Chance is a force assumed to cause events that cannot be foreseen or controlled. Taking responsibility for chance seems like a ridiculous thing to do because it happens without human intentions. However, taking responsibility for these chances is a key idea in existentialism. In The Stranger, by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is faced with chance events from the beginning. The novel starts out with Meursault attending his mother, mamam’s, funeral. Later in the novel he kills an Arabain in order to protect himself, which eventually leads to his execution. Meursault takes responsibility for the unpredictable events that occur around him, in order to show that his decisions decided his fate, and Camus uses these ideas to convey that it is up to the individual to create their life and by accepting their fate, they will be happy.
Throughout the novel, Meursault is constantly taking responsibility for events that were not his fault, events that happened by chance. After the funeral of Meursault’s mother, Meursault goes with his lover, Marie to the movie theater. They are viewing a fernandel film when she notices that Meursault is wearing a black tie which symbolizes mourning. Meursault tells Marie that his mother has just passed away. Meursault “[feels] a little guilty”(20) at the fact that his mother had just died. The only way guilt can be felt is by taking responsibility for an event. Meursault’s guilt seems to have no cause. The fact that his mother died is just chance. It is so uncertain that it could of happened to anybody, but by feeling guilty, he is taking some responsibility for this uncertain event. Later in the novel, Meursault helps his neighbor, Raymond, by writing a letter to Raymond’s ex-girlfriend to make her feel sorry for cheating on him. After writing the letter, Raymond comments that Meursault is “a pal”(33) for completing this task. Meursault takes responsibility for this friendship by answering “Yes”(33) to Raymond’s comment (33). It is purely chance that Raymond thinks of Meursault as a friend. “Yes” implies that there is a decision. Yes I am his friend or no I am not his friend. Meursault inadvertently makes the decision that he is indeed his friend. A decision is a form of taking responsibility and that is exactly what Meursault is doing by answering “Yes” to Raymond’s comment. After Meursualt becomes friends with Raymond, he agrees to go to Masson’s, a character that happens to be friends with Raymond as well, beach house. While at the beach, Raymond, Masson, and Meursault begin to fight with a group of Arabs. Later on, Meursault encounters one of the Arab men alone on the beach. The Arab man takes out a knife and aims it at him. Meursault then takes out his gun and shoots the Arab in self-defense. Meursault then “[fires] four more times at the motionless body” (59). It is solely chance that Meursault would need to shoot the Arab for self-defense. Firing the gun four more times at the body shows that Meursault is taking responsibility for killing the Arab. Firing the gun once is a chance but firing the gun four times is a choice. Meursault made the choice to shoot four more times, in order to take responsibility for killing the Arab to begin with. Whether Meursault’s mother dies or Meursault kills an Arab, Meursault will take responsibility for every event no matter how uncertain the situation is.
The decisions that Meursault makes throughout the entire novel, determines when and where Meursault will die. During one of the court hearings, different witnesses are being called to the stand, the first one being the director of the home that his mother, Mamam was put in. The director told the court that Meursault showed no emotion at his mother’s funeral. After this information is divulged, the prosecutor directs a very “triumphant look in [Meursault’s] direction” (89). Meursault becomes a guilty man because of his decisions at his mother’s funeral. His choice to see a comedy with Marie the day after the funeral and the fact that he didn’t mourn his mother on the day of the funeral, were the deciding factors of his fate. The courtroom used these incidences in order to try Meursault as guilty. After Meursault agrees to be friends with Raymond, Raymond calls Meursualt and “[invites] [him] to spend the day Sunday at his little beach house” (40). Being friends with Raymond lead to a number of harmful consequences. It happens to be chance that Meursault even becomes friends with Raymond in the first place. If Meursault had not made friends with Raymond, then he would never have gone to the beach house and thus would not kill the Arab man. However he does become friends with Raymond and kills the Arab man which directly leads to his arrest and eventually his death. When Meursault arrives at the vacation house a fight starts between the Arabs and Meursault, Raymond, and Masson. After the first fight, Meursault is found alone on the beach with another Arab. The Arab pulls out a knife. Meursualt reacts by killing the Arab with a revolver. Doing this was like “knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness” (59). After taking responsibility for killing the Arab, Meursault is faced with many problems at the court. Killing the Arab causes him to get arrested which is the most direct link to his fate at the end of the novel. Taking responsibility for a chance event like self-defense kills Meursault in the end. By taking responsibility for his mother’s death, agreeing to be friends with Raymond and deciding to murder the Arab man, he shortens his life..
Camus uses the idea people creating their own fate, to show the reader that individuals have control of their lives and accepting it will make them happy. Throughout the novel we see this, especially in the idea that Meursault controls his fate by taking responsibility for all of his actions, no matter how uncertain the events are. During Meursault’s final days, he finds that he will be executed for the murder. Meursault then realizes that he “is happy” (123). According to existentialism one can only be happy once one accepts fate. Meursault is indeed, accepting his fate. He realizes that he has made the decisions that led him to the point which he is at now. This is what truly makes Meursault “happy”. The only time Meursault is happy in the novel, is at the end, when he finally accepts his fate.
Meursault deals with responsibility differently than most people do. Meursault takes responsibility for numerous unsuspecting events that happen to him. He takes responsibility for the death of his mother, becoming friends with Raymond and also killing the Arab, all of which seem to happen by chance. By acting the way he did the day of his mother’s funeral, deciding to have a friendship with Raymond, and murdering the Arab sets himself up for his own execution. However, Meursault is only happy at the end of the novel when he realizes that the choices he has made decides his fate. These are key ideas of existentialism. Taking responsibility for events that have no cause is an idea that is actually not all that ridiculous, because according to The Stranger, deciding your fate, and accepting it, will make you happy.
