Essay On Camus The Stranger

In the second part of “The Stranger,” Meursault is on trial for the assassination of an Arab man. Camus simply utilizes the trial as a metaphor for life to promote his notion of the absurd. Camus believes that the absurdity of our inherently meaningless life is our quest to find meaning or validity in a world where there is no absolute truth. Similar to our ambition to find meaning in our life, the trial attempts to search for Meursault's motive to murder the seemingly innocent Arab.
As the case moves along, Meursault is judged by the prosecution and the defense for not his crime, but rather his attitude regarding life. He is a unique individual who values physical pleasure above all else, which is clearly not respected by a programmed society.
Before appearing at the trial, the mechanist woman shared a table with Meursault at Celeste’s restaurant. The woman immediately arouses Meursault's curiosity because of her meticulousness and peculiarity. She resembles Meursault in that she moves along in her own ways, oblivious to society’s judgement. However, unlike Meursault, the lady is focused on achieving a certain purpose where as Meursault goes along with the flow. At Celeste’s restaurant, she “vehemently” studied the menu and ordered in a “clear and fast voice.” Even though her course had not arrived yet, she prepared her bill with the exact amount including tip and tax. Fast forward to Meursault's trial, the robot woman moved through the crowd “with such assurance and speed.” Similar to the mechanist nature of the lady, Meursault asks little else but to continue in his pattern. Camus therefore argues that routine and indifference is a choice and an obstacle towards progression in a meaningless universe. After Meursault's sentence, he was much more assertive than before and attempted to find value with his actions whereas the lady failed to exercise choice her actions, making her representative of society’s programmed