Narrative Style&Linguistic Features

Narrative Style

Camus chose to write this novel as a first person narrative. It is Meursault who recounts what happens, what he feels, and what he sees, expressing himself in short, compact sentences. This makes the character of Meursault believable to the reader as we get insight into his reasoning. Meursault is considered as an observer, where he sees the surface but does not analyze the undercurrents. Unlike many first-person narrators, Meursault makes no attempt to filter his account through an awareness of its meaning.

Linguistic Features

Structure

The Outsider is separated into two parts: Part One and Part Two

Part One opens with the death of mother and ends with the murder of the Arab. By separating the story in to two parts, the reader can see how Meursault is affected by various deaths. There are three major deaths in this novel, at the beginning, middle and the end;

1. Meursault's mother dies
2. Death of Arab
3. Meursault is executed

By including the image of death throughout the novel, the reader can predict, or foreshadow what is going to happen to Meursault at the end of the novel. It can also be seen as a way for the reader to distinguish if Meursault is actually an outsider. At the beginning of the novel, when Meursault's mother had died, it is possible to see Meursault as an ordinary person, who does not want to show his feelings, therefore hiding his sadness within him. The lack of emotion or ambition throughout Part One does not greatly represent that Meursault is an outsider. He wrote the letter because his friend asked him, and he has desire to be with a woman. If the story was not titled "the Outsider", it is probably hard to tell that Meursault is abnormal. However, in Part Two, the reader notices a clear difference in Meursault. Everything he claims seems to prove that he was guilty for the murder, and he does not regret in killing the Arab. Camus separated the novel into two parts to emphasize the abnormality of Meursault compared to ordinary people.

The sentences used in this novel are short, unconnected statements, which emphasize the boredom or the lack of enthusiasm in Meursault's actions. The style used emphasizes the narrative style, which contribute to creating Meursault's character. Even though there are no jargon used, his description is very detailed, which reflect the character of Meursualt. 

The sentences gets even shorter towards the ends of the book, especially in page 102.

• The judges returned. The jury was very rapidly read a series of questions. I heard 'guilty of murder...', 'premeditation...', 'extenuating circumstances.'

This passage shows that Meursualt is eager to hear the punishment put on him. The short sentences represent rush or impatience of Meursault. It can also represent the built up of tension before Meursualt is being taken away.

The story is chronological, which allows the reader to follow the order of events, especially because of Meursault's descriptions. Meursault does not seem to care much about the time, or anything around him in Part One, however, during his imprisonment, he becomes more aware of the time. 

Repetition

There are words or phrases that are being repeated several times in the novel. Some examples include:

• "It's not my fault"
• "I couldn't be bothered"
• "it annoyed me"

By repeating the same phrase several times in the novel, it creates the character of Meursault, and makes his character believable. 

 

Another technique used by Camus is creating snap shots of scenes in page 66:

• "Raymond, the beach, the swim, the fight, the beach again, the little spring, the sun and the five shots."

By listing out what has happened to Meursault before the murder, it creates an image that he is confused about what has actually happened and trying to think back at what he has done. To the reader, this list of events create snap shots, (that we can visualize in our heads) which is like one scene of a movie. 

Diction

Camus uses wide range of vocabulary to describe the situation that Meursault is in, making him an observer. 

• "The Arabs were advancing slowly and they were already much nearer" (page 54)

By using the word "advancing", it sounds as though the Arabs are an army, approaching Meursault. This can also create a thought of a fight, building the tension before the gunshot. 

English translation & Significance of the title

The Outsider is originally written in French, and has been translated into English by several authors. There are three main translations of The Outsider:

1. Stuart Gilbert
2. Joseph Laredo
3. Matthew Ward

Three translations differ much in tone (for example Gilbert's translation is much formal) but more importantly, the opening of the story is different for each translation.

1. Gilbert's translation: "Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure. The telegram from the Home says: YOUR MOTHER PASSED AWAY. FUNERAL TOMORROW. DEEP SYMPATHY. Which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday."
2. Ward's translation: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours. That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday."
   
3. Laredo's translation: "Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don't know. I had a telegram from the home: 'Mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow. Yours sincerely.' That doesn't mean anything. It may have been yesterday."
   

Not only the translation affects the way the story is written, but the title differs depending on where the story is translated, and who it is translated by. The Outsider, originally L'Étranger can be translated in three different titles:

1. The Foreigner
2. The Stranger
3. The Outsider

The Foreigner

• Meursault is a French Algiers
• He is a foreigner to the land , but text establishes that in fact his family has lived there fore several generations
• Anti-heroic protagonist is culturally foreign to Algeria
• Meursault is detached - foreigner to society, to human customs
• Most fitting considering the time it was written and existential nature of the novel

The Stranger

• Meursault is a stranger among other people because he is so isolated from them - mentally, emotionally, spiritually and by the end of the text, physically (because he is imprisoned)
  
• Implies that Meursault has been viewed as a "strange" or "odd" person
• Meursault is a stranger even to those who think they know him
• But this can be seen as a wrong interpretation - Meursault is, if anything, ordinary - because he works like every one and goes out with his friends and girlfriend like everyone else
• He is not really a stranger, but rather an observer without an emotion connection to the world

The Outsider

• Meursault feels alien to the Arab (Muslim) society in which he lives as a colonist
  
• As he is oblivious of the motifs he lives, he is not restricted by any meaning exterior to his sensory experience, a character trait rendering him foreign to his contemporaries: thus, most English translations are rendered as The Stranger and infrequently The Outsider

Themes

Absurdity of Life:

‘Absurdity’ = ‘the quality of being absurd or inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment; a logical contradiction’

‘Absurd’ = ‘The condition or state in which humans exist in a meaningless, irrational universe wherein people’s lives have no purpose or meaning’

(Definitions from www.dictionary.com)

The definition is relevant because it reflects the situation that Meursault is in against the society. It is paradoxical how the society views Meursault as an ‘outsider’ and criticizes him for being indifferent because the truth is that Meursault is only being sincere to his feelings and unlike the rest, he accepts the irrationality of the society.

Regarding Meursault, this is the absurdity of life because the society does not understand his indifference that he challenges to pursue. It is absurd in the sense that we ostracize him from the society when he is being honest to his feelings. It is also absurd how the society immediately thinks of him as extraordinary not because of the crime that he committed, but mainly because of the way he acted after his mother's funeral. This is evident during the trial that decides upon the sentence of the incident, as first of all, the courtroom is astonished by the fact that Meursault had offered a cigarette to a caretaker and had recieved a cup of white coffee at the funeral. The jury claims, "A stranger may offer a cup of coffee, but that a son must refuse it beside the body of the one who brought him into the world," indicating that this behavior was unethical. Secondly, the jury pronounced that, "One the day after the death of his mother, this man was swimming in the sea, entering into an irregular liaison and laughing at a Fernandel film," as if this was almost an illegal thing to do after such an event as the funeral. Ever since, the entire courtroom viewed Meursault as the criminal not because of the actual murder, but because of his irregular behavior which lead him to a death sentence. 

Throughout the novel, Camus inserts the notion of ‘absurdity of life’ as he himself believed the universe was completely irrational and meaningless. He conveys this theme through the protagonist, which is emphasized due to the juxtaposition of the behaviors and reactions of the society as explained before. The society attempts to impose rational orders to everything in order to make life meaningful, which is exactly what the lawyer and the prosecutor did on the case for Meursault. Meursault had simply no rational reasons behind killing the Arab, or dating Marie, thus he had accepted the irrationality of the society. On the contrary, the society is scared of facing this truth so they tend to fabricate everything in order to make it 'rational'. 

In addition, towards the end of the novel Meursault seems happy and rather satisfied with the death sentence because he had accepted the absurdity of life. He realized that death is inevitable so whether he dies of old age or dies by execution, it does not matter to him because death is death and it is all the same. In fact, this was another philosophical idea that Camus had- that life has no meanings or purposes, but the only certain thing is that death is inevitable because all lives are equally meaningless. 

The Physical world

The novel emphasizes the importance of the physical world. The reader can notice that Meursault focuses more on the physical aspects than on the emotions. For example at the beginning of the novel Meursault observes the physical aspects of Marie, however when he is asked if he loves her he simply replies that he doesn’t think so. Here it can be noticed that Meursault gives more importance to the physical aspects than the emotional ones. As the reader isn’t used to this kind of behavior we perceive him as strange. This relates to the plot of the novel where Meursault is condemned for having a different character. It can be understood that the source of happiness for Meursault isn’t a balance in the emotional life but rather a balance in the physical world, as it is evident from the line “the perfect silence of this beach where I’d been happy’. 

In addition the reader can understand that the reason why Meursault shot the Arab was because of the sun tormenting him,“ the sky seemed to be...sheets of flame”. This shows how physical aspects affect Meursault greater than emotions. 

Overall if we look at the way in which Meursault describes physical aspects compared to the way in which he describes emotional aspects, it can be noticed that Meursault describes in great detail the physical apects whilst pays little attention to the emotional ones. 

Values of Society VS An Outsider

Noticeably, the character is ostracized against the values of the society. This is shown especially in the second part of the novel where we find the protagonist being judged for acts against the values of society rather than for the crime he actually committed.   “On the day after the death of his mother, this man was swimming in the sea”. In this example the main character is being judged for acting in an unconventional manner after his mother’s death, rather than for the actual crime he committed.  This relates to the title of this novel as its showing how anyone who acts against the conventional manners of society is deemed as an “Outsider” and will be treated differently.

Another example is when Meursault is asked to say that he regrets his crime, he refuses to do so although he is condemned to say yes. This shows how the main character is independent from society, as he does not behave in the way that he is expected to.

In this novel Camus tries to portray the absurdity of the society we live in and how we may behave in different manners just to fit the behavior which society deems "acceptable". 

existentialism.

The philosophy of existentialism explicates that people are in control of their own lives and only themselves are elemental in the influencing their opinions, morals and actions.

Literature critics have labeled Camus's the outsider as an existentialist novel. Camus denies the notion. However the novel does have traits of existentialist ideology.

An existentialist is free do decide what is ethical. If it is legitimate to him or her, it is legitimate. They believe that the human nature is nothing more than we make of it.

Camus in that sense is a proponent of the existentialist cause. Meursault lives life by his own rules. In the afterword of the novel (Camus 1955), he asks the reader why Meursault doesn't play the game. Camus replies"He refuses to lie...saying more than one feels". Meursault is not shackled by the rules of society in the sense that he doesn't try to make life simpler by hiding his thoughts. He is objective in this actions and refuses to state what he doesn't believe. When asked if he could have controlled his natural feelings on the day of the murder, he replies,"No, because it's not true."

There is no social authority for Meursault. He doesn't buckle under social pressure to hide his opinions and ideas, he simply does them. The reader finds it shocking that Meursault stalks the lady he was observing at Celeste's. However to Meursault it is convention. If he wants to know more about this "peculiar" lady, than it is fit to do follow her. If Meursault doesn't feel like crying during his mother's funeral because to he hadn't related to her in some time, than it is valid. For the reader the very idea of the death of our mother sends us into paralytic shock, however Meursault remains indifferent for he had, at least recently, no apparent connection with his mother. The trial goes on and persecutes Meursault for this event, however he seems, somewhat in shock when the court debates the point. To him it was perfectly valid to drink white coffee, smoke a cigarette and date Marie the day after his mother's death. However to both the reader and the prosecutor, the very notion of fun,the day after one's mother's death is blasphemous.

Meursault has no faith in god either. He refused to see the chaplain and simply stated he doesn't believe in god. There is no faith based authority that rules Meursault. In the conversation with the magistrate, Meursault denies belief in god even though it could have brought him on the good side of the magistrate, and thus, even though slightly, influence his case for him. Meursault believes in the truth. For him the truth was that there was no god, and he will not wave from the truth no matter the circumstances. The chaplain also had no avail in converting Meursault. "Every man that I've known in your position has turned towards Him",(112). The quote shows that unlike other prisoners Meursault is not burdened by the authority of god, and thus has not left his path into larger hands. He is in control of his actions and believe, that only himself is the cause for the situation he is.

To Meursault everything is an absolute. If he does a job, he gets it done. If he likes Marie he lets her know, physically even. If he isn't sad about his mother's death, than he doesn't show it. " I replied that I thought my case was very simple",(63). To Meursault, even his case was an absolute. He had murdered someone and was to be punished. There need not be the formal procession of court and the hiring of lawyers to forward his case, Meursault believes, the case is simple, and Meursault is ready to accept the decision.

Existentialists believe that the only thing that is true is the physical world, and they lay an influence in human nature. The heat has influenced Meursault in countless accounts. He was getting annoyed when the Magistrate for talking about god, not because of his atheist belief but because of the heat. He shot the Arab due to the heat. He didn't like Marie because of the heat. He didn't feel remorse on his mother's funeral, not because he loathed his mother, but because he was annoyed by the heat. The physical scenario plays more of an influence on human actions, than human nature itself.

Finally in the theme of Death, Meursault follows an existentialist view point. He believes that death is inevitable. May it have be "today.Or maybe yesterday",(9), or even by 1 shot or 5 or "read out at eight o'clock rather than at five o' clock...decided upon by men who change their underwear...credited to so vague an entity as the French(or German, or Chinese) people", death was still death. It was the inevitable end and Meursault realized this near the end of his death, in his time in prison after the trial.

In summation the existentialist have no authority. They are not controlled by either institutions of social manner and faith and they believe that the actions they decided to do are the only significant influence on their lives and current scenario. Death to them is an inevitability and the only thing that matters is the physical world, such as the heat, and not human nature.

Symbols and Motifs

Motifs

='a recurring subject, theme or idea' (www.dictionary.com)

Observation:

It appears that Meursault is constantly observing what is going on. Observation is a motif because it reflects the absurdity of life- how life is meaningless. Thus, the observation could symbolize that humans are in everlasting search to find purpose. This also displays Camus' absurdist philosophy that highlights the importance of the physical universe that does not have much significance. 

There is a juxtaposition that contrasts two major scenes:Meursault observing from his balcony and people observing Meursault in the courtroom. When Meursault is watching people on the street from his balcony, he is passive as he makes no judgments. On the contrary, the atmosphere in the courtroom is exactly the opposite and people are very judging about Meursault due to the facts that were revealed about him. Therefore observation is a significant motif that portrays that humans in general are in search for purpose. 

Death:

A recurrent motif in the novel is death. At the beginning of the novel the reader is presented with the funeral of Meursault’s mother. Meursault is emotionless and what bother him the most are the heat and the sleepiness whilst society believes that he should be in grief. Another example of death is the one of the Arab, which the society believes that he should regret his crime and yet again he only feels “annoyance about it”. Finally the idea of death is shown once again in the final chapter, where the chaplain tries to convince Meursault that there is a God and an afterlife, “In that case, God would help you”,while Meursault believes the complete contrary.  In all the examples where death was present Meursault acts against the way in which society would want him to act. This motif has great significance as it allows the reader to understand what kind of character Meursault is and how he acts against the conventional manner that is imposed by society.

Symbols

Salamano’s dog:

Salamano’s dog is a prominent symbol which helps convey the society’s perspectives. The dog symbolizes Meursault in the way that they are both unique and are ostracized by the surrounding people. The dog is peculiar to other breeds because it has a skin infection called ‘mange’, which makes all of its hair fall out and forms brown blotches all over the body. Not only is this dog physically different, but also is distinctive because of the poor treatment that is given by Salamano, which causes him to be in constant fear.  Similarly Meursault is deemed different due to the indifference and lack of ambitions. Even at his mother’s funeral he shows neither grief nor affection. Instead, he “wasn’t sleepy, but was tired”, and he was irritated by the silence. Nevertheless, he replies to his boss saying, ”About Sixty,” when he asked of Meursault’s mother’s age which verifies that he does not know much about his own mother and that he is peculiarly different. In addition, the dog could foreshadow Meursault in a sense that they both disappear from the society. The reason why the dog ran away is unspecified, however we do know that no one has seen the dog ever since. Likewise, Meursault vanishes from the society because he receives a death sentence for being responsible of the murder, which erases his presence physically from the eyes of the society.  Perhaps both the dog and Meursault ‘vanished’ from the society because neither of them could adapt in the society. 

The sun & heat:

The sun is a significant symbol in the book as it is referred in the end of part 1, which is the climax of the novel. It is the sun that made Meursault commit the crime: “ All I could feel were the cymbals the sun was clashing against my forehead” which conveys the intensity of the sunlight. The sun and heat could symbolize the pressure in society since in the beginning of the novel it is the heat that annoys Meursault in the procession of his mother’s funeral rather than the actual fact that he is burying his mother. The sun and heat representing the pressure of society would explain why Meursault is always bothered by it. 

Here Camus is telling the reader how someone who behaves differently from the conventional manner imposed by society will be pressured to change his values and the way he behaves into a more "acceptable" one.

The Chaplain:

The Chaplain signifies Christianity. At the end of the novel the Chaplain offers a chance for salvation "God would help you". The fact that Meursault refuses to do so is viewed as peculiar from the reader. From this the reader can understand that Christianity signifies rational order and something that all society has to follow, and since Meursault refuses to do so he is deemed as irrational and is condemned as an "outsider" to the society. Therefore, Camus conveys a message that anything the society views peculiar is a threat to the society. 

Absurdity

Definition---> completely illogical or ridiculous

In the novel Albert Camus exposes different types of absurdities, these being the absurdity in Meursault's character and the trial. Throughout the book the readers are revealed to Meursault's strangeness and so he is seen as a rather "weird" person. After the murder of the Arab the trial can be seen as rather absurd since it is mainly being based on the fact that he didn't cry at his mother's funeral and also for being absolutely honest.

Absurdity in Character

At the Funeral:

Meursault's absurdity is expressed throughout the whole novel, this is first shown at the funeral of his mother where he refuses to see his mothers body. At first readers think of it as being understandable, however when the caretaker asks him 'Why not?' (12) it makes the readers consider the abnormality of not wanting to see his mother's body. At this point the caretakers reaction of the situation helps express the absurdity of Meursault. This though does not make the readers think of Meursault as bizzare but later on when he expresses his interest of the effect of the humidity and heat on the rate of decay on his mothers body instead of mourning, it makes readers speculate him as somewhat odd. 

At Home:

When Meursault gets back home after the funeral he does not do much, he rather spends the day alone. He is revealed as an observer because he spends his afternoon on his balcony watching the streets. This shows how he is curious but at the same time "stalkerish": 

"First of all it was families out for a walk, two little boys in sailor suits, with the trousers below their knees, looking a bit cramped in their stiff clothes, and a little girl with a big pink bow and black patent leather shoes. Behind them the mother, and enormous woman in a brown silk dress, and the father, a small, rather frail man whom I know by sight." (24)

Meursault does not believe his actions are absurd since he thinks of his day as a "typical Sunday" (26) while the readers think of him as rather awkward. Readers at first don't think much of it however further on in the novel when his obsession of curiosity is a reoccurring motif he is seen as crossing the limit of observing. This is when he is having lunch at Céleste and a woman sits across from him, he is rather surprised but after h watches her eat. When she finishes he decides to follow her until he looses sight of her, this is when it is a shock for the readers and he is seen as someone who is curious but out of the ordinary. However it is ironic because after losing sight of her he thinks to himself; "I thought how peculiar she was, but I fairly soon forgot about her,"(46) and this represents him as being even more abnormal. Meursault chooses to live as honest as he wishes and therefore stalking to him seems normal.

The Heat:

During the novel heat is very important because it always seems to intervene with his actions. It makes him easily irritated, for example he doesn't fancy Marie in the sun, he kills the Arab in the sun and on the eve of his death he realizes he has been happy. This not only shows how easily annoyed he gets but the impact of the sun on him. This is also presented further on in the novel when the room Meursault and the magistrate are talking in gets warmer and warmer and Meursault gets irritated and "snaps" at the magistrate for talking about God (68) and insisting him in having faith in God.

Outsider:

Meursault always feels as if he is watching and not doing the actions. For example, when he shoots the Arab he feels as if he watched himself shoot him instead of actually shooting him. This is also shown as previously discussed when he is on his balcony watching people on the streets and when he doesn't get a police officer because he wants to see what Raymond is doing to his mistress. All his unusual actions make him a very absurd and "weird" person and separate him from our society.

His Conclusions: 

"As if this great outburst of anger had purged all my ills, killed all my hopes, I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the nightsky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifferent of the world. And finding it so much like myself, in fact so fraternal, I realized that I'd been happy, and that I was still happy." (117)

At the end of the novel Meursault analyzes his life and concludes that he lives in a life of no meaning and no hope. He realizes of his absurd position in society, how he was an "outsider", but he mentions how even so he had been happy of his life. 

 

Absurdity of the Trial

When Meursault is arrested he is asked if he had chosen a lawyer and when he confesses that he didn't and he doesn't need one because his case was simple the examining magistrate answers by saying:

"'That's your opinion. But this is the law. If you don't choose a lawyer yourself, we'll appoint one for you automatically.' I thought it most convenient that the legal system should take care of such details. I told him so. He agreed and said it showed how well the law worked." (63)

It is ironic that the examining magistrate says that the law works well because during the trial readers are shown the absurdity of the situation. The trial is centered on his mother, he is asked why he had sent her to an old home, and why he hadn't cried at her funeral. It would have been alright if the court had addressed the topic for background and possible motifs for him killing the Arab. However, instead of the court questioning him for killing the Arab, it revolves around his actions at his mothers funeral. Meursault chooses not to force himself to cry at his mothers funeral and so he is being punished for his actions. So Meursault gets sentenced to death for not following society's unspoken rules.

the outsider introduction.

The stranger outsider is a novel by nobel-prize winning author Albert Camus. It is based on the life a middle aged man called Meursault, who in the heat of the moment (no pun intended), gunned down an Arab. The novel moves on to his trial and subsequent debate. I will not diverge further information because: I don't want to ruin it and I haven't read that far yet.

It was orginially written in French and it is known for its thoroughly descriptive passages and existentialist nature: even though Camus denies it. The translation we are reading was formualted by Joseph Laredo for Hamish Hamilton in 1982 and was published by the Penguin publishing conglomerate a year later.


Born in the November of 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria to a, excuse my french, Pied-Noir family, Albert Camus rose from the ashes of poverty and went to the University of Algiers, where he studied Philosophy. He also played Goal-keeper for the football team. Camus joined the Communist party but was later dismissed and accused of being a Trotskyist. He was later linked with anarchist movements. He moved to Paris to work for the Paris Soir newspaper agency.During WWII he was part of the French resistance and founded,and wrote for, the under-ground newspaper: Combat. He won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1957. 3 years later, Camus sadly died, with his friend, in a car crash in 1960, at the age of 46. In his pocket: a train ticket. He had planned to travel by train that day.

Note: A link to the novel online is added to the sidebar, however one should note that the translations, like the Ivan Denisovich version, are slightly different. However, the subject matter remains the same.