The Stranger

One of my summer reading books for school this year was The Stranger, written by Albert Camus. Everything about this book, the characters, the emotions and the ending were so unexpected and strange if kept me guessing. Throughout the story things were constantly changing and I never fully understood the main character Meursault. Meursault is the protagonist and narrator of the story. He sees no point to life and is constantly being negative and what we call a "Debbie downer." But he had a lover named Marie; now this is what blew my mind. He says he has no emotion or feeling towards anything but calls Marie his lover. Another reason I was befuddled by him was how emotional he became when he was sentenced and had to hear from others their thoughts on him. He being frustrated and angry showed deep down he had some emotion and saying he did not care was a front. Now, I could be completely wrong and he could have no emotion and his front is actually who he is but who knows.. See my dilemma! I never fully understood Meursault but he being the way he is captivated me. He is one of the reasons I liked this narrative so much. He was so different and discombobulated and I found that so interesting. Especially because everyone is different in their own way and his emotional frustration helped me along with other readers relate. Marie is Meursault's lover and she is also a strange character. She knows him better than anyone and how he feels, this attracts her. Someone who pushes her away by certain actions and does not marry her but makes love to her. It is the most confusing relationship and I questioned why she stayed. Did she stay because she was concerned, because she was in love or was she emotional confused as well and felt comfortable around him. Why would she stay knowing he feels no emotion and will not marry her, what is her motivation ? Is it for the love making or is there something she is hiding? I constantly asked myself these questions trying to put the pieces together but there was always one missing. Their romance, if you can even call it that, confused me but kept me on my toes which I liked; it was never boring. The ending was very surprising and I never even thought he would commit murder or go to jail. It was a twist in the story and the characters emotion. All in all it was a great narrative and one of my favorites.