Journal #3: The Stranger

I think Camus divided The Stranger into two parts in order to show the change in Meursalt's attitude towards life.  Camus uses longer syntax as a textual way of changing how the reader perceives Meursalt's thoughts.  "But at the same time, and for the first time in months, I distinctly heard the sound of my own voice" (81).  This longer syntax creates the feel that Meursalt is thinking more in depth, which is true because he is reflecting back on things a lot more than earlier in the book. "And the more I thought about it, the more I dug out of my memory things I had overlooked and forgotten.  I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison.  He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored" (79).  Meursalt is just now learning the value of reflecting back on his life.  He concludes that memories are what is really important to us, especially if our life is no longer under our control, such as his is because he is in prison.  This shift in mindset was purposely put in place by Camus in order to illustrate the philosophy of existentialism, where on tries to make their life have purpose through the things they do.  Meursalt, through recollection of his memory, is trying to figure out whether his former life had purpose because now, due to prison, he is no longer in control of his actions.