One strange part of the first three chapters of The Stranger is at the very end when Meursault leaves his neighbors apartment. Chamus writes, "All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I stood there, motionless. And in old Salamno's room, the dog whimpered softly" (33). When he leaves the apartment, there is this suspense in the air but the reader is left hanging. When he was having dinner with Raymond, Meursault gave no indication to his attitude towards the plan that Raymond wanted to put into motion. He agrees without much emotion.
Throughout the first three chapters, Meursault seems disconnected with the rest of the world and never seems to carry heavy feelings towards anyone or anything despite the recent events, but at the end he has this feeling of suspense that feels odd compared to the beginning of the story. The blood is rushing in his head, he picks up the dog whimpering, and he stands still like a deer in headlights.
I agree completely with the fact that Meursault shows no emotion or empathy at all throughout the chapters. However, I believe that there was no real spike in emotion that he experienced. He is consistently disconnected from everything that is going on, and this is clear throughout the chapters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maddie. His detachment from the world around him is very clear throughout the chapters and I did not notice any spark of emotion from Meursault.
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