Question 1

What is The Stranger about?

Accepted Answer

The manifesto of the absurd. Under the blinding Algerian sun, nothing matters. Meursault, a French settler, walks along a beach and kills a man—not out of malice, but because of the sun, the heat, and a terrifying indifference. He refuses to pretend to feel emotions he doesn't have, even at his mother's funeral.

The novel is a trial not just of a murder, but of a soul. Society condemns Meursault not because he is a killer, but because he is a stranger to their rules. He is the ultimate outsider, a man who would rather die than lie about his feelings. It is a chilling, hypnotic portrait of a universe stripped of meaning.

Question 2

Why should I read The Stranger?

Accepted Answer

It cuts through the noise of existence like a scalpel. Camus captures the terrifying freedom of realizing that the universe is indifferent to our hopes and suffering. It forces you to confront the silence of the world and ask: how should I live if nothing matters?

But in Meursault's refusal to lie, there is a strange, hard integrity. He is a martyr for the truth. Reading it is a liberating experience; it frees you from the exhausting need to perform, to pretend, and to conform. It is a cold splash of water for the soul.

Question 3

Who wrote The Stranger?

Accepted Answer

The Stranger was written by Albert Camus. Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French Algerian philosopher, author, and journalist who became the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize. He died in a car crash at 46 with a train ticket in his pocket, an absurd end to a life dedicated to exploring the absurd.

He rejected the label of existentialist, preferring to focus on the revolt against a meaningless universe. He believed that even if the world has no meaning, man must create his own dignity.

The Stranger

Summary

Why Read This?

About the Author

Reading Guide

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The Sound and the Fury

Lolita

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