le Outsider

[Anonymous No.10775766]

Camus on the book: 'In our society any man who does not weep at his mother's funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death. I only meant that the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game.'

Basically this book is about a lazy fucker. It takes energy to form deep relationships, to actually care about friends/family, to hunt out beauty. Yet Camus instead misinterprets this guy's laziness as some problem in society or in the human condition.

But le absurd masterpiece, le profound existential character.

[Anonymous No.10775924]

This is a disgustingly lazy reading. Read it again and think about what you post next time faggot

[Anonymous No.10775968]

It takes cynicism to its logical conclusion.

[Anonymous No.10776280]

Pfff Camus. Read The Mysterious Stranger by Twain

[Anonymous No.10776358]

>>10776280
>Twain

[Anonymous No.10776366]

>>10775766
You are just proving his point from the quote, or was this intentional?

[Anonymous No.10776386]

So you adopt that ideology and use it judge the guy who actively rejects that ideology for not adhering to it??!
Not very interesting.

[Anonymous No.10776399]

It's been quite a few years but isn't he sentenced because he killed a man?

[Anonymous No.10776422]

>>10776399
Yes but the "being sentenced" in this context is metaphorical

[Anonymous No.10776476]

>>10776422
He was getting sentenced irl but latched onto what he percieved as an unfair judgement of character in order to justify his childish indignation at a, considering his crime, perfectly sensible sentence. This is why the character is kinda dumb, and by extenstion the book also.

[Anonymous No.10776501]

>>10776476
He was sentenced to death because he was convicted of murder without mitigating circumstances. If the court had successfully been convinced that there had been mitigating circumstances, he would not receive the death penalty but would still be punished with prison time or whatever.

The fact is that there were mitigating circumstances: the Arab threatened him with a knife before he shot and Meursault appears to be disoriented due to heatstroke. It's pretty clear that Mersault receives the death sentence not because he killed the man, but because the jury judged him to be an inherently awful person for reasons beyond the crime itself (ie not weeping at his mother's funeral and going to the movies the day after, refusing the chaplain etc). That is, he was sentenced to death on the grounds of being socially retarded in a way and not acting in ways which would be considered normal. That's what Camus's quote means: he refused to play the game by not weeping at his mother's funeral and was sentenced to death as a result, despite the fact that his conviction should have really been lighter based off the evidence presented in court.

[Anonymous No.10776581]

>>10776501
You're relying on arguments not voiced by the narrator, assumptions about the judicial system handling the process and a very narrow view on what might be considered mitigating and aggravating circumstances. Basically you're starting from what you think Camus wanted to say and filling in blanks in the story based on that.

[Anonymous No.10776600]

>>10776581
Did you even read the book?

>Counsel for the defense raised his arms to heaven and pleaded guilty, but with extenuating circumstances. The Prosecutor made similar gestures; he agreed that I was guilty, but denied extenuating circumstances.

This is what the entirety of part 4 was based upon - the decision as to whether it was murder with extenuating (ie mitigating) circumstances or not.

[Anonymous No.10776609]

>>10776581
Camus explicitly points out that Meursault was judged for his character and not his crime, brainlet
read the fucking book

[Anonymous No.10776611]

>>10776581
>“This man has, I repeat, no place in a community whose basic principles he flouts without compunction. Nor, heartless as he is, has he any claim to mercy. I ask you to impose the extreme penalty of the law; and I ask it without a qualm. In the course of a long career, in which it has often been my duty to ask for a capital sentence, never have I felt that painful duty weigh so little on my mind as in the present case. In demanding a verdict of murder without extenuating circumstances, I am following not only the dictates of my conscience and a sacred obligation, but also those of the natural and righteous indignation I feel at the sight of a criminal devoid of the least spark of human feeling.” - the prosecution

[Anonymous No.10776619]

>>10776600
If you can quote a passage that says he wouldn't be sentenced to death if the mitigating circumstances were considered and make a solid argument for why his previous behaviour isn't a valid aggarvating circumstance, I might change my mind.

[Anonymous No.10776648]

>it takes energy to care about family/friends
My man, what are you smoking. It's the exact opposite; all you have to do is let yourself be swept up in biological imperatives. If anything it takes energy to detach yourself from familial relationships.

[Anonymous No.10776650]

>>10776619
>My lawyer came to see me; he was very talkative and showed more cordiality and confidence than ever before. He assured me that all would go well and I’d get off with a few years’ imprisonment or transportation. I asked him what were the chances of getting the sentence quashed. He said there was no chance of that. He had not raised any point of law, as this was apt to prejudice the jury.

This occurs immediately before the verdict is given. That is, the jury has heard all of the evidence and arguments from both prosecution and defense. For the second part of your request, I'd suggest it's up to you for arguing why they should be aggravating circumstances.

[Anonymous No.10776676]

>>10776581
The court obviously tries to make Mersault look bad by building a negative antisocial portrait of him. This allows for a harsher penalty (prosecutors and judges are very frequently portrayed in fiction as blood thirsty hounds), minimizing any social outcry if such a harsher than deserved penalty is decreed.

You're actually talking about a narrow view when your whole explanation on his behavior is that Mersault was lazy?
Are people with cold personalities lazy? Are murdering psychopaths lazy?

[Anonymous No.10776746]

But avoiding the formation of deep relationships also takes a great deal of energy.

[Anonymous No.10776794]

>>10775766
You calling him lazy simply proves Camus point. Didn’t you read the ending?

[Anonymous No.10776797]

Did anyone else think the book was sort of bleakly funny?

Like when Mersault talks about not visiting his mother much because that would take up his whole Sunday. I sort of laughed at that point. I suppose it's intentional for you to think this character is a bit absurd in his lack of empathy?

Really enjoyed the book.

[Anonymous No.10776801]

I also found myself being disappointed by it. Ironically, I was estranged by Mersault's dialogue with the priest at the end, I just couldn't bring myself to care about his opinion. He was a non-agent.

[Anonymous No.10776807]

>>10776648
lmao
well rationalized, my dude

[Anonymous No.10776879]

Start with the Queefs

[Anonymous No.10776887]

>>10776801
I think that estrangement from him is part of the point. He’s the main character, so part of you feels that by convention you are expected to care about him. All of his thoughts and actions are so alien, though, which conflicts with this idea and forces you to question why you feel the way you do about him. He’s not an inherently bad person - he shot a dude who threatened him with a knife and stabbed his friend, but it would be a stretch to call him evil. Yet even so, his character feels inhuman.