To Kill A Mockingbird Chapter 4 Summary

Chapter four begins with the opposing side’s lawyer saying that Meursault showed absolutely no sympathy for committing this murder and that he is a very smart man. Both of these reasons are good enough to charge him with premeditated murder. However, from what we know of Meursault, showing emotion towards this death would not be him. Meursault is incapable of feeling human emotions or even processing what is happening. He goes from one moment to the next and never looks back. The lawyer then goes on about how the next case for the jury to debate upon involves the murder of a relative and that since Meursault feels nothing for anything in this world, he should receive the death penalty. The lawyer feels that Meursault has no place in a world where he cannot follow the moral rules, “He stated that I had no place in a society whose fundamental rules I ignored and that I could not appeal to the same human heart whose elementary response I knew nothing of” (2.4.5).
This quote goes along with a societal rules theme evident throughout this novel.
Those that have different morals or ways of life should be treated lower than others. However, the case that follows Meursault’s trial has nothing to do with what he has done, the prosecution is grabbing at straws and although the point that he is trying to make, Meursault is an immoral being that doesn’t belong in this world, is true, he went about it the wrong way. When the judge asks Meursault to explain his actions, he responds by saying that the sun was in his eyes. After the break, Meursault feels small and unimportant because his lawyer explains the order of events as if he is Meursault himself. This little bit of anger from Meursault is the first real and genuine emotion he has displayed since the book started. He wants to stand up for himself but he doesn’t know how. After much deliberation, we learn that Meursault is to have his head chopped off for the entire world to
see. Meursault refuses to see the priest the jail provides because he finds no comfort in confiding to a religious figure head. Meursault’s outright atheism explains a religion motif that is now very obvious. Perhaps Meursault acted this way because he didn’t believe he could be punished anymore after he was dead. He says, “For the third time I’ve refused to see the chaplain. I don’t have anything to say to him; I don’t feel like talking, and I’ll be seeing him soon enough as it is. All I care about right now is escaping the machinery of justice, seeing if there’s any way out of the inevitable” (2.5.1). He also constantly day dreams about escaping his fate or how the machine will break, however he knows he cannot escape forever. Meursault is starting to discover himself and have some self-reflection. He actually cares that he is going to die and he wishes he could change or do something about it. At the end of this novel, Meursault comes to realize that the world is harsh environment where you will be judged and questioned till the end of time, and that death isn’t a scary or terrifying idea. Death is a reality for everyone and you just have to be ready to face it. I really feel honestly bad for Meursault, he was a person who needed love and guidance from people who were willingly to talk to him. Perhaps if had had a mentor or a stable healthy relationship, we wouldn’t have this mess.