The Stranger

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death, graphic violence, gender discrimination, and racism.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Some people find The Stranger darkly funny, while others contend that it is not meant to be comic in any way. Conversely, many readers find the plot of The Stranger upsetting and alienating. What is your opinion? What reaction do you imagine Camus is trying to provoke with this book?

2. Like The Stranger, Camus’s novels The Fall and  A Happy Death, his play Caligula, and his collection of essays The Myth of Sisyphus all explore absurdist and existentialist ideas. Have you read any of these other works? How would you compare their ideas to those expressed in The Stranger?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. How did your reactions to the death of Meursault’s mother and Meursault’s killing of the man on the beach compare to or contrast with Meursault’s own reactions? Did you learn anything about your own emotional makeup in reading this novel?

2. Did you have any sympathy for Meursault? Do you think you are meant to? How do your own experiences influence your answer?