Meursault = Threat?

I think it's safe to say that whether we want to or not: we all secretly are frustrated at Meursault. I personally was frustrated at his lack of emotions. I always thought that in order to be considered "human", we all had to embrace our emotions. Even through the end of the novel I couldn't help thinking why Meurault, even after spending time in a cold and isolated jail cell, did not become more in tune with his emotions.

That being said, after having a few days to chew on the ideas presented in the book, I was able to draw to a conculsion that while some of us may see Meursault as an emotionless, aloof, and indifferent character, he actually never poses as a threat to society because of these very characteristics.

Most of the headlines that make big news channels such as CNN, FOX, and MSNBC, all relate to violence that was derived from a deep seated emotion. For example, there seems to be endless violence because of frustration towards certain political parties. However, while most of us did feel confusion and frustration with political events currently circling around us, we do not commit such horrid acts. Yet while we do not commit these same atrocious acts, we cannot help but let these emotions cloud our deception of the world and what we can do to change the world into a better place.

This is precisely why I believe that Meursault can not, could not, and does not pose as a threat to society. His inability to let emotions get ahold of him is what allows him to move through life passively. Because he is so aloof and indifferent, he does not let certain things (while he may disagree or agree with them) get the best of him. With this in his mind, he is able to steer clear of emotions that could potentially cause him from doing catastrophic things.

Many of you may be asking why then he decided to shoot the Arab? In the specific scene when Meursault approaches the Arab, he explains that the sun "was the same as it had been the day I'd buried Maman, and like then, my forehead especially was hurting me, all the veins in it throbbing under the skin. It was this burning, which I couldn't stand anymore, that made me move forward" (59). After moving forwards, Meursault explains how stupid that action was. He also explains that as the Arab drew out his knife, Meursault's eyes were "blinded behind the curtain of tears and salt" (59). This brief mention of tears in his eyes is a part of Meursault that we have never seen before. Throughout the entire story, he has never cried, and yet suddenly, we see him break down in this scene. Even before he pulls the trigger, Meursault claims that his "whole being tensed" and that "the sky split open from one end to the other" (59). At first glance, the diction that Camus  uses to explain what Meursault was going through could merely seem like literary devices used to enrich the text. At a closer examination, however, it is easy to parallel these things that Meursault is describing to how we feel when powerful emotions overtake us. I think that the only reason Meursault killed the Arab was because he finally became face to face with his emotions; they hit him suddenly and powerfully, and because he let these emotions take a hold of him, he pulled the trigger. It seems that controlling our emotions can potentially be more beneficial than letting our emotions pose as a threat to us.

Throughout the beginning of "The Stranger", we see Meursault as a passive and phlegmatic man. During this part, he does not seem to partake in any violent acts. However, before shooting the Arab, he seems to be overwhelmed and enveloped in his emotions. Personally, I do not see Meursault as a threat to society, merely because his is able to control his emotions enough to enable him to perceive the world in a more clear way than most of the people who let emotions control them.