The Stranger

The Stranger Reader-Response Interpretive Writing
by Jonathan Lau and Jacob Helfgott

Two men, Jonathan and Jacob arrive at the prison to meet the imprisoned Monsieur Meursault in his prison cell.  The men are handsome and are both wearing dark suits.  The cell was hot as the murderer’s execution has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

Prison Guard: Why do you want to meet that swine?
Jonathan: We have business with this man.
Jacob: We want to interview M. Meursault about his perspective during the trial.
Prison Guard:    That’s fine. Make sure this does not take long.
Meursault: What do the two of you want with a man like me?
Jonathan:  We were at your trial, and noticed you seemed to have trouble expressing what you were truly thinking…
Jacob: You never really got the chance to explain your side of the whole thing. We hoped that you could be a bit more specific with us. Particularly your seeming lack of emotion for your mother’s passing, and your claim that the -- sun, was it? -- played a part in your killing the victim.
Meursault: What’s there to tell?
Jonathan: I think there is plenty to talk about.  You have nothing to lose.
Meursault: Fine. Let’s just get this over with.
A) Jacob: (sits down) How about we start on the subject of your mother? Nobody really gave you the opportunity to give your story.
Meursault: My mother lived her life fully. There was no reason to be sad.
Jonathan: Mr. Perez said that you didn’t shed tears despite her passing recently.
Meursault: Yes.
Jonathan: Why was that?
Meursault: The whole day was annoying.  It was "the trouble of getting to the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling" (5).
Jacob: And that completely wiped you of all emotion for your mother?
Meursault: I told you. She had nothing left. She was just starting over, even. What happened is just the way it is. It’s not like it mattered. It was her time.
Jonathan: And you don’t feel any sadness from that?
Meursault: Why would that matter? There’s no point in wasting energy feeling sad about something that has already happened, like a death.
B) Jonathan: I believe you had your fiancé come to your trial?  Marie was her name, correct?
Meursault: (silence)
Jonathan: What do you think of her?  A dear loved one or just another annoyance?
Meursault: She’s...a close acquaintance.
Jonathan:  So you think of her as just another person?  In the trial, she said that you were planning on marrying you.  We also discovered a day in the life of Meursault after your mother’s funeral.
Meursault: Yes.
Jonathan: She really hoped it didn’t come to this.  She said that you “would be acquitted and that [the two of you] would go swimming again” (75) despite the circumstances.  You probably don’t even care about her feelings, do you?  We heard about how you denied saying you loved her and how you didn’t care about the marriage proposal.  Why do you see all these significant events of your life as a bother?
Meursault: Why do you care?  Is that all you wanted to say to me?
G) Jonathan: Far from it my friend, we still have a lot to talk about.  The magistrate, Mr. Dao, seemed to take a strong disliking to you.
Jacob: He called you Mr. Antichrist.  What say you?
Meursault: I can’t see how that matters. If he wants to spend his life believing in something as insipid and uninteresting as God, he can go right ahead. But in the end, it doesn’t matter.
Jonathan: He told us that he had “never seen a soul as hardened as yours” (69).
D) Jacob: Alright then. Let's talk about the topic we came all the way here to speak to you about. Your murder.
Meursault: …
Jonathan: Yes, let’s return to why you’re here.  Why did you kill that man?
Meursault: You already know.
Jacob: Do you really think we will accept a stupid answer like when you “blurted out that [you killed him] because of the sun”? (103).
Meursault: The sun was really hot. It was just a feeling. Like an extreme nuisance. Nothing felt right. He was in the shade, where I wanted to be. I wasn’t thinking straight, I guess.
E) Jonathan: You are getting executed tomorrow.  You know that, right?  If I remember correctly, the judge told us that you are "to have your head cut off in a public square in the name of the French people". (107)
Meursault: Yes. I hope there is a large crowd of people tomorrow. I hope that they greet me with cries of hate.
Jacob: Why is that, exactly?
Meursault: Whether they want to or not, they will hear what I have to say to them. That life is an illusion. Nothing matters. You and me, what we’re doing right now is simply passing the time before the inevitable happens.
Jonathan: I understand what you want us to think, but do you really believe that you understand people?  Do you seriously believe that human life is as meaningless as you want us to think?
Meursault: I understand them more than you ever could.
Jonathan: You think that life is meaningless and that it is better to be known dying by execution rather than dying of old age.  You believe that only death is absolute since lives have no grand meaning.  You want to make the most of your insignificant life.  Though you seem to be doing the opposite.
Meursault: That’s what you think. All life ends eventually. How or when it happens is irrelevant.
Jonathan: I don’t believe in that.  It’s because our lives start out meaningless that people search for their own purpose.  People try to do what they want and endure through hardships to make their life worthwhile before they pass on.  You may live your life by being amoral and indifferent to human life, but many people want their lives to mean something.  What about that man you killed?  Was he just another meaningless existence?
Jacob: (sighs)  If that’s your opinion, we can’t change your mind. But I can’t promise everybody else will share that sentiment Monsieur Meursault. (Jacob stands up and walks towards the entrance)
Meursault: I hope you resent my very existence for the rest of your lives.
Jonathan: So long, “Monsieur Antichrist”.
Prison Guard: Did you get your point across?
Jonathan: I think he got his.