Table of contentsIntroductionThe Outsider by Albert Camus: summary and analysisConclusionIntroductionAlbert Camus was an Algerian-French absurdist author, who wrote novels like The Outsider and The Plague . In The Outsider, he tells the story of an emotionless and immoral character, Meursault, and how he deals with society's norms and the judgmental people around him. The story takes place in Algiers, where Meursault receives a telegram informing him that his mother has fainted and that he must attend the funeral, to which he showed no emotion. Later, as the character evolves, he kills a man for no specific reason and is prosecuted for his actions. Supporting evidence in the novel, we can affirm that Meursault is, to a certain extent, only a stranger to society, to himself and to his environment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay The Outsider by Albert Camus: summary and analysis In the eyes of society, Meursault is an outsider, a singular and detached man , who doesn't seem to understand how everything around him is supposed to work. Meursault does not understand why events, such as marriage or the death of a loved one, generally have sentimental value for people and this is what makes him appear insensitive and disconnected from them. When Meursault first appears in the novel, he has to attend his mother's funeral in Marengo. When he talks about the funeral, he seems almost indifferent to the fact that his mother died, he even says: "it's still a bit as if mom hadn't died." We can understand the apathy he felt towards the death of his mother, since she had been living in a retirement home for years, Meursault was disconnected from her, he was used to her absence, his reaction could therefore be justified. However, in the eyes of society, this kind of behavior is considered bizarre and the fact that he showed no emotion at his mother's funeral contributes to this strange image of Meursault. Later, Meursault finds himself in a perplexing situation where he kills an Arab on the beach, without any clear motive. During his hearing, Meursault tries to convince his lawyer that he did not know the man he killed and that he shot him for no reason. The lawyer is a representative of society, a “normal” man and he does not seem to understand Meursault’s way of thinking. Also, when the judge questioned him, he kept asking him why he had shot the Arab 5 times, since he had died from the first shot, but Meursault did not know what to tell him, because he did not know not why he did that. When the judge got angry, he brought up religion and God, but Meursault gave no importance to religion, it was illogical and impossible in the eyes of the judge, who was also a representative of society. Generally, Meursault is seen as an outsider to society because he cannot understand the consequences of his actions and he does not follow any of the norms. In contrast to the paragraph above, it can be said that Meursault is not a stranger to his natural environment. , because he knows it so well that it affects his decision-making. As Meursault goes to the beach and goes out into the sun, he says, “It was like a slap in the face.” We see how much this affected him, since Meursault recognizes the physical world better than the emotional one. Arriving at the beach, Meursault is relieved to finally see “clear water”. The huge contrast between the water and the hot sun seems to calm him and when he enters the water he seems happier and comforted. Later, the protagonist is so affected by the heat of the sun that he kills the Arab without hesitation. Camus..