1/12/06: Essay in Victim of Society

In 1995, O.J. Simpson was found not-guilty of murdering his wife, Nicole Brown. Although, most evidence seemed to prove Simpson guilty, the jury believed otherwise. In some cases, such as Meursault’s in The Stranger, the defendant is found guilty. Many people would argue that Meursault killed the Arab in defense, but that would not explain why he shot the Arab five times instead of just once. Meursault clearly was not a compassionate person. When his mother died, he showed no signs of sadness, and did not even shed a tear. He continued his life just as he had before his mother had died and was not even in mourning. Shooting the Arab also did not seem to affect him. Although he showed no guilt after murdering the Arab, Meursault was undoubtedly guilty. Meursault was a simple but honest person. After the death of his mother, he continued life as though nothing had happened. “It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed.” In this statement, it is clear that Meursault had not cared that his mother had just died because nothing in his life had changed proving he is not an empathetic person. When Meursault’s girlfriend asked him if he wanted to marry her, he said it would not matter if he did or if he did not. “That evening Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to.” She then asked him if he loved her and he answered the same way he did about marriage and said, “It didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t love her.” With this statement, it is apparent that Meursault showed no love and believed whether or not someone loved another person did not matter. While in jail, Meursault spoke with the magistrate. “But he cut me off and urged me one last time, drawing himself up to his full height and asking me if I believed in God. I said no.” Since Meursault did not believe in God, the magistrate and others believed that Meursault assumed life was meaningless. Seeing as this was true, it would not be hard to believe Meursault had murdered the Arab. “I vaguely understood that to his mind there was just one thing that wasn’t clear to in my confession, the fact that I had hesitated before I fired my second shot…I was about to tell him he was wrong to dwell on it, because it really didn’t matter.” Meursault obviously shot the Arab five times, and although he hesitated before shooting him the second time, he still shot him more than once. What also makes him guilty is that he did not have a story as to why he did end up shooting the Arab five times instead of just once. Because of this, it is clear that Meursault was not shooting him in self-defense. On the day the incident occurred, Meursault had in his pocket, Raymond’s gun. The Arab was lying on his back, with his hands behind his head. As soon as the Arab pulled out his knife and slashed at Meursault’s eyelashes and stabbed at his eyes, he drew out his gun. “My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave; I felt the smooth underside of the butt; and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at the same time, is where it all started.” With this statement, it seems as though Meursault was merely trying to protect himself. The California Law for sel-defense against assault confirms, “It is lawful for a person being assaulted to defend himself or herself from attack if he or she has reasonable grounds for believing, and does in fact believe, that he or she will suffer bodily injury. In doing so, he or she may use such force, up to deadly force, as a reasonable person in the same or similar circumstances would believe necessary to prevent great bodily injury or death”(Lost Johnny & Self-Defense Zone, Inc). If Meursault had stopped there, he might have been able to plead guilty and say he was defending himself from the Arab. But Meursault did not stop there. “Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness.” Since Meursault decided to shoot the Arab four more times for no apparent reason, it is most definitely murder. Unlike O.J. Simpson, Meursault is guilty of murder. He has displayed a common pattern in his life of being uncompassionate. A man who showed no mourning for the loss of his mother and a man who showed no love for his girlfriend is the man who murdered the Arab. A man who does not believe in God is the man who had no reason or explanation for shooting the Arab four extra times. Many people believe in karma, what goes around, comes around. By unnecessarily shooting the Arab four more times, Meursault knew right then, he was guilty of murder.