The Role of Nature and the Body, Essay Example

Values and Meaning: Intrinsic or Manmade?

The Stranger and Utilitarian Morality

In Albert Camus’s existentialist novel entitled The Stranger, the main character, Mersault is entirely isolated from the rest of society. The entire premise of the book favors the argument that there is no God or higher being, and that therefore, all value exists in the life of the individual. The moral and ethical dilemmas faced by Mersault’s character are decided without the intrinsic values supposed by the existence of a God or higher power. The answers that Mersault comes to must be answered by his own conscience, which is derived from experience – a fundamental tenet of the utilitarian philosophy.

Utilitarianism is a philosophical movement essentially defined by what pleases the most people. Morality is defined by the majority. The trend that follows is one of hedonistic pursuits with the avoidance of pain. Initially, this philosophy was delineated by Jeremy Bentham and later expounded on by John Stuart Mills. Utilitarian proponents view all things as measured by the amount of happiness they can elicit rather than the intrinsic value. The moral compass of any individual is gained from actual experiences, rather than any set of core values instilled in the individual by a higher power.

Utilitarianism has largely been successful amongst the English, who consider all experiences derived from the five senses. This doctrine is contrary necessitates a physical experience as a means of understanding right from wrong, morality from immorality. The lineage of such a concept can be traced back to Hobbes’ code of ethics as measured by what best serves the individual while disregarding others. However, the utilitarian ideals are more carefully crafted, taking consideration of the greater good for the greater number of individuals.

It is true that a perfect society in which all can be perfectly content is impossible. Therefore the only possible recourse is to try to please the majority. That is the fundamental premise of a democracy which holds to a standard of majority rule. As exemplified in various democracies around the world, a rule by the people has tremendous success while political regimes that are totalitarian in nature are not as successful socioeconomically.

In Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Mersault is indifferent to his morally reprehensible acts. He represents the universe in his detachment to the events in his life. Even Camus’s style of of using first person to convey the story of his protagonist Mersault gives the impression of his conscience and the adopted morality that guides his thoughts throughout the course of the novel. Mersault shows no remorse or grief at the funeral of his mother, which is appalling to most readers whose morals and conscience dictates a heavy grief at the loss of a loved one.

Mersault is made aware of his mother’s passing via mail. In response, he requests two days off from this job and visits the nursing home, Marengo. The director of the home makes it clear that the mother was much happier at the home than she was with her son Mersault due to the fact that she was with people her own age.  After a conversation with the director, Mersault is given an opportunity to go to the mortuary and see his mother. Rather than viewing the actual body, he elects to merely sit next to the coffin containing his deceased mother. After enjoying a cigarette, he falls asleep next to her coffin until Maman’s friends come in.

When Maman’s friends come, Mersault feels as though he is being judged because he is so emotionless despite being the son of the deceased. When one woman begins sobbing, Mersault is later told by the caretaker that Maman was the only friend that the woman had.

The first sentence in the book is one of the most famous in classical literature: Maman died today. It is immediately followed by Mersault’s admission that he has no idea when it could have happened. Mersault is not sure of a date or time and allows this to occupy his entire thoughts on the matter. There are no other emotions conveyed. His only thoughts are on the uncertainty of the time.

The overall jarring response is conveyed in Camus’s prose. Each description is concise and to the point as the reader is left to see each mundane action Mersault undergoes, with an absent of any sentiments conveying the emotional response of the main character. Completely random thoughts including those involving his favorite restaurant. Paradoxically, the narrator is the focus of the entire novel while the narrator and protagonist himself is completely distanced emotionally from all that is going on around him. This is emphasized by the narrator’s repeated nodding off.

Chapter two begins with Mersault awakening from a long, refreshing twelve hour sleep. The readers have been a very detailed account of Mersault’s life and daily activities, which he accomplishes with an equal aloofness. His mother’s death is viewed as a mere inevitability in life. This is the practical view of death. and it’s something of which all people are aware. However, the mere fact that the death of someone is a ‘natural part of life’ doesn’t make it painless. The vast majority of people become distraught and and emotional upon learning of the death of a loved one. This response has been denoted as a programmed response through proponents of utilitarianism philosophy; i.e. the only reason an emotional and grieving response is seen in most people is because that is what the accepted ‘norm’ is. The majority of people respond that way to the news of a death and therefore, the majority represents morality. This is the central tenet of utilitarianism.

The Stranger conveys the moral and ethical conflict within the character of Mersault. The famous opening of Mersault in which Mersault goes swimming at the beach in a seemingly-callus response shows how he is indifferent to the death of his mother. At the beach he meets Marie Cardona – a woman who he has had a romantic attraction to for some time.  They see a comedy together – further lending to the callous nature of Mersault toward his mother – and he spends the night with Cardona.

At work the next day, Mersault goes to work and his boss asks about his mother. He mentions she was sixty when she dies, and that is all Mersault has to say on the subject. When his friend Raymond has a girlfriend who is cheating on him, Mersault watches and doesn’t stop it when Raymond beats his girlfriend severely. In addition to these examples, Marie Cardona asks Mersault if he loves her, only to flatly be told no. This is the overall theme of callousness and cruelty toward women seen in the character of Mersault. Later when he loses his dog, he is genuinely upset, showing that a pet is more important to him than any of the women with whom he has interacted since the beginning of the novel.

At the conclusion of the novel, Mersault comes to a realization involving the emotional state of the world. It is utterly indifferent. This provides little solace to him in his remaining days before he will die after murdering an Arab with four bullets. While he is in prison, he is visited by Marie, and is equally indifferent toward her. He has become used to his life behind prison walls and sleeps two-thirds of every day to make the time pass faster. His entire life seems to be spent in a series of mundane and emotionless encounters.

Mersault in his final days is repeatedly visited by a chaplain, who is usually sent away. He admits he does not believe in God. He convinces himself of the meaninglessness of life and begins to forget one day from another. Each day meshes together until he does not know what is yesterday and what is today. His sanity is slowly leaving him, but he remains content mentally. He accuses the chaplain of being dead inside because he merely waits for something that comes after death.

Mersault’s lawyers give their closing arguments for his case. The prosecutor claims the murder was premeditated. The recreation of events seems plausible even to Mersault. He is baffled by how the issue of his guilt is made stronger by the fact that he is intelligent. Despite his intelligence, Mersault is eventually convicted on the fact that he simply cannot show remorse for his crime. The prosecutor concludes that Mersault’s soul is empty.

When Mersault testifies, he explains he did not intend to kill the Arab. When he is asked the reason for his actions he blurts out something about the sun causing it. His defense lawyer is not able to give a compelling argument as to why Mersault should not be put to death. As a result, Mersault is sentenced to death. The trial at least succeeds in depressing him. He excludes himself from further participation. When the people sentence him to a beheading, Mersault has nothing to say.

The two things that preoccupy Mersault a lot in his final days are thoughts of his appeal and the dawn. He waits all night long for the arrival of the executioners. Although his practical concept of life and its eventual decline into death has comforted him before, it does not as he awaits his own death. He can not stand the thought of actually going through with an appeal. He must convince himself of the impossibility of actually gaining an appeal. This concession gives him his final and only moment of complete tranquility.

At the conclusion, it is realized Mersault has no feelings of love or grief for anyone in his life. He is merely empty. This is clear in his conduct throughout the novel and lends to the entire theory that morals are not intrinsic. They are not instilled in anyone at birth, which is a utilitarian premise. The novel embraces this way of life and while the protagonist is portrayed as loathsome because of his lack of emotion, the premise is still clear: Values are obtained and not intrinsic in anyone.