The Stranger Albert Camus

 November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960  1957 Nobel Prize for literature  Harsh childhood (mom illiterate, dad killed) led to his ideas  Existentialist  Killed by car crash in Algeria

Existentialism  French- borders on atheism  Reality and life are absurd (no pattern of meaning)  Man defines his own existence  Emphasizes individuals responsibility to accept consequence of choice

Setting  Written in France in the early 1940’s  Set in Algiers before WWII

Characters  Meursault- protagonist and narrator; emotionally indifferent to others and refuses to adhere to the norms of society  Marie Cardona- coworker and love interest of Meursault  Raymond Sintes- neighbor and local, abusive pimp  Meursault’s mother- maman; her death begins the action of the novel  Thomas Perez- emotionally attached to Maman

Characters (continued)  Celeste- owns café Meursault dines at frequently  Masson- Raymond’s friend who invites everyone to the beach house  Salamano- he and his mangy dog are neighbors of Meursault  The Arab- brother of Raymond’s mistress