The Stranger: Journal Entry #5

Part One and Part Two

Why?

Camus created a part one and a part two to show that death changes ones life either for the better or worse. In part one Camus introduces us with the death of Maman and the funeral, where in part two he introduces us with Mersault in prison for killing an Arab. In both the funeral day of Maman and the Arab's murder Mersault says he experience the same scorching sun, meaning he is feeling the same emotions on both of those days (Camus 58).

Camus created a part one and part two to also convey the plot in a normal bell curve of expressing Mersault's philosophies. At the beginning Mersault seems to be absurd because he does not care about anything starting with the death of Maman. Then as the novel progresses Mersault becomes less absurd till he comes to the point of thinking "for the very first time I thought I was going to get married" (Camus 50). This is the climax of the plot where Mersault is almost existentialist, he has almost escaped the absurd. However then he kills an Arab which like the death of Maman is a life changing event, which is expressed by the sun being the same as the sun when he was at Maman's funeral (Camus 58). Therefore he starts turning absurd again by the confinement in prison. He only believes facts are facts and nothing more which to an extent upsets everyone around him leading to his execution. We know he is absurd in the end because he states "throughout my whole absurd life I'd lived..." (Camus 121). This is important to part one and part two because it shows that similar events can have completely different outcomes, and the parts are both the complete opposite of each other.

Camus may also have created a part one and part two to show a contrast in the setting. Throughout part 1 the setting takes place in Algiers and other surrounding areas, where part two takes place in prison. Camus did this to show that even after being put in prison Mersault still thinks the same way with his  absurd thoughts, even though the settings are completely different. He thought about his "whole absurd life" (Camus 121). Mersault recognizes that nothing meant anything, and he believed that prison was just another place to be in life and doesn't complain because of his absurdest beliefs.