Adam Cap

  • About
  • Mail
  • Archive/Search

The Stranger Book Report

↘︎ Mar 16, 2006 … 3′ … download⇠ | skip ⇢

1. Title: The Stranger

2. Author: Albert Camus

3. The title, The Stranger, in my opinion refers to the main character, Monsieur Meursault, and his perception of life. He seems to have no feeling at all, while the people around him show emotion, so I think that’s why it’s called The Stranger. He doesn’t know how to really relate to other people. He doesn’t even seem to know exactly what he believes in. He is a stranger to life.

4. The story is organized in chronological order, and it’s separated into two parts; events leading up to the shooting of the Arab and everything that happens after the shooting (his time in jail, the trial, etc…).

5. The setting takes place in France during the 1930s or 1940s. At the beginning of the novel, everything takes place in small town or village that is within a bus ride of the beach. Halfway throughout the book the setting changes strictly to prison and the courtroom.

6. The setting simply makes the story seem real. Though there isn’t much description about the surroundings, they are talked about enough to make it seems like a real place. The physical structures aren’t described nearly as much as the weather and elements, which makes you feel like you are in the characters’ shoes.

7. The main character is Monsieur Meursault. He is a man in his twenties or thirties, and that’s all that you can infer about his physical nature. You do learn a lot about his personality, though. Meursault is a very odd character. He seems almost like a robot; he lacks almost any emotion or feeling. He has no opinion on almost all matters, so whenever someone asks him a question, he either simply agrees or says no. If he can’t respond with yes or no, he usually will not answer the question. He is very awkward, but people seem to like him even though he doesn’t talk at all. He lacks motivation, and just lets life pass by him.

8. The story starts out with Meursault saying that his mother died. He can’t remember if it happened today or yesterday, which shows his lack of emotion from the beginning. He goes to her funeral and shows no emotion at all; he doesn’t cry or even seem upset, and he doesn’t want to see his mother one last time before she is buried. After the funeral is over, he goes back home for the weekend. Meursault spends time with his girlfriend Marie going to the movies and to the beach. He also spends some time with his neighbor Raymond who has trouble with his girlfriend. Raymond thinks that she is cheating on him, so he wants to beat her. Raymond asks Meursault for his opinion on the matter, but he just agrees with Raymond in that he should get back at her.

Raymond follows through in hurting his girlfriend, which leads to him becoming a target of her brother. Her brother and his crew watch Raymond and Meursault as they get on a bus to go to the beach and visit a friend of Raymond. Raymond thinks that they will be safe, but when they are on the beach, the brother and his crew are there and attack Raymond. Raymond is cut on the arm and the mouth, but the injuries aren’t serious. Shortly after that, Meursault takes Raymond’s gun and goes out to the beach to find the brother, then shoots him five times, killing him for no apparent reason.

Meursault is then taken into custody and stays in prison for about a year. He doesn’t seemed phased at all by the fact that he killed somebody and that he is stuck in prison. During the trial, his insensitivity is brought up and used against him. He is found guilty and is sentenced to be beheaded in front of a crowd. No one can ever get through to him, not even the chaplain that tries to awaken him to his life.

9. I think the theme is basically about how people can be strangers to life, as is the case of Meursault. He shows no remorse for killing someone, he is not saddened by the death of his own mother, and always answers questions with a yes or no. He has no motivation for anything, like the idea of marrying Marie. She asks him to marry her, but he says that it doesn’t make any difference. I think the author is just trying to point out how it’s wrong to live like that, and that it’s necessary to have emotion and feeling to live a full life.

10. The most interesting scene in the book is the scene where Meursault shoots the Arab brother. The description of how the sun pushed Meursault toward him portrayed the scene very well. It was weird how Meursault was overtaken by this urge to kill a man, when normally Meursault was very calm and collected during the story. The scene seemed to stand out from the rest of the book, so that’s why I think it’s the most interesting.

11. I thought it was a pretty good novel. It was on the short side, but the author’s writing style allowed him to put all the necessary information he needed and portray the story the way he wanted to. I thought there might be a twist at the end and that Meursault wouldn’t be guillotined, but I was wrong. I also thought there would be a stranger introduced in the story that would help Meursault at some point, but at the end I realized that he was the stranger. The story is easy to read and it’s fairly eventful, so it was actually pretty enjoyable to read.

Me

circa 2017 (29 y/o)

about adam

Recently…

  • 10 May 25: An Art Critique on “Tennis Court” by Ellsworth Kelly (1949) #ART 1021 (Introduction to Art History & Appreciation II) #Dr. Emily Hage #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Apr 22: Oxygenation and Hydrochlorination of Vaska’s Complex Ir(Cl)[P(C6H5)3]2(CO) #CHM 2521 (Inorganic Chemistry Lab) #Dr. Peter M. Graham #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Apr 21: Refraction Lab #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1042 (General Physics Lab II) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Apr 20: The Mental, Physical, and Social Implications of Self Enhancement #Dr. Judith J. Chapman #PSY 2341 (Psychology of the Self) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Apr 18: Law of Reflection Lab #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1042 (General Physics Lab II) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Apr 16: Synthesis, Determination, and Catalytic Measurement of Ruthenium Indenylidene Complexes used in Olefin Metathesis #CHM 2521 (Inorganic Chemistry Lab) #Dr. Peter M. Graham #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Apr 12: Current Balance Lab #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1042 (General Physics Lab II) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Apr 10: The Perfect Paper #Mr. Robert Fleeger #PHL 2011 (Knowledge and Existence) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Mar 29: Magnetic Fields Lab #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1042 (General Physics Lab II) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Mar 22: Series and Parallel Circuits Lab #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1042 (General Physics Lab II) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Mar 17: Synthesis and Determination of [1,3,5-C6H3(CH3)3]Mo(CO)3 #CHM 2521 (Inorganic Chemistry Lab) #Dr. Peter M. Graham #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Mar 4: Synthesis and Determination of Polypyrazolylborates #CHM 2521 (Inorganic Chemistry Lab) #Dr. Peter M. Graham #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Mar 2: Electrical Resistance and Ohm’s Law #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1042 (General Physics Lab II) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Feb 22: Hooke’s Law and Simple Harmonic Motion #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1042 (General Physics Lab II) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Feb 11: Tinkering with Tin #CHM 2521 (Inorganic Chemistry Lab) #Dr. Peter M. Graham #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 10 Jan 21: Psychology of the Self Notes #Dr. Judith J. Chapman #PSY 2341 (Psychology of the Self) #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 09 Dec 7: The Biochemistry of Anthrax #CHM 2611 (Biochemistry) #Dr. Mark F. Reynolds #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 09 Dec 5: Ring-Opening Metathesis PowerPoint Presentation #CHM 2511 (Inorganic Chemistry) #Dr. Peter M. Graham #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 09 Nov 22: Double Group Transfer Reactions of an Unsaturated Tantalum Methylidene Complex with Pyridine N-Oxides #CHM 2511 (Inorganic Chemistry) #Dr. Peter M. Graham #Saint Joseph’s University
  • 09 Nov 21: Conservation of Angular Momentum #Dr. Paul J. Angiolillo #PHY 1032 (General Physics Lab I) #Saint Joseph’s University
archive

More from…
12th Grade – English (Class) / Great Valley High School (School) / Mrs. Kelly DiPrinzio (Teacher) / schoolwork (Post Type)

⇠ Previous
Next schoolwork ⇢
  • Home
  • About
  • Archive
  • Mail
  • Random
  • Dingus
  • Reading
  • Code

ADAM CAP is an elastic waistband enthusiast, hammock admirer, and rare dingus collector hailing from Berwyn, Pennsylvania.

My main interests at this time include reading, walking, and learning how to do everything faster.

Psst: If you find my website helpful or enjoyable, please join my newsletter and/or send me an email—I want to hear from you!

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2009–2023 Adam Cap(riola) top ⇡