Throughout
the course of The Stranger we never see Meursault lie, or even manipulate the
truth, even in situations where it seems to be the right/polite thing to do. Meursault
is extremely honest, but not always in the most refreshing way. For example,
when Marie asks him if he loves her, instead of tactfully lying (which I admit
still is a bad course of action but would hurt her feelings less?) or saying no
but that she means something to him, he enjoys being with her, etc., he replies
that he “probably didn’t love her” (Camus 41).
Later
in the book it is this honesty that gets Meursault sentenced to death. His lawyer
suggests that they play the shooting off as self-defense; the Arab had a knife
and there were few witnesses around, meaning that it would be possible for
Meursault to lie about his motives and get off as innocent (or with less harsh
of a sentencing). However, Meursault answers every question, (whether he missed
his mother, whether he believes in God) with a both extremely honest but also damaging
answer. For example, when talking about Maman’s funeral the lawyer asks
Meursault if he can say that Meursault was suppressing his emotions, something that
would gain him sympathy, and Meursault answers “No, because it’s not true”
(Camus 65). He doesn’t realize that or doesn’t
accept that the best thing for him to do in this situation would be to lie.
I
find it interesting that while in society honesty is commended, Meursault was fundamentally
condemned to death for his honesty. He absolutely told the truth throughout his
entire trial, even confessing that the sun was the reason he killed the Arab,
but the judge still declares him to be a threat to society and gives him the
death penalty (Camus, . Meursault’s unwillingness to conform to societal
pressures and lie, something that society itself has classified as wrong,
ultimately led to his death.
I wouldn't say that Meursault was killed for his honesty, I would say that he was killed because of how different he was compared to the rest of French society. Although part of what makes him different is his unbridled honesty. This really gets me thinking about how some people don't want to know the truth and put what they want to hear in front of what actually happens.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting take on the reason that Meursault was sentenced to death. His honesty definitely causes him problems all the time, like when he upsets Marie by telling her that marriage doesn't mean anything to him. However, honesty isn't always the best thing for any situation (that's why the phrase 'brutally honest' exists) and Meursault ultimately discovers that too late.
ReplyDeleteNot only does honesty seem to get Meursault in trouble a lot, but so does the fact that he can’t hold his tongue. He could have easily downplayed his role in shooting the Arab, perhaps blaming it partly on Raymond and Masson without lying – after all, they were the reason he was on that beach at that particular moment. But he chose to absolutely twist the story in the worst possible way for himself, not omitting any incriminating part, and then digging himself into a deeper hole when he started talking about how he didn’t believe in God. I also thought your observation about honesty in society was interesting – we as a society do seem to place a lot of value on honesty, yet apparently turn around and condemn people for being overly honest, which seems hypocritical to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that Mersault is very blatantly honest about everything gets him in a lot of trouble. He doesn't quite understand the concept of a white lie. Sometimes it's best to play off of people's emotions in one's favor, but as we discussed during class, he seems to be largely disconnected from society. This probably contributes to Mersault's inability to lie and tell the truth in the right situations. I think that society rewards people that are able to lie and tell the truth in the right situations.
ReplyDeleteYour argument really made me think about Meursault's honesty. It is interesting to think that his honesty, which should be a virtue, makes him look less virtuous. Meursault's honesty is a strange trait on him, seeing as how he is more passive to other points of morality. Meursault will murder, but he will not lie. One seems more extreme than the other, but for some reason lying is one thing he will not do, even if it would benefit him. Yet, him killing the Arab, a decidedly less moral thing, doesn't benefit him at all. His morality is very strange. Great post, made me think a lot!
ReplyDeleteWhile I usually see honesty and bluntness as incredibly admirable, Meursault has a kind of ignorant honesty. He clearly cares about people, since we see him feeling bad about making his lawyer dislike him, but seems to be unable to grasp that his honesty hurts people. What really bothers me is, as you pointed out with Marie, sometimes he doesn't even tell the whole truth. He summarizes his feelings up into one shocking sentence while, if he had taken the time to fully explain himself, the repercussions would be greatly lessened. This is a really good post, and I definitely agree with your POV.
ReplyDelete