Set in colonial Algeria and translated from French, The Stranger explores Camus’ absurdist ideals and philosophies through its main character and the plot around him, as well as representing other notions that are explored throughout the fictional novel and tailored within the events of the story. As a result, the various characters and their interactions have a large part to play in introducing, fostering and incubating various notions that Camus agreed with as a result of his upbringing and ideology to successfully reach the goals he set to complete. These notions are integral to understanding the motivations, intentions and the different takeaways from Camus’ novel; forcing the reader to question every event, interaction and dilemma of Meursault’s and consequently what they are presented with. In this particular work, Camus uses the theory of “The Other” with the character of the Arabs in order to be inclusive of Algeria’s history.
The other is a philosophical notion which deals with the construction of majority and minority identities which links to the novel as the foundation for the context is laid out within the domination and subordination which colonialism relies upon. Camus first introduces the notion of “The Other” with his introduction of the use of the title “Arab” as a characterization for all of the indigenous people. This is first seen in the first chapter when Meursault visits the home, getting to know the caretaker and the director but not the Arab nurse; though not integral to the story, this is the first instance of the way Camus creates distance between the main characters and the indigenous Arabs. To add to this, in the start of the fifth chapter Meursault refers to the group of people following Raymond as “a group of Arabs”. Through refusing to refer to the Arabs by their names, Camus adds to the way in which he alienates and creates a disparity between the French and the Arabs for the reader; a disparity which was present in colonial Algeria’s history which came as a result of the French imposing their culture, language and ideals upon the indigenous people. Through this refusal to give the character of the Arabs personalized names at all during the novel, Camus is able to portray them to the reader as having a lesser value and importance which was a view closely held by the French who resided in colonial Algeria, showing us that racism resided even within those who seemed to be the most sophisticated. In this way, Camus uses Arab alienation in his story to be inclusive of Algerian history.
Throughout the novel, the contrast and juxtaposition between the detail and level of characterization within different characters is obvious. The Arabs are always portrayed as pieces of scenery and not given any important character roles, distinguishing features or emotions and instead are demonized in the story. This is seen when Meursault says, “ I saw a group of Arabs leaning against the tobacconists shop. They were starting at us in silence, but in that way of theirs..” as well as when he says, “there we found our two Arabs”. The effect this has on the reader is that it allows us to differentiate and understand the perspective that is being shown in the novel. Through giving the Arabs a lack of character depth and little importance in the book, Camus is able to construct the French perspective that would have been true at the time; the Arabs were nothing more than insignificant characters in their land and they were a constant threat to French livelihood. Whilst instead of giving the Arabs a personalized description, demeanor or value, Camus alternatively decides to present the Arabs as a threat to life in Algeria as well as showing them to be barbaric, uncultured and dangerous. Furthermore, this use of the other and alienation shows us the various perspectives that arise as a result. The French and European characters in the novel don’t see the Arabs as people or equals but, like the lack of personalization implies, they are instead seen as inferior and even more so as threats since they are demonized, reduced and depersonalized as the story continues. This colonial attitude would have been compliant to the French perspective at the time as following the French encroachment upon the Algerian culture, violent clashes and uproar erupted around the country creating an even greater divide between the two groups who were already at a rift. This in turn shows us that through this condensed characterization of the Arabs, Camus intends to relay the perspectives that would have been present at the time in order to be inclusive of this harsh reality of Algeria’s history.
Perhaps the most obvious use of the other within the novel is how Camus creates a disconnect between the characters and the Arabs with the way in which they are treated. In the story, the first instance of the Arabs being mistreated is seen with the abuse of the Arab mistress at the hands of Raymond Sintes; seen in the book when he says, “But first I smacked her around”. Raymond refuses to pay her what she needs, physically abuses her and manages to evade being punished. This is seen when the police come to investigate and he is only slapped for smoking in the police officers face rather than for abusing the woman; this in turn shows us that, to the French, smoking is more serious a crime than the abuse of this Arab woman. Specifically to Meursault, when Raymond approaches Meursault to write the letter he is initially unenthusiastic however once he learns that the woman is Arab, Meursault takes charge and writes the letter. This is seen in the novel when Meursault narrates, “When he told me the woman’s name I realized she was Moorish….I did it just as it came to me.”. This is also seen in the killing of the Arab in the final chapter of the first part of the book as to Meursault, these Arabs live and die without a name and their hardships, struggles and injustices they face are without a care from the Meursault and the pied noir characters alike. This shows that through Camus’ failure to gift the French and Europeans in the novel empathy and sympathy for the Arab characters, he is able to once again illustrate the extent at which the divide between the Algerians and the Arabs has reached. The Arabs are neglected and mistreated in the story In the same ways they would have been in real colonial Algerian history and his failure to present any empathy and sympathy to the European characters comes as a result of Camus staying true to the reality of real life events thus being inclusive of Algerian history.
Not only does Camus use his refusal to provide the Arabs with an identity in order to comply to the other and be inclusive of Algeria’s history, he also estranges the Arabs and dehumanizes them through the way the trial is carried out within the novel. The courtroom trial in the second part of the book is a symbol of the alienation within a colonial society as whole. Meursault kills the Arab man on the shore and fires 4 more times into his lifeless body, showing the wrath against the Arabs from the perspective of the French and Europeans. Following the homicide, the magistrate in the book questions him about his detached behavior during the funeral procession for his mother and about his refusal to accept god into his life. Meursault is accused for one crime but is punished and judged for what he is and not what he has done. During the trial, not a single Arab man is called in order to testify to the court; This shows that the life of the Arab man is unimportant and Meursault is seen as a threat to society, not because he took a life during his violent act, but because he refuses to comply with the societal norms in colonial Algeria. Camus uses this blatant injustice to further his message that being an Arab or an Algerian is detrimental to your quality of life and through this we are able to see that the divide he creates using the notion of the other throughout the book with the Arab has come full circle in its relay of the perspectives and attitudes of the French and the pied noir in colonial Algeria. This allows Camus to inject his most consolidated idea, that the Arabs faced injustice and mistreatment at all levels; whether it be a regular working man, a mistress or a nurse. This causes it to be inclusive of Algeria’s history as it brings to light one of Camus’ final strokes of the image he is trying to create for the reader, simply that, the French attitude was to keep the land and destroy the enemy which is a representation of the France’s role in Algeria’s history.
In The Stranger, Camus uses the theory of “The Other” with the character of the Arabs in order to be inclusive of Algeria’s history. Through his use of the title “Arab” as a characterization for all of the indigenous people and his refusal to provide them with an identity, the contrast between the level of characterization between characters, the mistreatment of the Arabs and their estrangement of the Arabs during the court proceedings show us the dark reality of Algeria’s history where the Arabs were treated as inferior to the French and suffered as a result. What allows Camus to do this is his upbringing in Algeria and what separates him from other authors who use the other in their work is that Algeria was a part of him and as a result his novel brings its history to light.