There is nothing more harmful than constant truth. A truth is blunt and precise yet at the same time subjective and wildly variable person by person. Two individuals may perceive the same object differently, yet neither perception can be called false. In this way, the truths of two distinct experiences compete for a nonexistent title of Objective Truth. No two people will have the same experience, the same lived truth, yet each person will feel that their experience is the Objective Truth. This is the solipsistic irony of subjectivity.
It is through dishonesty that humanness is forged. Empathy is a form of denial- lying to ourselves in order to feel another’s Objective Truth. Diplomacy is the twisting of truth into a more palatable shape. Compromise is the omission of pieces of one’s Objective Truth to incorporate those of another. All forms of higher interaction and social adequacy rely on dishonesty to cohesively meld otherwise competing Truths.
Herein lies Meursault’s fatal flaw: an honesty so complete as to be inhuman. Casual, non-violating dishonesty is used commonly by nearly everyone. Meursault presents the opposite, honesty which violates those around him. For example, when asked by Marie if he felt love for her, Meursault said “I probably didn’t love her” (41). In telling Marie his Objective Truth exactly as he felt it, he alienated her. Meursault made no attempts to be diplomatic or even to avoid the question. Again Meursault’s honesty is revealed when he thinks “It was then that I realized you could either shoot or not shoot” (56). His Objective Truth had subsumed any possible empathy.
A fascinating thing is that Meursault is not clearly in the wrong. From a logical standpoint, what he says and does is almost entirely correct. He abides by his Truth and acts accordingly. It is his unwillingness to be dishonest, however, that sets Meursault apart and isolates him. An honest man in a world full of liars- he truly is a stranger.
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