Camus: Post Class Discussion

During our first discussion, Linda Y. has mentioned the importance of the jail. She said that the jail is where Meursault reflects on his life in the past. It is where Meursault realizes the mistakes he had make in the past and where he feels regretful of the past.

The jail has a great impact on Meursault. The normal Meursault, before going to the jail, is emotionless. He did not care about anything or anyone around him. However, the Meursault who went through a series of trials in court and who had been in jail was “softened.” In the book, Meursault was “for the first time in years [having a] stupid urge to cry, because [he] could feel how much all these people hated [him]” (90 Camus).

The prosecutor tries to prove to the juries that Meursault was guilty through a series of evidence that proved Meursault’s evil nature. Meursault thinks that these evidences were, indeed, accurate. This means that he, too, believes that he, himself, is evil by nature. This is shown in the following passage:
“He [the prosecutor] reminded the court of my insensitivity; of my ignorance when asked Maman’s age; of my swim the next day—with a woman; of the Fernandel movie; and finally of my taking Marie home with me. It took me a few minutes to understand the last part because he kept saying ‘his mistress’ and to me she was Marie. Then he came to the business with Raymond. I thought his way of viewing the events had a certain consistency. What he was saying was plausible. I had agreed with Raymond to write the letter in order to lure his mistress and submit her to mistreatment by a man ‘of doubtful morality.’ I had provoked Raymond’s adversaries at the beach. Raymond had been wounded. I had asked him to give me his gun. I had gone back alone intending to use it. I had shot the Arab as I planned” (99).

While waiting for his sentence, Meursault was locked up in the jail. There, he “was assailed by memories of a life that wasn’t [his] anymore, but one in which [he’d] found the simplest and most lasting joys: the smells of summer, the part of town I loved, a certain evening sky, Marie’s dresses and the way she laughed” (104). He regrets for him being careless, and for over looking those things that are important to him. His Maman is important to him, but he didn’t pay much respect to her at her funeral. Marie is important to him, but he said that he “probably didn’t love her” (41). He overlooked the importance of those around him and he regrets it.

The jail is not the only thing that had influence on Meursault. He was also influenced by the fact that he was “on the edge of the cliff.” Knowing that he will be given a death sentence if he was proven guilty has a great effect on him. He does not want to die. Knowing that his chance of being given a death sentence is fairly high, he thinks back to what has happened to him in the past to see if he has “missed” anything.

If I am suffering from an extremely serious illness and I know that I will die soon, I would think about my past. I would “look” through it carefully to see if I had missed anything and to see if I want to fix something that I did wrong. The problem with us is that we never think about those things that had happen to us until the day we die. I believe that Camus is trying to convey the idea that we should always care about things and people around us before it’s too late.