The Stranger Journal #5

Camus creates two parts in The Stranger as a separation between an old, flat and emotionless Meursault from a more thoughtful, self examining Meursault.

One idea in Part 1 that is paralleled in Part 2 is the idea of rising and falling action occurring with the rise and fall of the sun. In Part 1, the day of Maman's funeral, the sun was up, and it was hot. As time drew nearer to night, Meursault goes to sleep, which is one of his ways to deal with stress. In part 2, after Meursault's lawyer's defense, "the sun was getting low outside and it wasn't as hot anymore." As the sun was falling, Meursault's future was being decided, which was falling action in comparison to the courtroom questionings.

Another idea that is paralleled between the two parts is Meursault's identity reflected in the syntax of the novel. In part 1, Camus uses short, choppy sentences, rarely going beyond basic structures. In Part 2, Camus extends the sentence structure and variety in length as a reflection of Meursault's growth. In the quote "So it seemed to me that you could come up with a mixture of chemicals that if ingested by the patient ( that's the word I'd use: "patient") would kill him nine times out of ten" (Camus 111). The word "so" is used to show that Meursault is now consciously connecting things together. The interjection of parenthesis is a representation of underlying thoughts that Meursault is sometimes aware of.