Second paragraph:

To shoot or not to shoot?  The fact that Meursault even has to decide which is the right thing to do, when he confronts the Arab on Raymond’s behalf, ultimately illustrates the peculiar character that he is.  He seemingly lets himself be manipulated by Raymond into holding the gun, and then inexplicably crossed a line that cannot be uncrossed, when he murdered the Arab in cold blood with five bullets in the chest.  The worst part of his actions is not that he does not realize the severity of them until he becomes alienated from everything in life that he once had and liked, such as his “friendship” with Raymond and his wife-to-be Marie.  Meursault shows his frail nature, when he states that the sun is the reason he shot the Arab.  When he makes statements such as “the sun was overpowering” or “blinding”, he implies that he was the victim in the scenario, which he was not.  While his murder was not premeditated, he deserves to pay the price for his horrid actions.  Not only is he frail physically, but he is also weak mentally.  “I thought that if I said no he’d get himself all worked up and shoot for sure” (Camus 56).  Meursault had the opportunity to convince Raymond to walk away from the proceeding skirmish, but decides he does not want to overstep his boundaries and cause harm.  But his inaction is the reason he will either be executed or sit in a prison cell for potentially the rest of his life.

First paragraph:

Monsieur Meursault’s lack of personality is purposefully displayed in order that the reason question his every decision and lack of emotion overall.  Meursault’s complete lack of emotion after learning his mother (Maman) expresses the fact that he simply does not know how to act properly as a human.  At times, it feels like he is programmed like a robot to tell the reader his every activity, regardless of whether it seems trivial or not. Meursault goes off on many a tangent like this:  “The sky was green; I felt good.  But I went straight home because I wanted to boil myself some potatoes,” (pp. 26).  It seems as if Meursault is attempting to overcompensate for the time he previously spent traveling to his mother Maman (whom he had put in a retirement home over two hours away) by noticing every tiny detail in life, instead of doing what any normal human does after a death to a close loved one or kin, and that is to GRIEVE!  While every human is entitled to grieve in any way that he or she pleases, Meursault attempts to go back into his daily routine as if “nothing had ever happened.”  He chooses to worry about his boss might be irate that he took so many days off from works, instead of worrying about seeing his mother’s face for the last time ever.  Meursault’s lack of emotion comes off as disrespectful to his mother’s legacy, as it seems he is more concerned about how the coffee at the vigil tastes than how the actual funeral procession is going.