The Stranger Summary
Albert Camus

Everything you need to understand or teach The Stranger by Albert Camus.

The Stranger Summary & Study Guide
32 Student Essays
1 Encyclopedia Article
3 Literature Criticisms
1 Book Notes
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30 The Stranger Lessons
20 Activities
180 Multiple Choice Questions
60 Short Essay Questions
20 Essay Questions
Pre-Made Tests and Quizzes
...and more

The Stranger Summary

Camus gave the world a new kind of hero when The Stranger and the accompanying essay collection The Myth of Sisyphus burst upon the literary scene in 1942. They were published in the dark days of World War II: France had surrendered to Hitler, the British were under siege, the Americans were still recovering from Pearl Harbor, and the Russians were on the defensive. With such a background, the work and philosophy of Albert...

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Encyclopedia Articles (1)

The Stranger

5,032 words, approx. 17 pages

The Stranger by Albert Camus Albert Camus (1913-60) was born and raised in French colonial Algeria. After publishing two books of essays on Algeria, Betwixt and Between (1937) and Nuptials (1938), ... Read more

Albert Camus Biographies (3)

Albert Camus

1,315 words, approx. 5 pages

The French novelist, essayist, and playwright Albert Camus (1913-1960) was obsessed with the philosophical problems of the meaning of life and of man's search for values in a world without God. His wo... Read more

Albert Camus

5,329 words, approx. 18 pages

Literary scholars place Albert Camus as North Africa's first writer of consequence. A pied-nort, or French citizen born in Algeria while it was a colony of France still, Camus emerged from a decidedly... Read more

Albert Camus

13,866 words, approx. 47 pages

Albert Camus is one of the best-known twentieth-century French authors. Born and raised in North Africa, after the beginning of World War II he moved to Paris where he intended to pursue his career as... Read more

Essays & Analysis (35)

Critical Essay by Philip Thody

2,141 words, approx. 8 pages

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Critical Essay by Vicki Mistacco

6,880 words, approx. 23 pages

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Critical Essay by Robert R. Brock

4,239 words, approx. 15 pages

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Indifference in The Stranger

1,144 words, approx. 4 pages

In The Stranger, Albert Camus created a character named Meursault to help show us how important it is to start thinking and analyzing the events that happen in our lives. Meursault is emotional... Read more

Analysis of "Camus' the Outsider"

1,047 words, approx. 4 pages

In the essay "Camus' The Outsider," Jean-Paul Sartre explains that Camus' book is more of an 'experience of the absurd' for readers than a 'novel' because it uses literary approaches to identify and ... Read more

The Function of the Algerian setting in Albert Camus' The Outsider.

1,535 words, approx. 6 pages

The function of the Algerian setting in Camus's The Outsider. All texts exist in context. The context of The Outsider is French-Algeria in the 1940's. This setting forms the natural and cultural env... Read more

Analysis of the Character of Janie from "The Stranger"

1,146 words, approx. 4 pages

Within every relationship a person experiences, one always walks away with a little growth and knowledge in the end. People come out of every relationship they undergo with a new attitude and viewpoi... Read more

Meursault's Emotions

1,180 words, approx. 4 pages

In "The Stranger", Albert Camus captures the story of a man who truly understands the basic core of human nature. Meursault, who seems cold and detached from the world, is actually very aware of his ... Read more

With a Little Help from His Friends

1,201 words, approx. 5 pages

Meursault is a man who is on his own in the world, separate from all others. Though he has various interactions with people in his town, he never truly feels a part of their lives. Some characters, ... Read more

The Stranger - Albert Camus

582 words, approx. 2 pages

The Stranger, by Albert Camus, is an insightful novel that thoroughly examines the mind, thoughts and actions of it's main character, Meursault. Throughout the book, many ideas are suggested about ... Read more

The Stranger's Truthful Passion

376 words, approx. 2 pages

Society has always been known to judge people based on their age, sex, appearance, and social status. Yet in The Stranger, Meursault was judged on something completely different, his unique personalit... Read more

Meursault's Character Development in Albert Camus's "the Outsider"

1,887 words, approx. 7 pages

The progression of the plot of Albert Camus's "The Outsider" unfolds a definite evolution of the main character's thoughts and attitudes towards life and society. The main character, Meursault, whom C... Read more

The Stranger Explacation

748 words, approx. 3 pages

The Absurd man is not only a person without a drive but also a person who is content with anything. Meursault in the novel The Stranger is the perfict example of an absurd man. Opposed to the views ... Read more

Bonds and Conflicts of Meursault

548 words, approx. 2 pages

The character of Meursault in Albert Camus's The Stranger is one of a complex nature who inadvertently becomes involved in the murder of an Arab and as a result is "thrown to the wolves" by his own pe... Read more

An Analysis of Quotes from The Stranger

747 words, approx. 3 pages

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." In "The Stranger," Meursault lives a life free from society's constraints. Throughout the novel, Meursault is either unaware or indifferent to the cus... Read more

The Exiled: Comparing The Metamorphosis and The Stranger

949 words, approx. 4 pages

The two strangers, Gregor in The Metamorphosis and Muersault in The Stranger, are exiles of their lifestyles. They are separated from the lives that they have created for themselves and incarcerated ... Read more

Perpetual Messages: the Relevancy of Great Works of Fiction in Today's Society

940 words, approx. 4 pages

Great works of fiction are often used to convey an author's message and personal beliefs to his audience. True literary masterpieces contain themes, philosophies, and lessons that carry as much releva... Read more

The Concept of Justice in "The Stranger."

688 words, approx. 3 pages

What is the importance of having laws and rules in the society? Without them, would there be peace in the world? Well, law is a key to achieve peace and success in the world. Enforcing law through ... Read more

Character Relationships in The Stranger

728 words, approx. 3 pages

"The Stranger," by Albert Camus takes place in Algiers right before World War II. The novel begins with Meursalt receiving a telegram stating, "[m]other deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours"... Read more

The Effects of Setting on the Stranger

1,064 words, approx. 4 pages

Throughout The Stranger, Albert Camus makes use of setting to help show the destructive and antihuman qualities of Mersault. Through use of setting the author is able to show us that no matter where ... Read more

"The Stranger", by Albert Camus

900 words, approx. 4 pages

The Stranger by Albert Camus deals with a character that readers are not accustomed to, which in this case is Meursault. If his thoughts were similar to everyone else's, the philosophy in The Stranger... Read more

The Stranger Character Analysis- Mersault

1,155 words, approx. 4 pages

Camus' The Stranger: Meursault's Apathy

2,041 words, approx. 7 pages

The Minimalist Life has been defined as the property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, repr... Read more

Meursault: One of the Strangest Characters in Literature

842 words, approx. 3 pages

Albert Camus' The Stranger presents one of the most interesting protagonists in literary history. Merusault is a man completely void of any feeling or emotion no matter what the situation, and he neve... Read more

Is Meursault a Threst to Society?

1,839 words, approx. 7 pages

In `The Outsider', Albert Camus creates Meursault, a character who is true to himself, to such an extent that in an ironic twist, he is condemned for his own honesty. The entire text is written in t... Read more

The Meaning of Truth in The Stranger by Albert Camus

404 words, approx. 2 pages

The Stranger Albert Camus' The Stranger is about a man named Meursault. Camus wrote, "Meursault, for me, is a poor and naked man in love with the sun which leaves no shadows. He i... Read more

Existentialism and Freedom in The Plague and The Stranger by Albert Camus

1,532 words, approx. 6 pages

Albert Camus presents a story line that my seem simple at first, but when more closely examined a myriad of concepts come to the surface. Camus was a French writer who wrote The Plague in 1947 and wro... Read more

Justice in " The Outsider" by Albert Camus and "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr

1,582 words, approx. 6 pages

`Justice' is a significant theme used by both Camus and Solzhenitsyn to illustrate their views of society. Both authors create main protagonists who are made to suffer grave injustices in order to... Read more

Setting in "The House of the Spirits" and "The Stranger"

1,132 words, approx. 4 pages

An outsider judges another's personality by analyzing his surroundings. Likewise, a literary author exposes deep insights and some characteristics of the narrator through the scenery. Within Isabel ... Read more

The Concept of Sacrifice: A Comparison between Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Camus' The Stranger

1,452 words, approx. 5 pages

To make a sacrifice is to let something go because of another thing that is considered to be more important. In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor makes sacrifices for his family while in The ... Read more

Moral Ambiguity in "The Stranger"

1,057 words, approx. 4 pages

Has there ever existed a person that has not judged someone else over their lifetime? Judging by reality as well as literature it seems that no person like that has ever existed. It appears that it... Read more

Nature's Effect on Meursault

685 words, approx. 3 pages

In Albert Camus' The Stranger, the sun acts as an antagonist during Meursault's journey across the beach to the spring. His gradual degradation due to the sun is firstly expressed with diction suggest... Read more

Meursault, Jesus, and Conforming to Society

578 words, approx. 2 pages

Those who do not conform to society are often persecuted by those who surround them. In The Stranger, Meursault is persecuted for his beliefs. Jesus was similarly persecuted for his beliefs in his ... Read more

Camus' Portrayal of Existentialism in The Stranger

1,737 words, approx. 6 pages

The basic tenant of existentialism is the doctrine that among sentient beings, specifically human beings, existence takes precedence over essence and that man is totally free and responsible for his a... Read more

The Robot Lady in Camus' The Stranger

627 words, approx. 3 pages

Marcy Lendaro Block 2 English Honors April 20, 2006 The Robot Lady In Albert Camus' first novel, The Stranger, the reader follows Meursault through a life filled with nothing. Rising in the mo... Read more

Free Book Notes (1)

The Stranger

12,911 words, approx. 44 pages

The Stranger Book Notes is a free study guide on The Stranger by Albert Camus. Browse the summary below:   Author Biography / Context of the Work   One-Page Plot Summary   Charact... Read more

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