played in this theme but now that you say it, I completely agree. I think that his acceptance of his punishment, whether it be the removal of cigarettes, women or nature, reflect Meursault's separation from the systems of society.
ReplyDeleteI like this post a lot and I agree. I also think based off of Merusaut's general outlook on life, I think it is strange that he even succumbs to smoking in the first place considering he looks down upon so many aspects of the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, his acceptance here shows how far he has gone to rid himself of societal norms. It would be interesting to compare this to the meaning of cigarettes in Trust because there (if I remember correctly) they continue smoking.
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