The Stranger: A commentary on style and form

The Stranger: A commentary on style and form

STYLE

 Camus’s style is simple, clear, and direct. He’s not writing an intellectual essay on a philosophical theme (as he did in The Myth of Sisyphus) but a novel that deals with his philosophical preoccupations. In order to do this, he has created recognizable characters and placed them in realistic situations. The clarity of style is the perfect instrument to convey the thoughts of the narrator (Meursault), who is attempting to find order and understanding in a confused and confusing world.

Some readers point out the overall subdued quality of Camus’s style. Others compare his vocabulary to that of a child. Notice, also, the brevity of most of the sentences- which are also childlike- and the absence of complicated grammatical constructions. Camus describes objects and people but makes no attempt to analyze them. His attention is always fixed on the concrete nature of things. He uses words cautiously as if he were somehow suspicious of abstract terms. He also makes no attempt to analyze concepts such as love and religion, but reveals his thoughts about them by telling us Meursault’s responses. (Note the conversations between Meursault and Marie about marriage and the exchange between Meursault and the chaplain about God.)

Occasionally, Camus’s style and use of vocabulary become more complex, more vivid. Notice the scene where Meursault kills the Arab. The stillness of the natural world suddenly explodes; it’s as if the universe has split in two or some other major catastrophe has just taken place. The heat is “pressing” against Meursault’s back and the “cymbals of the sun” are “clashing” on Meursault’s skull. The world begins to vibrate and change, in the same way that Meursault’s own life will change now that he’s finally performed an act for which he must take responsibility. Camus’s language is often repetitive; the same phrases and images reoccur throughout the novel. Natural images- the sun, sea, and wind- appear in different guises at different times. Before killing the Arab, for instance, Meursault acts as if he’s waging a battle with the sun- the same sun that gave him such pleasure earlier in the day. Phrases like “Having nothing better to do” and “I had nothing to do” are used frequently to establish Meursault’s indifference toward his own experience.

As you read, pick out other words and phrases that appear regularly and try to figure out their significance. VIEW All the events of The Stranger are seen through the eyes of the narrator, Meursault. The story is told in the first person and traces the evolution of the narrator’s attitude toward both himself and the rest of the world. At first, Meursault makes references to his inability to understand what’s happening around him, but often what he tells us seems the result of his own laziness or indifference. He’s frequently inattentive to his surroundings. His mind wanders in the middle of conversations. Only rarely does he make value judgments or express opinions about what he or the other characters are doing. You learn that he doesn’t like police- men or brothels, but otherwise he seems to accept experiences without differentiating among them. At the trial, in Part Two, you learn what the other characters think of Meursault. Yet even these testimonies are filtered through Meursault’s observations, and sometimes you have the impression that he’s barely listening.

FORM

The Stranger consists of two parts.

·         Part One deals with approximately three weeks in Meursault’s life, and ends with his killing of an Arab. In this part, we see Meursault at his mother’s funeral, at his job, puttering around his small apartment. He begins an affair with Marie and drifts into a relationship with his neighbor, Raymond Sintes. Then he commits the murder that will result in a sentence of death.

·         Part Two picks up directly following the murder and ends eleven months later. We see Meursault in his prison cell and during his trial, and are introduced to the various functionaries of the state: the lawyer, the magistrate, the prosecutor, and the chaplain. Meursault compares his life in prison with his former life, and we watch how his attitudes evolve. Does he change? Or does he simply become crystalized in his old pattern? If the climax of Part One is the murder of the Arab, what do you think is the climax of Part Two? Is it the verdict at the end of the trial or Meursault’s outburst when the chaplain visits him in jail?  Are there other possibilities?

·         The two parts of The Stranger can be seen as forming a kind of duality. Part One is principally a narrative, while Part Two is mainly Meursault’s commentary on his life in which he attempts to understand the reasons for existence. In Part One, Meursault walks through the world largely unaware of the effect of his actions on others; in Part Two he is conscious of every aspect of his experience, both past and present.