Book 1 Chapter 5

ROBOTIC STATEMENTS FOLLOW ONE ANOTHER

" I eventually lost sight of her and turned back. I thought about how peculiar she was but forgot about her a few minutes later" (pg.44)

I chose this quote to represent the action in this chapter because here, Meursault is referring to a robotic lady he met at the local cafe he goes to. In this passage the reader begins to wonder if Meursault himself is in fact a robot. Early in the chapter it goes on to say how he is a hard worker who follows routine, and we know he is not capable of love when Marie asks if he would marry her. Meursault disregards her, stating that marriage makes no difference. To any mainstream person this would bring together the qualities of a robot. To further back up this robotic like character we see the contrast between him and Salamano. Salamano is so saddened to have lost his dog, yet Meursault does not even care when he loses his own mother. Camus has used irony in order for us to understand the depths of these characters. The handshake at the end of the chapter, between Salamano and Meursault reveals their intertwined lives for they both learn the true meaning behind life even though their characters are very different. Camus has made me think about how monstrous Meursault seems, his emotions are so contrasted to that of a normal being that again he brings us into this world of absurdity when we see that Salamano feels pain towards the death of Maman but yet her son does not feel the yearning to respond. Camus has brought up memories to explain the characters existence, and this occurs again later on in the novel. Robotic statements shows the lack of emotion in Meursault but yet draws us more than ever into his world.