Meursault, the Only True Character

Throughout the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, the main character Meursault is represented poorly. He is shown to be a heartless human being, and is set up as a person who has a lack of regard for other human beings. While Meursault does write a letter to help a friend lure a woman in to punish her, and he does also kill a man, he does these things without a worry because they do not effect him personally. Meursault is almost animalistic, not following any of societies constraints to effect him and living his life exactly as he pleases. Meursault is the only character throughout the entire novel who follows his exact instincts, doing what he wants and what he deems to be beneficial for himself (to his personal standards).

Society's standards do end up finally catching up to Meursault when he murders the Arab. After being put in jail, Meursault has a realization that it does not matter how he wants to live his life, for he has to live in constant regard to what is deemed morally correct by societal standards. In order for Meursault to get out of his punishment and to be seen more as an innocent man he would have to lie, but Meursault is so true to himself that he refuses. He is not willing to sacrifice his own dignity and values in order to conform to what the world and society needs of him, so he is sentenced to death.

Meursault is also unique in the fact that he is able to make good out of any situation. While sitting in prison, Meursault is able to find light in the darkness that surrounds him by looking up at the sky and waiting for a change in his routine like a bird flying past or his lawyer coming to visit him. Though Meursault is represented heavily as a soulless man who has no regard for other human beings, this detail that the author includes about Meursault being able to find something positive out of his time in prison goes to show that Meursault is an honest and good man, and living the life he wants to live, even though it is not up to society's standards.