Group Activity (Topic 4):
The characters in the home of the aged have a passive attitude towards others. This expressed through their dialogue to Meursault, as in one scene where the director mentions, “you don’t have to justify yourself…she needed someone to look after her…she was happier there.” (4). The director does not go into detail regarding Maman’s lifestyle and her overall experience, but instead gives a vague outlook on her relations with others and her ability to cope with this older community which suggests that the author is attempting to set a comforting tone that gives us the sense that everything is in control. Meursault seems to be set apart from caring or even dwelling deep in family matters. It is more like skimming the surface of history with his recollections. The fact that, “when she was at home with me, Maman used to spend her time following me with her eyes, not saying a thing” (5) which gives the impression that Meursault had to be watched in order to ensure that he conformed with society or not to do anything to an extreme extent (e.g. the killing of the “Arab”).
From what Meursault initially observes in the courtroom before his trial, people are generally in a positive mood and in a lively setting. He describes it as, “if they were in a club where people are glad to find themselves among others from the same world” (84) which shows that the fact that Meursault thinks about these things reveal his desire to fit in with society as if he is “one of a family” (70). Also, a brief connection with the title and protagonist is made when Meursault has “the strange impression I had of being odd man out, a kind of intruder…yet the reporter turned and spoke to me with a smile.” (84) giving us the sense that through a business setting is he accepted as one with the community.
Through this Camus seems to develop two themes:
1. Stagnant family ties can be broken through time, lack of finance, and less relations. This can especially occur when one side is more observative/passive and the other, indifferent.
2. If one of the basic human desires, to fit in with society, is not fulfilled, then an awkward sense is evoked and therefore characterizes a stranger (to the community).
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