Indifference in The Outsiders Essay

A Benign Indifference

In The Outsider, the author gives the readers the opportunity to walk in the shoes of the main character Meursault, a seemingly detached and emotionless Frenchman who works as a shipping clerk in Algiers. The Outsider is told in the first person and traces the development of Meursaults attitude toward himself and the rest of the world. Camus' way of creating a contrast between the two faces of Meursault can be seen by the separation of the book into two parts.

The first part describes Meursault as an indifferent character. In this part readers are simply presented with Meursaults commentary on the events going on around him, the reader sees that Meursault is devoid of emotion and lacks the sort of emotion that can make a person vulnerable. However, in the second part, readers see Meursault as a changed and intellectual man. In this part, the readers are presented with his commentary on his life in which he attempts to understand existence and what it stands for. He has little choice but to reflect on his past because in his jail cell, that is the only thing he can do. The final encounter with the chaplain forces him to articulate his ideas on life and death. He is faithful to his beliefs, though they are limited. He is conscious of every aspect of his experience, both past and present.

This separation is helpful in understanding the changing nature of Meursault and how he really feels about his life. The confrontation with his own death causes Meursault to face his true values. His reactions can be either explained as his strength in opening up his heart to face his own problems or as a weakness in that he can only believe what he believes. Do these circumstances present Meursault as a hero or a failure? Is he a hero because he does not conform to the standards of society, or is he a failure for the exact same reasons? These questions can be answered by studying his characteristics presented in the novel.

For many, it is often hard to understand what is really inside Meursaults mind. Although when asked, he always speaks the truth, he does not see the need to explain his own actions because in his mind he does not pay too much attention to what others think of him. It is as if he is completely detached from society, where nothing matters other than what he believes. This detachment can be seen from his thoughts in a number of events, but also in his relationship with other people.

His relationship with his mother has not been a close one, even before he had put her into the home, he and his mother hardly ever talked. Visiting his mother had become something outside of his normal life, because visiting her would mean he would have to lose his normal Sunday to visit her instead of doing something that he truly wanted. In his mothers funeral, he is rather distant from the fact that this is actually his mothers funeral and instead proceeds on observing the environment he is in and the appearance of other people around him.

His relationship with Marie was quite indifferent. Even though he feels happy when in her company, and he does not feel any emotional attachment to her. To him, the actual experience was more important than who he had the experience with. When Marie asked Meursault if he wants to marry her, he replies that it made no difference to him whether they became married or not. In his mind, marriage was not something that will affect his life; it is simply something that will make Marie happy.

He is even detached from his employment. To him, work is simply a routine in his life. When his boss offers a promotion to work in a new branch in Paris, he feels indifferent to the proposition where most people would be overjoyed at the chance. To him, it doesnt matter how far he advances in his job, it was simply another part in his life. Even when his boss expresses his disappointment towards his attitude, Meursault does not feel fear or sadness that which most people may feel, he instead returns to his usual duties as if nothing has happened.

This sense of detachment becomes even more obvious to the readers in part two. When he was asked whether he had a lawyer, he is still distant from the fact that he has just killed someone and thinks that his case was very simple. During his interview with the examining magistrate, his mind was detached from the situation, observing his surroundings, how the examining magistrate looked, and even wandering to books that he has read before with similar scenes in them. It is not till the end of the interview that he suddenly returns to the situation and remembers that he has indeed killed a man.

In his trial, the sense of Meursaults detachment is further presented to the readers by Meursault commenting that everyone in the courtroom seems to be forming a group, as in a club, and he feels distanced by this.

This is quite normal as while everybody else is here to witness the case, he is the person being trialed, explaining his isolation in the group. However, he is further distanced from the current situation in his own mind, instead of feeling anxious like what most people trialed for murder would have, he is fascinated by the situation. He is detached from the fact that he is the person being trialed and views himself as a spectator in this trial. He has difficulty understanding his connection with the case.

During the entire process, he not only feels distant from what goes on in the courtroom, his mind often wanders away from the courtroom, barely conscious of where or who (he) was. Even at the very end of the trial, where his fate was to be decided, he was still oblivious of the severity of the situation, observing the closing speeches as a member of the audience and even having his mind wandering to the sound outside and what it must feel like outside of the courtroom.

The detachment Meursault has to the world has caused him to not care about anything. To him, saying one thing or another would not make any difference because it will not affect what he believes in, that nothing makes a difference. The only time the readers actually see Meursault with any emotion is in the very last chapter when he feels that he is cornered by the priest. It was only when he felt that his beliefs have been challenged, when he felt really threatened that what he believes in is being negated by all the hope and the compassion that the priest delivers to him.

However, it seems that his emotional detachment was not something that he has consciously chosen to do. Meursault is a man that is easily driven by physical stimuli. He enjoys sleeping because it pleases him. During his mothers funeral, he takes more notice of the heat from the sun, the smell of leather and his hangover from lack of sleep. He is more concerned about his own physical comfort, the physical environment and the actual people around him more than any emotions or relationships that he may have.

This pursuit for physical comfort steers him away from any behavioral obligation to society. He does not care about what the current situation is because it will not affect how he is physically feeling at the present moment. That is why he is able to sleep as he sees fit, even next to his mothers coffin.

This is also seen in Meursaults work as throughout the novel, the readers are given very little information towards his weekdays at work other than events that are out of the ordinary. This indicates that Meursault does not think of his work to be important enough to occupy his mind. Yet he gives a detailed account of his weekends, in which he does nothing more than go swimming on Saturdays and sit on his porch and smoke all day on Sundays. To Meursault, the only physical satisfaction that he receives from work is to wash his hands and drying them on a clean roller towel, and that was the only thing that had any importance. However, on the weekends, he is able to smoke, swim and observe the changing sky and his surroundings.

The ease of which Meursault is able to be affected by his physical senses rather than emotions are further highlighted when Marie visits him. When led from his cell, instead of the joy of seeing his girlfriend as opposed to staying in a dark, cramped cell, he is visibly distressed by the bright light and sound in the room. During the time he was there with Marie, he pays little attention to what she says and instead focuses on the noise of other prisoners and their visitors talking over each other. His interest is obviously not in the content of Maries words, but merely in the physical presence of Marie.

This characteristic of Meursault is what ultimately caused him to commit the murder. His mind was very conscious of the fact that all he had to do was to turn, walk away and think no more about it. However, he continued approaching the Arab not because of any personal emotions, but purely from the heat of the sun. When he pulled the trigger, it was not emotional fear or anger that had made him do it, it was the flash of the knife that shone in his eyes, it was the physical stimulation of that flash that caused him, and without thinking, he pulled the trigger. He knew that he had done the wrong thing, but his body, feeling the heat and feeling uncomfortable, pulled the trigger four more times, as if to see if anything would change.

This book was released during World War II (1939~1945), where many people came to live life much as Meursault does. In the aftermath of World War II, many have lost their will to do more than simply exist. There was no hope or desire. The only goal for many people was survival. This has led many people to share the absurdist ideas that Meursault represents. What happened to Meursault is easily relatable by people who are familiar with the historical background.

People learn how empty Meursaults existence is through his relationships with others. He is not close to his mother, he does not cry at his mothers funeral. He does not seem close to his girlfriend, Marie. Even then, of his lover, Meursault says, to me, she was only Marie. There is no passion or love in Meursaults words.