The Stranger
The Stranger
Albert Camus in his book, The Stranger leaves much to the reader’s imagination in terms of the message that is portrayed by the various elements of the book, especially by the thoughts and words of the mysterious and dismal main character. Moreover, many meanings can be derived according to the feelings that emerge within the reader through his/her experience with the book. Despite the fact that The Stranger left me with depressive feelings of despair and gloom, the message that was conveyed was quite impacting and somewhat challenging to my Christian faith. It was a message concerning the way in which human expectations and standards greatly influence a person’s sense of self and belonging in this world. And even more, this made me question my own courage and honesty with myself regarding my Christianity.
In the early parts of the book, I passed judgment on the man as being emotionless and unaffected by others’ feelings, especially in the case of his dead mother. This was because he seemed to treat those around him as meaningless objects, namely those who were grieving. However, as the story progressed, I recognized that this was not really the issue. Conversely, the man appeared to feel trapped within the boundaries of human expectations while merely trying to be honest with himself. After refusing to see the chaplain for the third time, the man revealed his feelings of imprisonment by saying, “All I care about right now is escaping the machinery of justice, seeing if there is any way out of the inevitable” (108). I began to sympathize with him, feeling even a bit of guilt for the way I had so hastily judged him. Moreover, it was as though I found myself in some way identifying with him.
To me, this conveys a very powerful message: because of these “ideals” set by humans, anyone who defies these so-called rules is set apart from what is accepted as normal. To the main character, inside the borders of human standards resembled a prison cell – “there’s no way out” (81). Reflecting on my own life, the main character revealed to me that I have often fallen subject to the expectations of “this world,” such as with physical appearance, education, and material success. Is this a result of my deviating from what should...