The
Outsider: Chapter Notes – Part 2, Chapter 4
Summary:
·
We see the conclusion of Meursault’s
trial for his killing of the Arab
·
Meursault listens to prosecutor in
court repeatedly criticise his actions during his mother’s
funeral
·
The lawyer who was hired for Meursault’s
defense provides witnesses such as Marie and Raymond who inadvertently prove
that Meursault is more and more a ‘stranger’ who
doesn’t share the values of the rest of his society
·
The jury finds Meursault guilty
and the judge sentences Meursault to execution in the
middle of the public square for his crime.
Themes
Absurdisim
The most obvious theme in this chapter is conflict. We know
from previous chapters that Meursault’s absurdist
views make him an outcast from society. Throughout this chapter, it is evident
that the prosecutor, who represents society, and judges Meursault’s
actions, is finally attacking the ideology of absurdism. The prosecutor even
goes on to claim that a man like Meursault has no
place in society where there are rules to be followed (Pg 99). The reason for this may be that absurdism
challenges so many of the notions that society holds dear, principally that our
lives and values really are valuable and meaningful. Meursault’s
behaviour and very existence contradicts these dearly held values and so
society, in the form of the laywer, feels the need to
attack him. The following quotation “Especially when we encounter a man whose
heart is so empty that it forms a chasm which threatens to engulf society.” shows
the gulf between what society demands and expects from an individual as opposed
to what an Meursault really
wants to do. It shows that society has rules that have to be
followed accordingly or that the individual would be judged by society
resulting in alienation. Additionally, this quotation can be viewed as an
attack on ideas that society feels is allowing people to see the truth,
breaking the illusion that society has crafted.
Remorselessness
During the course of the chapter, it is evident that Meursault
has no remorse for the killing of The Arab. Moreover, we can see from his
actions that he does not care for his mother’s death at the start of the book
and even when it is put to the test by the prosecutor,
he does not defend his actions on that day. Additionally, over the course of
the trial he does not show any sort of emotion such as disgust, pity or even
sorrow for his actions, but rather lets it all go on, while he just sits back
and enjoys the show before him. It could be said that
he does not care what would happen to him, as he sees the truth. The truth
being that there really is no meaning to life and that we can try to make a
meaning but that in the end it is not real, and that he knew what his fate
would be, even before stepping into the courtroom. The following
quotation nicely illustrates Meursault’s lack of
remorse or sense of self pity or self preservation “was there so much
difference, anyway, between the two speeches?” and this is further reinforced
by “Has he even expressed any regrets?” and finally “I’d never really been able
to regret anything.” which shows how even at the pivotal moment, Meursauly sticks to his own beliefs even if it means that
he will surely be punished or even killed. Additionally, it gives an
understanding to the character of Meursault from the
way he acts to the way he thinks, as a whole and understands why he does
certain things such as helping Raymond write a letter to his mistress, the way
he does them.
The Absence of Self
Importance
“The judge asked me if I had anything to add. I though it
over. I said, “no”.” This quotation is important in that, it sums up Meursault, and how he could have added further information to
defend himself but, realizing that whether he lives or
dies is really of no value anyway, he does not take the opportunity. Camus
tries to make a point from this to sum up the idea of absurdisim,
that any action is ultimately pointless. Meursault
does not seem perturbed by the entire case, dubbing the affair as an exciting
experience as he had “never seen a trial before”.
This is reinforced by Meursault’s behaviour during the trial where he mostly sits
and listens and notices the weather which was
extremely “hot”. Meursault claimed that his “fate was
being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion”
suggesting once again how far alienated from the rest of society Meursault has become.
Motifs and Connotations:
Sensory Details
Throughout the novel, heat comes into play multiple times
and creates a significant impact on the actions and the reactions of both Meursault and those around him. This is evident throughout
the trial as heat is shown to affect the prosecutor
“the prosecutor wiped his face which was glistening with sweat.” Additionally,
heat becomes much more important when it is used by Meursault
himself, when explaining
that his actions were caused by the sun (pg 99), which we as
readers know is true; we can say that Meursault lives in a stochastic universe where things just
do happen unexpectedly. However, this was not enough to satisfy the justice system,
as they want to see Meursault’s
repent before they will forgive him but he cannot repent an act that was
essentially meaningless.
Death
Death is important throughout the whole book as to Meursault,
death, like life, is irrelevant. The death of “The Arab” has placed him in a
situation in which he may have to face death himself. The prosecutor who asks
for Meursault’s head for the crimes that he had
committed foreshadows Meursault’s death. When his
death sentence does come Meursault is left unmoved
and indeed seems to have been divorced from the proceedings throughout the
whole trial as his lawyer tries to prevent
him from speaking, and when he finally is able to say something, it is not
taken seriously, leading to laughter within the crowd. Additionally, the lawyer
uses “I” every time when speaking of Meursault which shows that even Meusaults position
in the crime is taken away by the lawyer. Even the policemen
understands that Meursault has no place in this trial
and that he is a coin with two sides the same and that there was no point in
even trying to intervene. This perhaps reflects how all human beings are
essentially at the mercy of powers and events beyond their control.
Isolation
The motif of isolation is clear through Meursault’s
action of always keeping to himself and isolating himself from the rest of the
world. Before his imprisonment he did on occasion interact with othersafter his incarceration he becomes
isolated in a cell within a tower. Although, this is a form of physical isolation,
there is the sense that it is also emotional, and it perhaps reflects how Meursault has, in reality, been cut
off from all of the other characters throughout the novel although this has
only now really become apparent.
Imagery:
The quotation ‘even when you’re in the dock, it’s always interesting to hear
people talking about you.” suggests that Meursault is
careless and does not really give much thought about his situation and that he
is not that bothered by it.
Characters:
Meursault continues to act as an observer of his own
life reinforcing the idea that even his own life is not important enough to be
emotionally involved with.
The main other character explored is the prosecutor who
represents the views of Meursault’s society in
general hence he believes it is important to ensure that Meursault
is condemned to death as he is a danger due to the fact that he has no soul,
and that his ideas threatened to “engulf society”. We do,
however, get the impression that the behaviour of the prosecutor in court
is merely an act or another routine.
Setting:
In part one, the setting of the book takes place in multiple places, however,
as we progress to part two, it is clear that there are only two settings. The two settings being, the prison cell and the courtroom. The
courtroom is an obvious symbol that Meursault (and in
fact his absurdist behaviour) is being judged by society while the prison
reflects his isolation and the sense of distance between Meursault
and other people.
Narrative Style/
Structure:
Throughout the novel, Camus uses first person, which is the
view of Meursault. He uses this to further flesh out
his views of absurdisim through a character, so that
readers are able to understand it and have some sort of connection. Through the
different chapters there is a great amount of detail about what Meursault observes, whether it be the facial structure of
someone he had just met, or what is going on with either his body or the one he
is observing such as wiping sweat off is forehead. The novel goes in a
chronological order and only revisits certain events that have happened only in
the novel thus making the reader understand what is going on.
Unity of Part to Whole
(Development)
Chapter four, part two, is the penultimate chapter of the
novel, and brings a closure to the trial. The closure is in itself presented in
such a way, that the reader would be left with questions such as ‘does one’s
life mean anything in the long-term’ or perhaps ‘why didn’t Meursault
even try to defend himself’, which helps to further emphasise the important
elements of absurdism. Chapter four really does tie
everything together and foreshadow what will happen to Meursault
as well as how the idea of absurdisim challenged
society and lost the battle. This chapter also shows how society cannot allow
another idea to come into play, as it believes that it’s illusion over the
people will be shattered and cannot be rebuilt in the same way again like a
mirror.