The Stranger by Camus

  “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” starts of one of the most iconic novels of all time. "The Stranger" written by Albert Camus follows the travails of young Meursault whose apathetic approach to life and its challenges lead to him being shunned from society. Meursault does nothing to redeem this, and the book follows the ups and downs of his life, the latter being considerably greater.

I personally found the book profoundly absurd the first time I read it. Lets just say, the underlying message of the text was too profound for me. Yet, I had heard nothing but praise for the story, so decided that it was worth another shot. 

 Here is my interpretation of Camus's masterpiece ( the second time around)

Meursault is a character who insinuates himself through life without attaching significant meaning to anything or even trying to. The death of his mother, a proposal from his lover and a murder trial all leave him equally sanguine. In Meursault's head there is no concept of good or bad.  Camus has brilliantly explained that the very concept of good and bad was a societal construct. It is not something we humans are born with, but rather something we learn over time. Going even further up, one's perception of what is good or bad depends on their life experiences and the environment which they are exposed to. Society encourages chasing the experiences that are "good" and avoiding experiences and emotions that are "bad" at all costs. It expects us to respond in a prescribed way to a particular situation. Meursault conspicuously lacked this ability. The problem with this is that life is never entirely positive or good; it is more often than not a impractical blend of the two. It is much better to understand that both are occurrences which you will encounter at some point, so it is better to embrace both, as life has an expiry date.