Anna Wood

Brooke Sumner

IB English Literature

Solace in Death   

Across the globe death is both celebrated and mourned; it is a chance at peace and paradise or the ultimate test of integrity.  The funeral process even serves as an analysis

of one’s character where loved ones are expected to behave reverently in respect of their lost.   Religion also plays a critical role in how people approach the concept of death,

whether that be fearful or accepting.  Traditionally, in western culture and faiths, the topic of death is considered taboo and melancholy, but the afterlife holds great potential where

the spirit lives on.  Author of The Stranger, Albert Camus, writes the main character, Meursault, as an insolent son shaped by his desire to evade his own demise whilst neglecting the

emotions of others.  Death; though an uncomfortable subject for most, Camus welcomes it with great hospitality.  The loss of a mother, the opportunity for forgiveness, and even an

execution sentence could not change Meursault’s attitude toward death. 

Death is arguably the most blameless and natural act in a person’s life, thus there is no reason to question it.  Likewise, if "one life [is] as good as another,” then, anyone

parting is just the same to Meursault (Camus 41).   In contrast to his insensitivity, Camus inserts characters to question Meursault’s ideology.  Both the widower of Maman and the

restaurant owner, Celeste, highlight how peculiar absurdism must seem to ordinary people.  Most readers would argue that he “only [has] one mother”, however, there is no better

solution to death than acceptance given “there’s no cure for old age” (3, 45).  Meursault’s apathy escalates when admits, he “would rather Maman hadn’t died”. Even unsavory

Salamano mourns for the loss of his dog (65).  The implied death of Salamano’s dog and the death of Maman are designed to reflect each other where both relationships have

unwanted interdependence. When the dog runs away for the last time, Salamano is not prepared to accept the loss, and the cold man shows poignant emotion unlike Meursault.

Camus creates a seemingly flatline character with a self-serving mentality and great confidence, but with a nebulous history and thought process which evokes curiosity from the

audience to unearth what could drive a man to become so detached from society and desensitized to death.   

Upon the funeral of his mother, Meursault is perplexed as to why she would arrange a religious ceremony when she “had never in her life given a thought to religion” (6). 

To him, there was nothing to fear or secure in the afterlife, but the closer Meursault comes to death, the more pressure he feels from his peers to accept God into his heart.  Both the

magistrate and the chaplain carry “such an arrogant certainty”, about them and their faith, but “none of [their] certainties [are] worth a hair on a woman’s head” (109, 120).  Ironic

that they believe “[they are] all condemned to die, yet every man in facing death “has turned to him”, “even those who turn their backs on him” (68,69).  Camus creates this dichotomy

of faith between the magistrate and Meursault where he is told to “become like a child whose heart is open and ready to embrace all”, but it is Meursault who openly embraces what

is to come and not the judge himself.  Meanwhile, in the presumably small detention cell that Meursault describes almost as a haven full of things to occupy one’s mind, the chaplain

can only “sit down or stand up” (118).  In the remaining days prior to his execution or appeal, the godless man observes the cramped chamber and examines each brick in the wall

and files though his memories where “he could live for a hundred years in prison” (79).  To Meursault, the world, albeit, senseless, is larger in scale and much of it exists in his own

mind.  Without religion to guide him into believing a particular destiny, he is free to contemplate the world as it exists now since he is aware that no God alone can spare him.  While

standing in the room that awaits death for all who come and go, the chaplain perceives the holding room as a final destination.  By that time a convicted man has no choice but to sit

or stand because their fate is sealed and there is no mental or physical escape.  

To the reader’s surprise, Meursault has second thoughts on living.  He continuously reiterates that death is inevitable, and people will “forget [him] when [he is] dead”

(115).  Camus, notoriously logical, reevaluates his own philosophy by emphasizing the flaws through Meursault’s overt attempts to convince himself of his own hard to swallow

beliefs.  Contrary to his initial argument that the timing of death is irrelevant, suddenly the concept of hope is shed in a positive light.  Hope, or the chance of survival is a human

right.  Ultimately, the selfishness of Camus’ ideology clarifies itself as he preaches to accept death, but apparently only when it is at the convenience or declaration of the patient.

The most crucial aspect of death is “to give a condemned man a chance” according to Meursault, but what Camus seems to ignore, is the bureaucratic escape (112).  If the appeal is

granted, Meursault is a free man again, but he believes that chance is nonexistent; so “sure of the death [he has] waiting for [him] (120).  Perhaps, the idea of relying on other

individuals to pardon himself is synonymous with cheating death, but the rare occurrence of a failed execution is only natural. Rightfully a criminal, Meursault, understands the ‘debt

[he owes] to society” and accepts it readily, but the “machinery of justice” is not fair in any respect to the victim (109).  There is no “possibility of escape [or] leap to freedom”, such

that the “condemned man [has] to hope the machine would work the first time” (109, 111).  Since the process of execution has been reduced to nothing but a simple procedure, “the

guillotine is on the same level as the man approaching it” (111).   Neither more complex than the other and neither more deserving of taking a life. When Meursault finally makes his

peace with assured death, he feels as though he is “living like a dead man "already absent in spirit, but not in body (120). 

   Although humans “can’t always be reasonable”, one must not “lose sight of reason”, or so Camus postulates (111, 114).  The chaplain’s conversation helps elucidate the

merit of his own principles because it allows Meursault to see the error in the religious school of thought.  There is nothing to prevent the inevitable regardless of an appeal,

therefore, Meursault must come to terms with “the exact moment when the beating of [his] heart would no longer be going on inside [his] head” (113).  When the “poisoned joy” of

hope seeps into his mind, he must “stifle it” knowing his “fate is being decided without anyone so much as asking [his] opinion (110, 114, 98).  Predetermined fate is not exclusive to a

criminal either.  The circumstances that led Meursault to prison were not unfair, nor was the fact he had been sentenced to die because “[ he has] lived his life one way and could just

as well have lived it another” (121).  He had already come to the realization nothing existed after death; thus, he should live each day like his last.  Increasingly apathetic to his own

death and sympathetic to others, Meursault gains a deeper understanding as to why everyone would want to “live it all again” despite being “elected by the same fate” (122, 121).

  Although a strong believer that finding solace in religion was a futile way to give life a purpose, Camus becomes indifferent to others’ dying wish to find solace in God as he feels

everything had been consummated, describing the moments drawing to the end as a “wistful respite” (122).   

The undeniable constant in Meursault's philosophy is complacency.  Everything is as it must be, things of significance are remembered independent of time.  Initially, his

lifestyle is virtually flawless because it is self-serving in nature. Do what is in the best interest of one’s self for immediate gratification or lack of negative repercussions. 

Unfortunately, the ideology does not account for the character of others, which in this case, lands the main character in a predicament.  At that moment, Meursault dreads facing the

grim reality of death, when he will no longer feel the thrill of blood pumping through his veins.  It is not the act of dying that humans fear, but it is the emptiness after life.  Since he

has no authority over anyone else’s life, what difference does it make that others seek salvation in religion when they are destined to be forgotten. To survive is a primal tendency,

and Camus is trying to rewire an innate instinct by tapping into the rationale and modifying it in order to become less human. 

Word count:1478 

 Works Cited  

Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward, Gallimard, CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2015, Print.