The Stranger #5: Meursault’s Struggle with Objectivity

            In the last chapter of The Stranger, the reader is let on to an inner struggle that Meursault is facing.  During his time in his jail cell Meursault does a lot of thinking, and after the trial most of this thinking is directed towards making sense of his future.  Meursault attempts to take an objective point of view, yet there are times when his emotion shines through.  When Meursault first analyzes the idea of executions, he remembers a story his mother would tell him, which made him realize that “there was nothing more important than an execution” (Camus 110).  He decides that if he ever is to be freed he will watch every execution, however he interjects that “I wasn’t being reasonable” (110).  As much as Meursault would love to be freed and be able to watch future executions, he realizes that there is no way that will ever happen.  As he further contemplates this idea of the execution, he realizes that there is a flaw in the system; Meursault believes that  “the most important thing was to give the condemned man a chance…the trouble with the guillotine was that you had no chance at all…the condemned man had to hope the machine would work the first time” (111).  Meursault realizes how nobody is given a chance to live after a conviction and this bothers him, most likely because of his experience in the system and his desire to keep living.  However, as he further develops his opinion on French executions, he realizes that what he saw as a flaw “was the whole secret of a good organization…the condemned man was forced into a kind of moral collaboration” (111).  As Meursault tries to objectively look at his situation, he realizes that there is no escaping his fate, as much as he may like.  In a way, his objectivity makes him lose hope and his desire to live. 

            Another one of his objective endeavors is the concept of life and death within his thoughts about his appeal.  When going under the assumption that his appeal will get denied, he makes himself feel better by assuring himself that  “everybody knows life isn’t worth living.  Deep down I knew perfectly well that it doesn’t much matter whether you die at thirty or at seventy, since in either case other men and women will naturally go on living…since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter” (114).  Meursault presents himself with the objective view on life and death in attempts to lessen his disappointment if his appeal gets denied.  When he says that “deep down” he knows that when he dies doesn’t matter, it signifies that although he knows that it doesn’t matter when he dies he still cares.  Lastly, when Meursault lets himself ponder the possibility that he is pardoned, he says, “It would take all my strength to quiet my heart, to be rational” (114).  Although this statement is made directly relating to his reaction to potentially being pardoned, it applies to everything he tries to view through an objective lens.  In all of his thoughts about his future there is the presence of emotions that he tries, yet struggles, to hide through his objectivity.