The Stranger - Stacey

It comes as no surprise that this work of philosophical fiction would touch on issues of political morality. After all, where does morality come from, without meaning? And where does meaning emerge from, if not philosophy? Known by the titles L'Etranger in its native French, Albert Camus's The Stranger is often seen as delving into themes of the philosophy of the absurd and existentialism. Interesting to note, Camus rejected that perception of his work. There are many messages one could interpret from the text, as it never explicitly states its meaning. Living in today's society, one could most certainly juxtapose the ostracization of  Meursault by the courts to alienation of students perceived as "outsiders" by their peers; in other words, bullying. That, of course, is a bit of a stretch for meaning, but with The Stranger, most things are. Another prominent focus for someone of today's world might be something much more stark and much less of a stretch: the death penalty.

Over the course of the book, Meursault is often under attack for divulging from the social norm of 1940's France. "The director looked down at the tips of his shoes and said that I hadn't wanted to see Maman, that I hadn't cried once, and that I had left right after the funeral without paying my last respects at her grave," (89) Meursault recites to the reader his the witnesses at his trial, who demonize him for not mourning his mother's death in the way that they see as socially acceptable. Meursault, a characteristically emotionless man, recounts that "for the first time in years I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all of these people hated me." (89-90) Bullying has a severe effect on students in the same way, because even if they aren't the most sensitive, having people hate you for things that you can't help, like your appearance or personality, leaves one feeling helpless and worthless. However, whereas Meursault was attacked for actions which did not fit into the social norm, modern day alienation by bullying is mostly centered around appearance which does not fit the social bill of attractiveness. According to PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center, "The reasons for being bullied reported most often by students were looks (55%), body shape (37%), and race (16%)."

Of course, while Meursault was literally sentenced to death, one cannot deny that there is an unofficial death sentence for victims of bullying. "Students victimized by their peers were 2.4 times more likely to report suicidal ideation and 3.3 times more likely to report a suicide attempt than youth who reported not being bullied," PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center reports. Though Meursault does not kill himself, nor implicitly desire to kill himself, he does force himself to become okay with dying, as he was so sentenced by the society he did not mirror. "Since we're all going to die, it's obvious that when and how don't matter," (114) Meursault tells himself while imagining the outcome of his appeal. "I had to accept the rejection of my appeal." (114)

While it might seem inappropriate to compare the death penalty with something as silly as a matter of schoolyard bullying, or the other way around, depending on your personal belief systems, both are inhumane and immoral. The death penalty is based off emotional judgments rather than rational ones, and law is supposed to follow rational judgement. But with the death penalty, one cannot deny that the law fails at being rational. The idea that "murder is bad, so we should murder murderers" doesn't follow sound logic. It is immoral, something that law is never supposed to be. Killing in itself is inhumane, that part is self explanatory. Bullying is similar, it is wrong to hurt other people. Dehumanizing your peers is inhumane. Hurting them is immoral. And, as Meursault was judged mostly based off his actions as a person, rather than the actions which relate to his crime, the two are inherently related.

The Stranger certainly has many lessons woven throughout its text, and it is clear that they deal with what is immoral and inhumane. Meursault is a victim of a system which allows both the immoral and inhumane to slip through the cracks, as are many today. Though it was written in 1942, the teachings that can be found in The Stranger are still most certainly relevant.