Meursault: A Static or Dynamic Character? Sophie Lis 12th Grade

Throughout the duration of Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger, the narrator, Meursault, evolves in terms of his self-awareness and world-view, a change which Camus uses to aid the reader in understanding both his protagonist and the existentialist themes throughout the novel. By splitting the text into two parts, Camus not only creates a valid ‘before’ and ‘after’ distinction for Meursault’s murder of the Arab, but also forges a distinct indication of the protagonist’s change in understanding of choice and consciousness. During Part 1, we are given a snapshot of Meursault’s daily life: Maman’s funeral, his relationship with Marie, Raymond, and Salamano, and the trip to the beach culminating in his murder of the Arab. In Part 2, Camus recounts Meursault’s incarceration, his trial, and the period before his execution, mirroring his murder of the Arab with his dawning revelation from indifference to acceptance. As a result, the dynamic nature of Meursault’s character is evident; through the intermediates of Maman’s funeral, the murder of the Arab, and his attack on the chaplain Meursault loses the flatness he embodies during Part 1 and shifts in character throughout the remainder of the novel.

In the beginning of the novel, Camus...