The plot of "The Outsider" is very simple, the protagonist is Meursault, who holds a fully uncaring attitude in life in terms of career and feelings in the future, cold and lonely, does not understand human feelings, has a loose style, makes friends carelessly, has no pursuit, no passion and no brain. An unintentional murder brought him to court and was eventually sentenced to be beheaded for public display, but the heavy sentence was not entirely against him for the crime of homicide, but for his "not crying at his mother's funeral."
But did Meursault really not love his mother? Non also. Meursault had a nature that "physical needs often interfere with my feelings." The reason why he did not show enough sadness was because on the day he buried his mother, he was tired and sleepy. And he did not like acting and cheating, did not understand human feelings, and would not cater to others, so he was defined by the French people as "self-isolated from human society".
Camus himself presents an undisguised praise for this attitude, in the preface to one edition of the edition he praises Meursault as "an outsider to the society in which he lived without playing tricks", "he refused to lie, he refused to pretentize his feelings, and society felt threatened", "He was a poor man, a frank man, who loved the light and righteousness", "a man who voluntarily died for the truth without any heroic deeds".
I can fully understand Camus's kindness and affection in shaping this image, but even he knows the end of such a person: because he understands that the mainstream culture of the world cannot in any way allow this attitude to spread and grow, and this slightly absurd judgment reflects the reality of our society.
The character of Meursault can be said to be Camus's living interpretation of his existentialism. Camus said: "For centuries, our understanding of the world has been limited to the appearances and contours we have predetermined. "Whether it is the authority of God, or the order and etiquette we take for granted, the path of life taught by our elders and countless books...
Most people are accustomed to this, like fish in water. However, one day, there was a string that suddenly broke, and everything changed. You enter a different state, difficult to grasp, unsure. A fortuitous flash of inspiration, or some sudden event, grabs a person out of the crowd and throws him into another environment. There, people feel strange and isolated, cut off from everything familiar in the old days, time and space are broken, they begin to be different, you can't help but become an exile, a... Outsiders.