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1-Page Summary of The Stranger
Overall Summary
Meursault is a shipping clerk living in Algiers. He lives with his mother, but he eventually sends her to an old people’s home because she isn’t happy there. The novel opens when Meursault gets a telegram saying that his mother has died. It doesn’t upset him, though he goes to the director of the home and they talk about it. The director tells Meursault that his mother was happier at the home than she would have been in Algiers and arranges for a religious funeral, even though Meursault says that she wasn’t religious. At the mortuary, Meurseult surprises everyone by declining to see his mother’s body; instead they drink coffee together and smoke cigarettes while sitting vigil over her coffin with friends of hers who are crying loudly. In the morning after the funeral procession ends up back at where it started from for another church service, Thomas Pérez shows up as well; he was Mme. Meursaults’ closest friend (and rumored fiancé). They walk across this hot landscape until they get to church for this second funeral service which seems like no more than five minutes long before ending abruptly so everyone can go eat lunch together outside on their break time during work hours without being paid overtime or anything else extra besides what they’re already getting paid for doing nothing all day while taking off half-an-hour early so everybody can go eat lunch together outside on their break time during work hours without being paid any overtime or anything else extra besides what they’re already getting paid for doing nothing all day except take off half-an hour earlier just so everybody could go eat lunch together outside on their break time during work hours without being paid any overtime or anything else extra besides what you’re already getting payed…
On Saturday, Meursault goes to the beach and meets Marie. They swim, flirt, see a comedy show together and go home with each other. She is surprised when she hears that his mother just died on Monday. On Tuesday night, Meursault’s neighbor Raymond invites him over for dinner and tells him about how he wants revenge against his mistress who cheated on him. He gets Meursault to write a letter luring her back so that he can shame her in front of everyone at the party they’re planning to throw for their friends. Pleased with himself, Raymond now considers Meursault as his friend because of this favor he did for him.
The following Saturday, Meursault hears Raymond beating his mistress. He frees her by calling the police. Later, he meets Salamano who is heartbroken after losing a dog that he pretended to hate all along. At work, Meursault declines a transfer to Paris because “nothing matters.” Marie asks him if they should marry but he says she shouldn’t if it doesn’t matter to her.
On Sunday, Marie, Meursault and Raymond go to Masson’s house. Raymond is worried that the Arab will follow him there because he had an affair with his sister. At the beach, Meursault and Marie are enjoying themselves. They run into the Arab and his friend on their way back from a walk in the sand dunes. The two men get in a fight but Raymond surrenders when he gets cut by knife of one of them. Furious about being beaten up, Raymond wants to return to fight again but Meursault convinces him not too after they meet up with the Arabs again at a bar later that night. Dizzy from heat exhaustion, Meursault wanders alone along “the dazzling red glare” of sun reflecting off it until he meets up with the Arab yet again who draws out his knife as if planning to attack him but before anything happens Meursault shoots him dead instead which surprises everyone including himself because he didn’t think anyone could be killed so easily like that.
