The Stranger - Meursaults Trial Essay - 1020 Words

After only a few days of trial, the jury in The Stranger declares that the main character, Meursault, is to be executed by guillotine in the town square. The trial and its verdict are one of the important parts of the novel, as Albert Camus uses them as a metaphor to summarize the two main tenets of absurdism. Camus uses the trial and persecution of Meursault to express his belief that the justice system is flawed because of his absurdist ideals that truth does not exist, and human life is precious. In order to reform the justice system, Albert Camus believes that capital punishment needs to be abolished. The trial portrays the absurdist ideal that absolute truth does not exist. This ideal destroys the very purpose of the trial, which†¦show more content†¦All the facts the prosecutor presents are valid and true, though unrelated to his case. From the prosecutors point of view, Meursault is a â€Å"monster, a man without morals† (96). Even Meursault agrees that what he was saying was plausible (99). The reader, who knows all of Meursault’s thoughts, knows how absurd the prosecution’s accusations are. Throughout the trial, Camus explains that perception means everything, and there is no absolute truth. The conviction of Meursault represents another main point of absurdism, that life is precious. It only takes forty five minutes for an entire jury to unanimously decide to send Meursault to the guillotine, which is unreasonable. Camus is trying to point this out as one of society’s wrongdoings. The prosecutors argument had appealed to the jurys emotions and society’s standards rather than reason. If the jury had not felt the emotions that were supposed to influence their decision, the prosecutors argument would have seemed completely irrational. In a rational world, Meursaults emotions regarding his mother or her funeral would not have influenced his verdict. Meursault commits a crime against an Arab, while Raymond, who had also done so earlier in the book, did not get into any trouble. He would still be found guilty, but only for the crime he committed. This would have definitely lightened his sentence; however, Meursault is sentenced to death. Camus proves the courtâ €™s hypocrisy and shows how humanShow MoreRelatedEssay about Absurdism in The Stranger by Albert Camus1271 Words   |  6 PagesThe Stranger by Albert Camus focuses largely on the concept of absurdism. Camus uses family and personal relationships, or the lack of it thereof, to show the isolation that the main character, Meursault, undergoes in the novel and it’s effect on him overall. Camus utilizes the protagonists’ character development as a tool to further his plot of the novel. 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More importantly, their structure conveys Meursault’s feelings. His feelings are a prominent focal point of the novel. With all of the varying emotions and feelings he has throughout the story, there is one general term that can be applied to them all: indifferent. Meursault