“In our society any man who does not cry at his mothers funeral is liable to be condemned to death”. By referring closely to ‘The Outsider’, what would you say that Camus means by this remark, and would you agree?

In Albert Camus’ novel, ‘The Outsider’, we are faced with a man in Meursault, who displays a unique indifference to the world around him. Camus uses this indifference as a medium to air his views on his society as a whole.
The novel begins with the casual assertion, “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know”. Immediately the reader is under the impression that Meursault is callous and insensitive. The reality is that he knows he should be feeling guilt and remorse, but in the face of such a tragedy, he does not and therefore turns to an apologetic atmosphere, “It’s not my fault”. Meursault almost feels guilty about not feeling guilty. However, he also shows that he will not hide his feelings simply because society says he cannot feel them. He understands that he should be upset over his mother’s death, “I wanted to see mother straight away”, but also realises that it is pointless to be upset. An attitude which is conveyed when he has a ...