The Stranger- Journal #4

The change from Part One to Part Two affected not only Meursault's actions and responses, but also the syntax and structure of the book. When Meursault and the magistrate first meet, you get a glimpse of this change of syntax. "I was led into a curtained room; there was a single lamp on his desk which was shining on a chair where he had me sit while he remained standing in the shadows."(Camus, 61). This passage shows how Camus has changed the structure of the sentences, from ones that are very short and precise, to sentences that are long and flow nicely with many commas and semicolons. This change highlights the change in Meursault's thought process. He goes from being full of excuses and very limited to someone who is accepting of their actions and takes full responsibility for them. When Meursault gets arrested he changes from someone who looks for somewhere to put the blame and accepts who he is and what he has done.

Meursault changes from a person who does not utilize his space to someone who spends their entire day memorizing it. A few months after being in prison, Meursault finds a routine that helps him to waste time. "Sometimes I would get to thinking about my room, and in my imagination I would start at one corner and circle the room,"(Camus, 75). This quote shows the change in how Meursault values his freedoms and rights. At the beginning of the book, Meursault talks about how his apartment is to big for him and that he only uses one room. When Part Two starts, Meursault spends ample time memorizing all the details of his room, which shows him missing the luxuries of having a personal house. Meursault does not value his rights and freedoms before being sent to prison and this is being shown through the way Meursault treats his living space.

Once Meursault goes to prison, his habit of smoking ends. He discusses this after being sent to prison. "But by then I had gotten used to not smoking and it wasn't a punishment anymore."(Camus, 75). The smoking in the first half of the book represents a time filler and what Meursault does to appear purposeful and fit in with those around him. When Meursault goes to prison and is forced to quit smoking it shows him giving up being accepted and normal, and just begins to try and live his life. He no longer cares about being a normal human and following the patterns of normal human life to make himself appear purposeful.