Character Analysis: The Stranger

Are people evil or are their behaviors evil? That’s an interesting question. I believe that people aren’t truly evil, rather that their actions and behaviors are evil. You can be the holiest person on this planet, and still fall into sin. But, that does not make you a bad person.
In chapter 4 of the first part of “The Stranger” page numbers 38 and 39, old Salamano lost his dog at the Parade Ground. He went to take his dog there, as always, and old Salamano stopped to watch “The King of Escape Artists.” and when he went to leave, the dog was gone. Meursault tried helping, but being as insensitive as he is, he came of as such. “I told him that the pound kept dogs for three days so that their owners could come and claim them and that after that they did with them as they saw fit. He looked at me in silence.” “And from the peculiar little noise coming through the partition, I realized he was crying. For some reason I thought of Maman.” He understands he’s supposed to feel sadness about his mother passing, the crying reminded him of that. But because of his attitude, he doesn’t feel the sadness.
Raymond was acting on his pain in his mind, instead of with his head and sense. Pain makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do.“What bothered him was that he “still had sexual feelings for her.” But he wanted to punish her. First he’d thought of taking her to a hotel and calling the vice squad to cause a scandal and have her listed as a common prostitute.” -Chapter 3 page 31 “First we heard a woman's shrill voice and them Raymond saying, “You used me, you used me. I’ll teach you to use me.” There were some thuds and the woman screamed, but in such a terrifying way that the landing immediately filled with people. Marie and I went to see, too. The woman was still shrieking and Raymond was still hitting her.” -Chapter 4 pages 35 and