Surprisingly, no one showed up to arrest me that night. The Arab probably did not post a complain out of fear that he might be questioned regarding his dead accomplice which would be troublesome for him. The next day, Marie and I took the bus home. Raymond stayed back to discuss some business with Masson. I told Marie how beautiful she looked in her red dress and she returned the compliment by kissing me on the cheek. She was still unaware of the incident that took place at the beach. The ride back home seemed longer and more miserable. Congested places often get onto my nerves giving me the feeling that all of my freedom has been sucked out of me. Marie pushed herself towards me and that made my mood a bit lighter. I saw an elderly man with spectacles reading today’s newspaper and scanned if the paper had anything to say about the murder at the beach- nothing.
Salamano came hurrying out the moment he heard the door open. Marie went in, winked at me as she passed by and told me to hurry. “I found the filthy bastard! He was lying there, two streets away from rue de Lyon. I had given up all hope and decided to look for one last time. He just lay there, staring at me the entire time.” I was happy for him; the old man had found his life back. I congratulated him on his latest achievement and he couldn’t stop smiling. I turned to go but he suddenly said, “Do you believe in God? I had almost stopped believing but he gave me a reason not to.” And with saying that, he went back to his little shabby house where the Spaniel could be heard barking.
Marie was slumped between the bed cushions; wearing a long sleeved shirt. My desire to want her increased even more. Her stunning appearance attracted me as strongly as two magnets attract each other. We spend about three hours on the bed. Sleep came over me but Marie’s voice kept waking me up. I told her to repeat herself because I only caught half of what she said. “Will you marry me?” The doors of unhappiness now truly burst open, and the policemen dragged me out of bed. I looked at Marie, confusion clearly visible in her eyes; that and the lack of sleep annoyed me.
Statement of Intent
For my world literature 2 paper, I am doing an Imaginative or Creative Writing: an extra chapter in the novel- The Stranger. The extra chapter commences right after chapter six of part 1, immediately preceding part 2. It is a connection between the two parts and deals with the aftermath of when Mearsault shot the Arab. Many critics say that the intentional gap between the two parts is a beauty that makes the novel such an interesting piece of work. While the first part of the novel deals with normality transitioning to chaos and murder, the second part deals with establishing meaning and order in society. The separation of the two parts supposedly strengthens the literary aspect of absurdism because it leaves the reader with a sense of illogical chain of thought because of the sudden change in setting. I feel that the approach taken by Albert Camus gives the reader a choice of free thought where he can be creative and invent his own linkage as to how Mearsault ends up in prison which is wrong. The reader should be presented with the information that leads from one chain of events to another. In some cases, the reader might not be very creative or would not understand the depth of the author’s intentions. It is thus important that the information is provided; it does not have to immediately follow a chain of events but can be played around with. For instance, Camus could have presented Mearsault in part 2 of the book reflecting or recalling the events that took place after the murder ending him up in prison. This however would not apply to Mearsault because of his absurd character that lacks the tendency to reflect upon events. Thus, I found it important to include this extra chapter that extinguishes the gap of emptiness for the reader.
The tone used is sober, plain, and at times subtly ironic. Short and precise statements are used thus trying to fit this extra chapter flowingly into the novel, thereby trying to match the novels original style and give it the same feel as the rest of the book. Every incident that takes place in this extra chapter is carefully considered so that it does not break up the harmony of the book, linking both the former and subsequent part of the book. There are many elements of work on which I had to focus. Firstly, narration is in first person and is limited to Mearsaults own thoughts and perceptions. His description of the other characters is entirely subjective. Secondly, foreshadowing can be seen often in this extra chapter. For instance, Salamano asking the protagonist if he believes in God after he found his Spaniel is similar to the part where the Chaplain keeps rising similar questions to Mearsault when he is in prison. Thirdly, focusing on the absurdity of Mearsault was a major component that had to be kept in mind when writing the chapter. This was settled by focusing Meursault’s attention on his own body- his interest in his physical needs, on his physical relationship with Marie, on the weather, and on other physical elements of his surroundings. For instance, in the second paragraph Mearsault talks about how delightful it was when there was a sudden rainfall and the weight of the sun had been finally lifted from his back- a subtle irony for we know how much trouble the sun had got him into. The style, language, form, register, and audience have been tried to match the way Albert Camus actually wrote the “The Stranger” to give the reader the same sensuous and absurd feeling. It is written in such a way that if a reader who hasn’t read the book before should not be able to differentiate this extra chapter from the rest of the book.
WORKS CITED
"Albert Camus the stranger." Albert Camus Society UK. 20 Dec. 2008 <http://www.camus-society.com/the-stranger-albert-camus.htm>.
