Rating: 
Summary: Existential Masterpiece
Review: The Stranger is one of those rare books that introduces a character that you both despise and sympathise with. It is not long, it is not boring, and it is full of meaning. Read it and learn something about people, and about yourself. We are all strangers. Don't be afraid to find out why.
Rating:
Summary: The inauthentic man
Review: Camus's hero, Mersault, is a lost man, a stranger in the society he inhabits. He knows nothing and cares for nothing but himself. At his mother's funeral, he finds it impossible to show emotion. But in one premeditated gesture of self-liberation, a gesture by which he breaks the social bonds that submerge his individuality, he kills an Arab on the shore - in cold blood and seemingly for no reason - by firing five shots into him and thus fully realising and concretising himself as an authentic being in control of himself. This is the premise of the novel, an existential classic, on a par with Kafka's "The Trial".
Rating:
Summary: Killing an Arab
Review: I really liked the book "the stranger." and i think that all the flaws that people point out in it are the very things that make this a great book. i recomend listening to the song writen about it by the cure called killng an arab. excusite
Rating:
Summary: The Stranger: Slow-paced is better?
Review: In sports, to examine the action closely, they do a slow-motion instant replay. The Stranger by Albert Camus is slow paced; there's one scene in the beginning where the main character, Meursault, describes in full detail his day, in which he looked out the window. That was all, Meursault just talked about the people who walked by that day. However, this single fault the book has is necessary in order to understand and accept Camus' existentialist message. Like a slow-motion replay of fast action, only when Camus slows down the life of Meursault does the reader see the entire picture. The famous image of the novel is Meursault shooting an Arab man on the beach. A fast paced action novel would not have given much detail-- which would have missed Camus' message. Saying that Meursault shot an Arab does not tell the reader anything, but having Meursault describe in full detail the unbearable nature of the heat that day, about the sweat running down his forehead and the sun pounding on his back, and by leaving out any thoughts about the morality of his actions, only then do we understand Camus' message. There is no God out there who care, he could shoot or not shoot, it would not matter either way. What drove Meursault to kill the Arab was not distorted morals, that it would be right for him to kill the Arab on a spiritual or vengeful level. Rather, Meursault killed the Arab because it was hot that day. He is driven by honest emotions only, and Meursault will be persecuted for this later on. Slowing down the pace also makes the story seem that much more real and detailed. I imagined the bullets Meursault shoots at the beach in the same slow motion style that was used in The Matrix. Also, the scenes in which he breaks his placid persona, such as the one in which Meursault attacks a visiting chaplain, are heightened dramatically by the slow pace. The outburst of emotion is far more exciting with a low key atmosphere surrounding it. This is important because the scene with the chaplain, where he discovers his own beliefs (existentialism), is one of the key parts of the novel. Normally I do not like a slow paced novel, but I'm willing to make an exception with The Stranger. By slowing down the action, the theme becomes easier to understand and the images become far more absorbing. Oddly enough, it would appear that the book's only inherent flaw makes the novel better on the whole, and therefore I would not be exaggerating if I said The Stranger was flawless.
Rating: 
Summary: Personality Contrasts in The Stranger by Albert Camus
Review: Two strangers, sitting at the same table in a restaurant one evening for dinner. They only encounter one another because there is a lack of available seating, yet the direct contrast between them is beyond comparison. These two people are Monsieur Meursault and the women who becomes known to him as "the robot lady"; two characters in The Stranger by Albert Camus. From the moment the robot lady enters the scene, it becomes clear to the reader that she exists solely to give contrast to, the protagonist, Meursault's character. Her personality immediately exudes organization and regularity as she scans the menu, orders her food all at once, and immediately calculates the bill, plus tip, and places it on the table. During the meal, she proceeds to decide, in advance, what radio programs she will listen to each day of the coming week. Meursault describes her as having "a voice that was clear and very fast at the same time." He also notices that her movements are "jerky" and "robot-like" turning her into the epitome of everything he isn't. Unlike the woman he is seated with, Meursault does not exude any form of organization, and is certainly not one to go about preplanning his life. His character is easy-going and almost lethargic at times. He lives each moment for what it is and even edges on the point of hedonism. While the "strange little woman" makes her way through life with "incredible speed and assurance", Meursault is content to spend an entire day peering out of his balcony at the world below. It can be inferred that the robot lady would have a hard time accepting change or any sporadic event that chanced to disrupt her lifestyle or her schedule. Meursault, on the other hand, could care less about change. In essence he is absolutely indifferent to anything and everything that does not relate to his five senses. Yet Meursault and the robot lady do have one small thing in common: regardless of how they live their lives, they both live them only for themselves. The robot lady took no note of Meursault at the table, and though her peculiar nature temporarily aroused his interest, Meursault soon forgot about her too. This overlooked aspect is what ties the robot lady into the theme of the work. The world is indifferent Meursault later discovers, and just as his life meant nothing to this woman, to the existentialist mind, his life means nothing to the uncaring world either.
Rating: 
Summary: The Absurd Stranger
Review: Albert Camus' "The Stranger" was interesting. The different sentence structure, indicating a man of simple education, made the book easy to read. However the concepts and ideas presented in the text were those that cannot be taken lightly. The absurdity that reoccurs throughout the book brings to light, my opinion of, Camus' meaning. Traditional Christian values are not always substantial enough for the modern man. The main character Meursault is not punished severely for his true crime but for his lack of emotions. As the modern man Meursault found nothing to believe in, his actions are based purely on his senses. He will do whatever gives him physical pleasure. The absurdity of Meursault's trial and of Meursault himself shows Camus' belief that the modern man has become more detached from himself and his emotions. The examining magistrate is also absurd in his idea that if Meursault does not believe in God his belief in God is invalid. There is no reason for another's belief to affect your beliefs. This absurdity shows Camus' disillusionment with religious fanatics. "The Stranger" raises interesting questions about the absurdity of people's ideas and of life itself. Why do religious fanatics act the way they do? Why would someone develop into an apathetic, purely sensual person, when they had a seemingly normal life? Meursault may be a phenomenon or the first in a newly emerging class of apathetic people.
Rating:
Summary: It's a must read
Review: When we first started reading "The Stranger" in class our teacher warned us it would be a boring book, but as I read the first half unlike most of my classmates and my teacher I found "The Stranger" quite interesting. I know someone in my life who is just as strange as Mersault, the protagonist of this book is and it was quite interesting to get a first hand view of an unemotional, amoral, apathetic person. But things got worse when the entire second half of the book turned out to be a trial description. If there is any type of book I hate, it is that of a trial description. But however boring the book might be it is one of the most influential books I have ever read. It is an existentialist book that views the world as an absurd and indifferent place. The world according to this book is a "Godless" place where nobody cares about the people that dwell in it. "The Stranger" is one of the pioneer books in the genre of existentialist books that deal with the absurdity of life. In today's materialistic society, this book seems to make a lot of sense when the codes of religion do not seem to suffice our spiritual needs anymore, when the entire world seems to be apathetic to its surroundings, busy and confined to their own lives. Yes, indeed it is an absurd world that we live in and it is about this world that Camus writes "The Stranger" about. Camus also satirizes the hypocrisy and fakeness of religion and the legal system and how often they are merged together as one. "The Stranger" by Camus ranks up there with the classics, and even though it might not keep our utmost attention throughout the reading it definitely however teaches us a valuable lesson in life.
Rating:
Summary: The Stranger: Classic Existentialism
Review: Albert Camus' The Stranger is classic existentialism. The lead character, M. Meursault, epitomizes indifference, and his responses towards life are the essence of the author's underlying existentialist beliefs The story is divided down the middle into two parts, the punctuated by the murder of an Arab on the beach by the lead character. The first part of the story mainly introduces the character of Meursault, by showing his interactions with his fellow characters, also including the death of his mother and the new romance between Meursault and Marie, which blossoms the day after Meursault returns from his mother's funereal. The second part is Meursault's trial, which is largely like the final episode of 'Seinfeld,' as all the characters are called up to testify on Meursault's personality. Condemned to die, Meursault has a revelation about life, which is the key theme in the book Faced with non-existance, Meursault realizes that there is no outer meaning in the universe, and that is the most imprortant message from the work.
Rating:
Summary: A View of Atheism in the Stranger
Review: My reading of Camus' The Stranger triggered a dual response. It caused me to harbor a great contempt for it as well as a respect for the thought-provoking mastery of its message. This reaction was precipitated by a feeling that Camus, through the voice of Meursault is incredibly arrogant. I believe that atheism is as hypocritical as religion. Either extreme requires a confidence which no man can truly possess. Either is a denial of the doubt that makes us human. It is the questions that we cannot answer that make us who we are. An acceptance of the "benign indifference of the universe" only brings happiness in its finality. It closes the question of death and the unknown, ending the accompanying fears. It is man's futile attempt to grasp the nature of existence by denying its significance. People have a similarly feignedly apathetic response when greeted with a question of trivia that they cannot answer or answer incorrectly. They simply say, "It doesn't matter." Another hypocrisy in this book is the presence of a so-called existentialist hero. If man defines his existence individually why does he need another man to be his hero and the exemplar of his beliefs? In fact, if it is true that there is no meaning in life, then why does it matter that Camus' message be heard? He must record his message because he cannot deny his humanity. It is his humanity that makes him ask "why," and feel compelled to share it with the world. He cannot be the true existentialist. No man can. It is just as true that no man can truly believe in God without consciously deluding himself. He is aware of his doubt at every step in his life, and blinds himself with affirmations and professions of his faith. However, all these ideologies must be respected and are popular in literature for the reason that they attempt to answer the unanswerable question which is the most important in our lives, "Who am I and why do I exist?" Everything we do is connected to this question, all of our decisions and all of our thought. We continually ask, "How do I fit into the system? What is my role in the community? Where does my community fit into the world? Where does my world fit into the universe?" The human race is incurably narcissistic and homocentric. It may seem cynical to believe man incapable of ever comprehending the universe. On the other hand, this seems to be a tenet of many religions and a truth to most atheists. Agnosticism is the only logical conclusion we can draw from these realities. Who can say with certainty what is and what is not? There are over 10,000 species on this planet alone, and things change every day. Science can test the physical and conclude on temporary truths, but the spirit is un-testable. Reality exists for each of us in relativity. But these relative truths are not absolute reality. It is an aphorism that this truth must exist, for the universe does not only exist in our minds. When a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, it makes a sound. However, knowledge and comprehension of this absolute reality is beyond our reach. As Albert Einstein once said, "Nothing in science is final, but the truth is real." Science here can easily be substituted with life. Our minds are but the imperfect lenses through which we see the universe.
Rating:
Summary: meaning- or meaningless
Review: At the end of his life, Meursault completed something that brought him back to the beginning of his life. Everything mentioned in the story has some relevance to the meaning of the book. Otherwise, Camus wouldn't spend anytime writing it. This, in a way, contradicts his whole intent of The Stranger's actual meaning...well shall I say meaningless belief. I thought there was some purpose for Camus to point out the only memory Meursault had of his father. He thinks the only thing interesting to a person is to watch an execution. Just to point out, this is what he believes from growing up knowing only this of his father. Nearing his own execution, he relates back to this vague memory and it brings him a sense of comfort that he could be the one for his father to watch. (Not to analyze this story anymore but) Growing up without a father and with this execution story as his only reliance, Meursault's perception of life became very tainted. Meursault seems focused on his beliefs/non-beliefs through most of the story, but in that sense, to be extremely driven at his existentialistic thoughts, he shows himself insecure and unsure. For example: he is bothered that the scaffold is not risen to a higher level, that he could not "mount the scaffold, going right up into the sky." He wishes there were some way out of his death. As if there was a heaven for him to grasp or at the least tease him proving that there could be a chance for his life to be spared. Meursault experienced emotion more in part two. "I would wait frantically until I heard the sound of my own breathing, terrified to find it so horse...and I would have gained another twenty four hours." He searched for an answer. After the pensive time in his prison cell, he could not find anything to answer his meaning of life. His whole beliefs up to this point had been so uncompromising that his reaching for an answer in life was hopeless and too hard to change his past feelings. He died without his hopeful (at that one inspired moment that he searched for it) answer. That might be the most absurd thing about Meursault. "I said I had been looking at the stones in these walls for months. There wasn't anything or anyone in the world I knew better. Maybe at one time, way back, I had searched for a face in them. But the face I was looking for was as bright as the sun and the flame of desire...I had searched for it in vain. Now it was all over. And in any case, I'd never seen anything emerge from any sweating stones."
|
