The Stranger #3

I think that the punishment the protagonist received was very extreme and unfitting of his crime. However, he did not do much to help his case. There were many points where he could have interjected and saved his fate. Yet, lying is not in his character, he was unwilling to stretch the truth even a little to help his case. The prosecutor is able to completely spin the protagonist's story to paint him as a cruel and heartless villain. The prosecutor disassociates himself with the protagonist's fate and just focused on winning the case rather than delving into what actually happened. The protagonist ends the novel with an insight into his thoughts and feelings on life with fervent emotion. He grabs the Chaplain and yells: "I started yelling at the top of my lungs and I insulted him and told him not to waste his prayers on me.... I was pouring out on him everything that was in my heart, cries of anger and cries of joy. He seemed so certain about everything, didn't he? And yet none of his certainties was worth one hair of a woman's head. He wasn't even sure he was alive, because he was living like a deadman... but I was sure about me, about everything, surer than he could ever be" (Camus 120). The protagonist shows more emotion than he has in these few lines than he did in the entire novel. He brings up the point of certainty and how religion is just merely based on faith. He criticizes the chaplain saying that he couldn't possibly be certain about anything. But the protagonist will have one thing when he dies and that is certainty, he is certain that his life will come to an end and that is all he has.

The Stranger #2

The protagonist's response to his jail time and the questioning process is unusual just like his response to many events. He is a truthful and simple man which does not necessarily work in his favor because the justice system is complex. He has trouble adjusting to the fact that he is being charged as a criminal. When Marie comes to visit him he seems insensitive and indifferent to her presence. He focuses more on the sounds and details of the visiting room rather than his actual conversation with Marie or her appearance: "I was feeling a little sick and I'd have liked to leave. The noise was getting painful. But on the other hand I wanted to make the most of Marie's being there. I don't know how much time went by" (Camus 75). Although he says he wanted to make the most of their time together, he seems to pay more attention the conversations going on around him than he does to his and Marie's conversation. He says he would like to leave because he was feeling ill. It is odd that he would like to leave when this is the only time Marie will be able to visit him in prison. He seems insensitive and uncaring. Despite Marie's constant smiling and joyful demeanor, he does not return the same emotional response. The protagonist never responds to situations in the manner that I would assume a person would.

The Stranger, Book one

The beginning of The Stranger is odd. The syntax and language is very simple and straight forward. The protagonist is a curious man, his actions at his mother's funeral reflect someone who is attending a boring play or movie rather than the burial of a loved one. The protagonist's emotions seem to diluted as if he is holding back something. His outward behavior seems directly related to the physical state of his body not driven by emotion. He often describes physical feelings such as being tired, hungry, aching, cold, hot, craving coffee, cigarettes, etc. yet he does not really describe how he is feeling emotionally at Maman's funeral. He seemed distant and unaffected by this event. The protagonist is very passive and aggressive which is apparent in his relationship with Marie: "That evening Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn't make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to" (Camus 41). His response is odd and unemotional. He seems to really enjoy Marie, yet he is completely unemotional when she mentions getting married. He does not respond with a passionate yes or a fervent no, just sure if you want to. His persistent passive and unemotional behavior makes the end of book one very strange. He kills a man with seemingly little to no motivation. However, he is a man who responds more physically than emotionally. His delirium could be attributed to the overwhelming heat and he lost himself for the moment.