I enjoy the way that the book is written, with relatively short sentences that are still incredibly descriptive. The book is well written and does a good job conveying a mental picture of what is going on in the story.
My initial reaction to The Stranger has so far been a bit confused. Meursault's indifference at most of life around him is a recurring and incredibly strange aspect of this book to me. This apathetic life approach is nowhere better exemplified than at the end of Chapter 2, on page 24: "It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that. really, nothing had changed." His way of shrugging off his mother's death, not to mention the violent abuse between Salamano and his dog as well as Raymond and his mistress is unsettling and strange. He seems to be genuinely uninterested with what is going on around him and only pursues things for himself (such as Marie). What is it that motivates Meursault to do anything? Is it personal gain or simply doing his daily routine?
I agree with you that Meursault's disintrest with the things aroundd him is a strange aspect about the book. His girlfriend describes him as a peculiar person on page 42, which is true. I think that Meursault is just used to his "daily routine". He eats at the same restaurant, goes to the same job everyday for a certain amount, smokes, spends time with Marie and that's it. I don't believe he does anything for personal gain. I'm not even sure if he even gains anything in this first part of the book. He gains Raymond as a "friend" but then gains himself a murder that comes with it.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Meursault isn't that motivated at all. Everything he does just feels capricious. It makes a little bit of sense in the existentialist framework though because there is no goal that would really be meaningful. This is why I don't think he is motivated.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Meursault is not interested in anything and has no motivation to do anything. He only does things he wants and shows no interest in anything else.
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