In the following excerpt, Tarrow discusses the development of the novel's principal character, Meursault, "from an acquiescent figure who admits no limits to a combatant who claims the right to be different."
The Stranger, which grew out of the experiment of A Happy Death and was nourished by Camus's political experiences, constitutes an attack on the accepted norms of bourgeois society. It calls into question many aspects of an oppressive colonial regime: the use of the judiciary, religion, and above all, language to maintain dominance. It is an ironic condemnation of colonialist and racist attitudes. The novel also develops a theme with variations on indifference and difference, a theme rooted in the Algerian experience, as Camus's articles in Alger-Républicain have shown. If the hero Meursault has a moral message—and the reference to him as a Christ.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 1,564 words. This
study guide contains 19,706 words (approx. 66 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our The Stranger Access Pass.
