‘Truth Kills’: A Cry of Honest Meursault, in Albert Camus’s Novel “The Stranger”

Abstract

Our Upanisad syas, “Satyameva Jayate” which means "Truth alone triumphs." Every religion, every sacred book, every philosophy and every philosopher teach us to speak truth. When a child starts learning we teach him “Don’t be afraid to speak truth, even you die speaking truth.” To be truthful is a godly nature. Our society always teaches and expects truthfulness from every individual. Truth always comforts our life. But in this world, there are so many people who are the victim of being truthful. They have suffered for truth even truth has killed them. One among the victims is Mearsault. What characterizes Meursault throughout the novel is his desire to represent a truthful personality. He doesn't want to lie and so the society perceives him as a stranger. Camus portrays a human being who shocks society by simply refusing to play the game. In the true sense, it is society which is a stranger to people who do not lie or fake. The people reading the novel for the first time are themselves strangers to the notion of the absurd and vainly try to judge Meursault according to the typical standards set so far. For the readers too, Mersault is "a stranger".