Lidia Soriano
period 1
11/16/07
When Kenny was speaking he mentioned that death is a major topic in the book and it’s a gigantic change in life that can physically and emotionally change the way many people think and view life. It helps make people realize that things that may not have been a huge deal to them before, but once a lost is experienced people tend to look at the world in a different light. In Mersualt’s case though death is not such a big matter to him it is just a natural way of life. “They’re not going to take him away from me, are they, Monsieur Mersualt? They’ll give him back to me. Otherwise, what’s going to happen to me?”…I realized he was crying. For some reason I thought of Maman.” (pg: 39). In this quote Salamano is confessing how terrified he feels of the fact that he may not he be able to see his dog again. It may not have anything to do with death but just the fact that he lost his dog is almost like if the dog is dead. Mersualt remembers his mother because maybe he feels that he should feel the same way, but he doesn’t. I think that Camus is trying to reach out to his readers and demonstrate that life should be lived just like Mersualt with out a care or a worry in the world to accomplish many goals even with the obstacles one must face everyday. Also when Judith was speaking I noticed that she mentioned autism as a reason for Mersualt’s type of character in the story. When I first read this book the same thoughts right away jumped into my head but, as I continued reading The Stranger I realized that Camus purposely wrote it like this to give the reader a sense of comprehending things in a different pattern. Now is when the theory Existentialism vs. Rationalism comes to mind. Camus is refusing to the theory Existentialism because the character he creates, Mersualt, is the type of individual that doesn’t really know what the meaning of life is. He just lives everyday like nothing he doesn’t let death or any complications bring him down. Mersault learned in the end that life is valuable thing when he was imprisoned and sentenced to jail.
