Insanity, Death, and Comparisons

Does anybody else feel like Mersault is clinically insane? Albert Camus’ The Stranger is a fantastic book that explores an apathetic man who feels indifferent toward all the most important things in life. This includes one’s mother, significant others/lovers, murder, impending death, etc. For example, Mersault’s mood at the beginning of the novel is odd because his mother has just passed away, yet he feels almost nothing. Instead of feeling remorse, he worries about his boss’ reaction when he tries to ask for time off work. And when he seems to have found true love, he tells Marie that he doesn’t want to marry her and that he isn’t in love with her. But Mersault’s view on death (which probably somewhat reflected Camus’ views on death) is the most pressing piece of evidence that supports his lunacy.

From what I have gathered, he seems psychotic in two ways of dealing with death. The first way is how he deals with murdering someone. On pages 58 and 59 of the novel, Mersault seems so affected by the sun and the heat of that fateful beach that he almost seems to have been forced to kill the Arab. This comes up again later in the story when he admits that he doesn’t feel any remorse for what he has done. A normal human being would have felt terrible for killing another person, even if that person was wielding a knife. The second way in which Mersault seems crazy is how he reacts to his death sentence. He almost seems glad at times that he is being killed because at least he knows when he is going to die. His cynical view on the inevitability of death leads him to feel to superior to all others who aren’t scheduled to be executed because he doesn’t have to worry about how or when he is going to die. This is sad because Mersault only knows one real truth in the world – that everyone dies. If this is the only truth one knows, that person leads a sad, sad life.

On a quick side note, I want to say that my mom first tried getting me read this book when I was in the 7^th grade. I remember hating it after only reading the first five chapters and then tossing it away only to pick up Harry Potter or some other easy read. Now that I’m older (and now consider this book an easy read), I love The Stranger. For some reason, I am constantly relating it to another favorite book of mine, Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. There is something about Holden’s attitude and Mersault’s attitude that seem to go together. If anyone has thoughts (agreements or disagreements) I would be glad to hear it.