Topic > Moral Dilemmas in The Stranger by Albert Camus

But it is easy to say that these are much more serious than simply abnormal human behavior. Meursault's behavior can be described as if he were a sociopath. He acts without any sense of moral responsibility, where one immoral activity is acceptable to him and another immoral activity is not. For him, life is not a series of right or wrong decisions, as normal, healthy people would see it, but he sees it only as "to do or not to do", meaning that he sees everything in his life simply as a decision that could be achieved, not as one that should or should not be achieved based on that particular person's moral compass. This is something that is extremely common in sociopaths. Meursault also acts without realizing the repercussions of his actions. From his conversations with the people around him it can be seen that whenever he is asked a question, Meursault shows complete disregard for anyone else's feelings and is brutally honest with people due to his social ineptitude. Rather than telling people what they would like to hear, as an act of giving the best impression of himself to others, Meursault says whatever is on his mind, which usually results in strange reactions from the "normal" people he is with. conversing. This lack of concern for the emotional well-being of others and his effect on it shows another very important example of Meursault's affliction of being textbook.