In Albert CamusÆ The Stranger we are presented with a novel that depicts the helplessness of the individual and the absurdity of human life. This existential dilemma is acted upon by Meursault from a unique moral perspective. Meursault will murder an Arab which goes against laws of a society that tries to impose order but only uses humans as interchangeable work robots. As Meursault says to his employer ôOne never changed his way of life; one life was as good as another, and my present one suited me quite wellö (Camus 1966, 41). Yet, MeursaultÆs existential awareness and anxiety takes place within the ôsystemö in which he finds himself irrevocably locked. Meursault will die because he goes against the system of law and morality by committing a murder. Ironically, his life prior to transgressing against established social norms, values and morality was actually less fulfilling.
Despite this behavior and sacrifice, on one level we can say that Meursault achieves a certain degree of freedom through his actions that, in a way, gives meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence. Meursault reacts on instinct and free will in the murdering of the Arab more than at any other time in the novel, i.e., he is being a human animal free of an absurd and often indifferent societyÆs restrictions and morality. Meursault knows he lives in an absurd unfulfilling existence ôNeither Mother nor I expected much of one another û or, for that matter, of anyone elseö (Camus 1966, 109).
When the individual comes up against defined norms of morality that are reinforced by civil and criminal code, there is little hope of victory. Camus does not allow us much hope or any victory for his hero. There is no justice in or out of court in The Stranger, and we see that the hero must die after a meaningless life in which he spent his time as virtually a stranger to those around him. The complete lack of despair in Ca
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