The Stranger

First Reactions

• Damn the ending was good. That’s the essay I wanted to read lol. It feels like I’m reading the story of a dude dead inside. Not an intelligent dead dude, not the comically evil kind like in American Psycho, but just… dead.
• I remember reading about Raskolnikov and how that book worked. No fancy thoughts at the start, but somewhere along the way everything shifts. Same here. Meursault becomes more reflective near the end . A life examined, even if too late.
• He still doesn’t “feel” much, but he starts contemplating his own life. That’s new for him. The screaming at the priest at the end was cathartic, and I swear priests have been doing psychotherapy for centuries lol

Trial Thoughts

• The trial scenes felt absurd, but in a more coherent, almost Kafka-esque way. There’s no real reason to be dragging him the way they do.
• The prosecutor is trying to make a point and the lawyer is… doing his best. The whole trial just exposes the disproportionate nature of law.
• Earlier he’s not too into Marie, but by the end he’s basically enamoured. Their short adventures, the beach, the descriptions … it all feels like a tiny story inside the bigger story. Again, reminds me of Raskolnikov and Sophia. (I really need to read other analyses lol.)

Bigger Feelings

• I feel there’s more to life now that I’ve read the chapters on boredom and prison. There’s just so much to do.
• And it really takes a man describing prison to make anyone understand boredom lol. That’s the good part about art.