Honesty and Cooperation: The Death of Meursault
The Stranger ’s Monsieur Meursault is an almost inexplicably unique character: his actions and thoughts are so unlike most of ours that it can be difficult to pick apart his decisions and explain them in terms that make sense to us. Most confounding of all, I would say, is his unwavering attachment to the truth: not rooted in a moral inclination to pursue an honest lifestyle, as is the motivation for most, but rather an unconscious inclination he has to speak the truth. Essentially, his honesty is not one of moral obligation, but of bluntness. Honesty is widely seen as a much preferable option to dishonesty today, lies often being hurtful and the truth being the better option in the long run. However, in The Stranger , Meursault’s constant narration of the truth is essentially his downfall. Though he could have easily provided a somewhat untruthful defense in a case that could have been significantly tilted in his favor, he never once spoke a statement that wasn’t th...