The Stranger

Albert Camus’ The Stranger is certainly one of the strangest books I’ve read in a long time. I absolutely loved it though—even if it only vaguely relates to my blog question. Is government necessary for the existence of peace? Not in this case. Meursault only appears to be tormented. He is questioned by society and labeled a “monster” for the crime he perpetuates and is not really given much of a second chance in court. I conclude that his indifference is what leads him to the guillotine; he is too lazy to defend himself and seems to have no motivation behind his murder. Only annoyance with the sun, he claims, is the spark that drives him to squeeze the trigger. Government has no part in maintaining peace from the perspective of Meursault. He is sane. He is not dangerous. He is simply careless. But of course society takes any action that results in the death of another man a threat to its own wellbeing. Meursault is ironically labeled a criminal and sentenced to death even though he does not have qualities of a killer (i.e. motivation, hate, creed, etc.). Government creates a peace by isolating one who creates disorder and chaos. For the majority, it is Meursault. I suppose it is up to the reader to decide whether or not Meursault’s imprisonment and subsequent death sentence are justifiable. If so, then government has done its job in establishing peace.