THE STRANGER – DISCUSSION QUESTONS
1.
One of the central themes of Albert Camus’ The Stranger is alienation. Discuss some of the ways in
which the author communicates the alienation of Meursault from the world around him. Be sure to
include comments on plot, dialogue, style, and imagery in your discussion.
2.
Compare and contrast the relationship between Salamano and his dog with the relationship
between Meursault and his mother. What are the similarities? Which is more loving?
3.
Is Meursault really a threat to his society?
Does he deserve the death penalty?
Is he more or less dangerous than a criminal who commits a crime with clear motive?
4.
In his jail cell, Meursault finds an old newspaper article about a Czechoslovakian man who is
murdered by his mother and sister. How does this article relate to Meursault’s own trial for
murder?
How does this article expand the themes in The Stranger?
How does it support Camus’s philosophy of the absurd?
5.
Trace the development of Meursault’s ideology in the novel. Examine what you believe his
principles or values to be which form a “system of ideas” that he lives his life by— (known as
an ideology):
How does he come to open himself to “the gentle indifference of the world”?
What causes this epiphany to happen? How do earlier events in the novel prepare us to expect
it?
6.
Using the questions below, discuss the style of The Stranger. Examine Camus’ use of language
through diction, syntax, figurative language and the tone he creates:
a. Camus presents the novel through the narrator. So, how does Meursault’s
language correspond to the subjects he describes? Hint‐‐discuss his perceptions of
the physical world as opposed to how he describes the motives or psychologies of
the individuals we encounter through him.
b. Does Camus’ style evolve or change as the novel goes on? Hint‐‐does the stripped‐
down prose: the short, simple sentences of the novel’s first half limit its expressive
power or enhance it?
c. Carefully examine Camus’ sentences. Describe the flow of these sentences and the
connections that exist (or do not) between them.
d. How can the style of the writing itself be said to embody the Existential
philosophy that Camus structures the novel around.