The Stranger Dialogue

Adam Fox

Sasha Taylor

Period 1

The Stranger Dialogue

Adam: So I understand you’re going to be put to death

Meursault: Yes that is correct.

Adam: Do you want to talk about it?

Meursault: What’s there to talk about. The simple fact is that I am going to die.

Adam: Are you okay with dying?

Meursault: No of course I am not, I can't put my finger on why this has happened to me. Its seems as if every action that we as humans take and anything that happens in our world has no reasoning behind it. It is as if the world has a kind of indifference to everything that it is involved with. I don’t blame the universe, in fact I have come to realize that like the universe and I share an indifference to human affairs. We are almost brothers in that regard.

Adam: What have you done to try and find solace with your situation? Is there anything that makes you happy now?

Meursault: Well I have a new appreciation for the human existence and am content with my role in society.

Adam: What do you mean your content with your position in society?

Meursault: I don't mind being a hated criminal but I still wish to feel less alone. I know the closest thing I can get to having companionship though is by having a bunch of angry people at my execution. My execution will be the fulfillment of this new understanding.

(A)Adam: Oh I see, lets talk about the events that led you to this discovery. From the beginning you had felt some sort of loss, a big event must have been your mothers death and funeral yet when you said “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: “Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.” That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.” (pg 3) you showed no kind of remorse for your mothers death. Can you explain this?

Meursault: I never payed particular attention to the things that are going on in other peoples lives. Why is it necessary for me to shed tears or show emotion for something I can’t change? My mother died, thats a fact and if i'm being honest it just didn't bother me.

(B)Adam: Interesting, very interesting, I have come to the understanding that you are acquainted with a man named Raymond Sintes, knowing what he had done, you still went along with him and stated that “I didn’t say anything, and he asked me again if I wanted to be pals. I said it was fine with me….” (pg 29), how has this relationship affected you and why would you go along with him?

Meursault: Well Raymond is my neighbor. He stops by my apartment from time to time and we have dinner together sometimes. I don’t mind him and hasn't really affected me in anyway he has just kind of been there. He asked me for help with the situation with his mistress and I don’t really care all too much to think about what he is doing. It seemed logical and simple to me.

(C)Adam: I think I am starting to understand the type of man you are. Since we talked about Raymond, I was reminded that you currently have a girlfriend, her name is Marie if i’m not mistaken. How is this relationship going? Bright future? Dim?

Meursault: Well I have been sentenced to death so our future looks pretty dim to begin with her. But if I wasn't going to die soon then it probably wouldnt go much further anyway. For example, this on scenario kind of sums up everything between us:  "When she laughed I wanted her again. A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn't mean anything but that I didn't think so." (Part 1, Chapter 4, pg. 35.) Satisfaction for me comes first. I am only like her in the physical sense. So for me it can never genuinely be more but then again I don’t care so it for her maybe she could make it seem like more.

(D)Adam: Oh right, I got so caught up in this interview that I had completely forgot about your death sentence, I am so sorry.  It seems you have no remorse or sympathy or emotions at all, so is that the same case for killing the Arab?

Meursault: Well when you put it like that i guess so. A lot of times the presence of other people in my life has absolutely no bearing on me. It really came down to me being in the right place in the right time or I guess the wrong place at the wrong time. I could have been anywhere else but it just happened by coincidence. It had so little affect on me that I constantly had to remind myself that I committed the crime. I noticed this when "On my way out, I was even going to shake his [the policeman's] hand, but just in time, I remembered that I had killed a man." Part 2, Chapter 1, pg. 64.

(G)Adam: Ok, well, No matter how you got to where you are you will need to find a way to deal with your looming death. I know you have talked to magistrate. Most people being put to death find peace with him and God. But the magistrate has had a difficult time with you I have heard. He even questioned “Have you no hope at all? And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die , and nothing remains?”Pg 117. What was your response? What do you think about this coping method?

Meursault: There is no God. So I responded with a simple yes that is what I believe. People use religion as a crutch to avoid the living with the hard things in life, but really it doesn't help at all because it doesn’t do anything. The only thing I can do I face the absurdity of death instead of focusing on concepts that are abstract and not likely to happen.

Adam: I think throughout the course of this Interview I have learned a new side of you. I have come to the conclusion that you are right in many aspects. The universe is uncontrollable and some of the events that happen have no rationale behind them. As much as we would like to seek understanding about events that can happen in our lives we sometimes simply cannot. You truly have a different approach to dealing with your circumstance and through talking about your past experiences I can see how you came to be like this. I can sympathize with you however the fact does remain that you killed a man, maybe a death sentence is not the correct punishment for you but one consequences were needed. Thank you so much for you time and I wish you a peaceful death.

Meursault: Thank you for talking to me. All I can do is be the most honest I can.