Mersault from Albert Camus" The Stranger at first seems to be a character that no one can relate to, which makes sense because of the title of the novel. After listening to "The Stranger" by Billy Joel, however, Mersault does not seem so strange to me or any other readers anymore. The song helps to explain some of the inside feelings of Mersault and extrapolates beyond that by saying that anyone could succumb to the same feelings. In his song "The Stranger", Billy Joel uses his lyrical genius to make a universal connection with his "stranger", and by doing this makes a connection with Mersault from Camus" The Stranger. .
Throughout his song, Joel uses first person and second person pronouns to make a personal connection to his "stranger". Lines like, "Well we all have a face that we hide away forever and we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone they"re the faces of the stranger." (Joel1-5, 9) and, "Though we share so many secrets there are some we never tell." (38-40) are perfect examples of Joel's attempt to make a connection with the listener. The main point Joel is trying to make is that we all hide information from people, even people that are very close to us (For example, "Did you ever let your lover see the stranger in yourself?" [19-20].) and then expect those same people to reveal their inner secrets to us. The unhappy result when these people don't reveal these secrets ("Why were you surprised that you never saw the stranger?" [16-18].) is often rejection ("It was then I felt the stranger kick me right between the eyes" [34-35].) We need to let people "see the stranger" in ourselves before we expect anyone to do the same in return.
A similar parallel can be made to Mersault from The Stranger. In the novel, Mersault did not open up his feelings to anyone. He is emotionless at his mother's wake and funeral, his relationship with Marie is very hollow and superficial, and he shows no emotion during the events that led up to his murder of the Arab.
The beginning chapter sets up the problems of the entire novel with great efficiency. It tells us what is going on at present with Obi's trial and backtracks to the past in order to reveal what kind of man Obi is: an educated man, a young man who is Nigerian but who has studied in England. Most sign...
