Trying to Understand the Mind of Meursault

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        Meursault is a very complicated character to say the least. He is very hard to connect with, as an audience member, and is very difficult to interpret. His actions and feelings are clearly stated, but the same question is asked by the audience every time something peculiar arises - why? Yes, he shot the Arab once, then paused, then again four more times, but why? It is clear that he was very emotionally detached from the death of his mother, but why? He is with Marie, someone who loves him very much, in which he returns no love to whatsoever, why? 

I believe it’s fair to say that Meursault is very disconnected with his feelings, which is why it is difficult for me as a reader to understand his mind. For example, at his mother’s funeral all he talks about is the bantering sun and how gruesome the heat is. I remember reading this in the first chapter and immediately thinking of him as an insensitive, selfish character. Although as the novel goes on, I find that there are more instances like this in which Meursault doesn’t seem to fully take in what is happening in certain moments. I’m intrigued to see where the rest of the novel goes, in the sense that I don’t want to believe that Meursault is heartless and cold.

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