The Stranger Journal #5: Two Parts

Camus creates two parts to the novel to differentiate between Meursault's willingness to express his emotions. It allows us to see a different side of the protagonist and allows us to become less distant from a character that we once were quite detached from.

One parallel idea occurs when Meursault is listening to the director answer questions during the trial. "...with such a triumphant look in my direction that for the first time in years I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me" (Camus 90). This brings the reader back to Meursault's reluctance to showing emotion. We can see this reluctance when he refers to the urge to cry as "stupid". He is not willing to allow the people around him to see his true feelings. Through this, Camus accomplishes that even though he is not willing to display his emotions, he acknowledges that he cares about others' opinions of him. Because of this, the reader can better connect because we can emotionally attach ourselves to him and feel less distant from the protagonist.

Another parallel idea occurs when the judge asks Meursault to state his motives for the crime. "Fumbling a little with my words and realizing how ridiculous I sounded, I blurted out that it was because of the sun" (Camus 103). The motif of the sun is continued throughout both parts of the books. This shows the reader that Meursault has a hard time expressing his reaction to the crime. Camus is able to accomplish communicating Meursault's feelings through the motif of the sun because every time he is in an uncomfortable situation, he mentions how the sun affects him. In the first part, the sun communicates Meursault's feelings for him, but in the second part, he is able to come out and say it himself.