Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary
devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Decay and Death
The different characters in The Stranger hold
widely varying attitudes toward decay and death. Salamano loves
his decaying, scab-covered dog and he values its companionship,
even though most people find it disgusting. Meursault does not show
much emotion in response to his mother’s death, but the society
in which he lives believes that he should be distraught with grief.
Additionally, whereas Meursault is content to believe that physical
death represents the complete and final end of life, the chaplain
holds fast to the idea of an afterlife.
An essential part of Meursault’s character development
in the novel is his coming to terms with his own attitudes about
death. At the end of the novel, he has finally embraced the idea
that death is the one inevitable fact of human life, and is able
to accept the reality of his impending execution without despair.
Watching and Observation
Throughout the novel there are instances of characters
watching Meursault, or of his watching them. This motif recalls
several components of Camus’s absurdist philosophy. The constant
watching in The Stranger suggests humanity’s endless
search for purpose, and emphasizes the importance of the tangible,
visible details of the physical world in a universe where there
is no grander meaning.
When Meursault watches people on the street from his
balcony, he does so passively, absorbing details but not judging
what he sees. By contrast, the people in the courtroom watch Meursault
as part of the process of judgment and condemnation. In the courtroom,
we learn that many of Meursault’s previous actions were being watched without
his—or our—knowledge. The Arabs watch Raymond and his friends with
implicit antagonism as they walk to the bus. Raymond’s neighbors
act as spectators to his dispute with his mistress and the police
officer, watching with concern or petty curiosity. At times, watching
is a mysterious activity, such as when Meursault watches the woman
at Celeste’s, and later when she watches him in court. The novel’s
moments of watching and observation reflect humanity’s endless search
for meaning, which Camus found absurd.
