This story by Camus was pretty twisted, but I think it had some really good lessons and thoughts throughout it. Meursault was a very abnormal character that Camus introduced us to. But if you look beyond his insensitivity and numbed mind, there are some things that you can learn from him. Even though he acted much differently than society would and expects, he did value something. And that was staying truthful to himself and to others. Even when he was ridiculed two different times for not showing any remorse for his actions or even believing in a higher being, Meursault held true to what he really thought. Even when it could of spared his life. He found no reason to lie to others about the way he truly felt and take any concern of how they may react to his beliefs. Something I did find that was kind of unusual was how Meursault stopped his friend, Raymond, from killing his mistress’s brother but actually committed the crime later. And for no apparent reason either. The only thing I can come up with is that he really hadn’t discovered yet what his true values were (or what little he may have had) until he attacked the chaplain. I guess even before that though, he didn’t quite know what he truly believed. For example, attending his mother’s funeral seemed to be just a task that needed to be done because that’s what you are expected to do. I think whether he went to it or not, it really wasn’t going to have an effect on him. He was just going because it was part of the societal norm. And even though the story seemed like it had random events going on throughout it, I think if you look a little closer, you can see a type of progression towards Meusault figuring out what he truly believed. But like I mentioned before, the one thing that remained constant was him being truthful. And I think that is what brought him to the realization that he did have some kind of value in life. Even if that value was that there is no purpose for humans except for the inevitable death and that there was no supreme being, he at least had something. I think this can relate back to societies, engulfed by each other’s differences. As twisted as we Americans may think terrorists can be, we can’t say that they don’t have any values or beliefs. It is actually because of their values and beliefs that lead them to their actions that are very hurtful and painful towards us. We deem their behavior immoral
