The Stranger is a novel by Albert Camus. Albert Camus, Nobel Prize-winning French author, journalist, and philosopher, was born on November 7, 1913. He died on January 4, 1960. He was instrumental in bringing the philosophical views of absurdism to public attention. The Stranger was published in 1942 and is an example of the perspective and themes of Camus' philosophy of the absurd. Mersault, the narrator and protagonist, is The Stranger. He has cut himself off from the world. As he tells it, the novel is divided into two parts. In the first part he deals with daily affairs except for two important events. At the beginning of the novel his mother has died. He struggles to make ends meet, which is why he sent his mother to a nursing home in Marengo. This drew criticism from the community. At the funeral he does not feel the pain as expected nor does he worry about the formalities of mourning. The next day Mersault begins a relationship with Marie, who was once a typist in his office. They have a great time eating, swimming, watching movies and making love. The people, i.e. society, are horrified that he did not observe what is considered a proper mourning period for his mother. The first part also shows her involvement with her neighbor Raymond Sintes, who is a pimp. Raymond is vindictive, he beat his girlfriend because she was cheating on him, but he is not satisfied, he wants further satisfaction. She asks Mersault to write a harsh letter for him. This results in a second confrontation in which Raymond brutally beats her. Mersault agrees to testify for Raymond that the fight was caused by the girl. They travel to Masson's beach house, where they meet two Arabs, one of whom... middle of paper... conforms to society's expectations. The idea of ​​death makes one aware of one's life, of one's vital being – that which is impermanent and will one day end. When you appreciate this vitality, you feel free, because there is no urgency to perform some act that would cancel the possibility of death, given that such an act does not exist. In this sense every human activity is absurd, and true freedom is being aware of life in its reality and totality, of its beauty and its pain. The protagonist, Meursault, was an interesting character. His ideas and beliefs seem to point to a time when there is no more hope. Even if he manages to accept the fact that everyone dies and in doing so realizes that he can live better. He lives a controlled life where he takes responsibility for all his actions. This is a direct reflection of Camus' personal beliefs about absurdism.