Camus demonstrates discrimination towards Arabs by making the Arabs take the antagonist role in the story. Camus demonstrates them as people who have a problem with Raymond and take the offensive in making the first move to change lives. When Raymond is talking to Mersault about hitting his former mistress, Camus writes “He’s been followed all day by a group of Arabs, one of whom was the brother of his former mistress(40). Camus justifies a reason for the Arabs to follow Raymond so the situation seems more realistic but Camus makes Raymond one of the protagonists’ friends so we view him as on the protagonist’s side which is Mersault’s side. Since the Arabs are Raymond’s enemies, the reader seeing that Raymond is good, would see the Arabs as the bad guys and by doing this he conveys the idea that Arabs are dangerous people and are out to hurt people.
Camus makes the Arabs follow Mersault and Raymond by placing them on the scene at random places just to create an idea that they are always watching to portray the idea that Arabs all Arabs are to be feared. When Raymond, Marie, and Mersault exit the police station, Camus writes “The beach wasn’t very far but we’d get there sooner that way… I saw a group of Arabs leaning against the front of a tobacconist’s shop. They were staring at us in silence, but in that way of theirs, as if they were nothing but stones or dead trees(48).” Camus changes up the tone in this quote to show a tense moment when it is unexpected to create an effect that the reader will see that the Arabs are serious and are to be feared. Mersualt is talking about fun at the beach when suddenly he sees a group of Arabs and his happy tone of voice stops and he begins to describe the Arabs in a serious manner. The author makes the Arabs perform a suspicious activity to draw the reader’s attention to make note that the Arabs are up top no good since the action is directed to the protagonist and his party.
The Arabs are intimidating and even though they are a minority in the story they are certainly used as the antagonist as a whole nationality of people. The judgment Camus credits is that all Arabs are seen as people up to no good and that they are discriminated by society. After the police station and the sight of the arabs, Albert Camus writes “Raymond told me that the second one to the left was his man, and he seemed worried…She wanted to get going right away(48).” Clearly the characters are struck with disturbance just by the sight of the Arabs. Camus uses diction to convey this. The fact that Marie wanted to leave “right away” shows that she is feeling intimidated by the arabs just by sight of them and wants to leave as soon as possible to avoid what she feels would be confrontation since she thinks the arabs are evil. Discrimination toward the Arabs is conveyed by Albert Camus.
Mersault is definitely different than all the people around him. He gets treated differently by the people who do not know him by premature judgment of him. During Mersault’s court process, the persecutor attacks him almost relentlessly making exaggerated claims of what a monster Mersault is. Camus does this to show the treatment of not someone who looks different, but someone who is different in his mind. Camus writes “I heard him say ‘Has he so much as expressed any remorse? Never, gentle. Not once during the preliminary hearings did this man show emotion over his heinous offence(100).’” The author makes the prosecutor make exaggerated inferences about Mersault in the way he is and how he lacks common sense from the rest of society. Never is Mersault’s differences ever mentioned that it could be a medical disorder nor any offer for some help to treat him. The prosecutor goes straight to the point that Mersault has to die on the basis of the idea that Mersault lacks emotion that the rest of society has. Camus creates the events this way to show the tendencies of society to discriminate the people that are different.
Camus wants to say that people who are different are treated unfairly by society. During the closing statements of the court, Mersault says “He stated that I had no place in society whose most fundamental rules I ignored and that I could not appeal to the same human heart who elementary response I knew nothing of(102).” Camus is making the prosecutor to say that since Mersault is different and that he can not understand the normal average human heart, he can not be treated like he has a human heart. This makes the reader feel the discrimination that Mersault is facing that his fate is being judged fully by what society think he is and he should not be spared because he thinks differently in a world of people who share the common senses.
In the passage, Fumbling a little with my words…I blurted out that it was because of the sun. People laughed(103).” Camus suggests that even being honest, when you are different, is does not matter, people will still discriminate. Camus makes Mersault “blurt out that it was because of the sun” to discredit Mersault even more from the rest of society. Society already thinks he is out of his mind already since he does not have remorse, so this crushing embarrassment would just discredit Mersault even more. He is already mentally different, and with an answer like that, which was ridiculous to the rest of society where the sun does not affect them, this was just crazy talk. Camus does this to show how society treats people who are different.
Albert Camus uses society to show how discrimination works in the world. Any difference can cause society to pick up on your minorities, and/or differences to treat you differently. In the case of the Arabs, it is racism and in the case of Mersault it is his flaw of being emotionally challenged.
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