The Stranger

Wow. This book makes this question seem irrelevant to be honest. When I look at my question, whether mankind is strong or fragile, I try to analyze strengths and weaknesses in characters. In this novel, I have to first get inside the mind of Meursault, which is a trial in itself. Meursault appears simple- not having many thoughts, not doing too much with his life, but that apparent simplicity is what makes him so interesting. Meursault understands life. Probably better than most of us... in some ways. Meursault is accepting that he cannot change the past and cannot control the future and therefore doesn't bother trying to do either. In this respect, Meursault is strong. He can live almost entirely in the present and not be affected by his wrongs or his future, until the end of the novel. At that point, he realizes life is precious. This is where his strength begins to falter and he is almost surrendering himself to weakness. But in this novel, it seems that weakness isn't necessarily a flaw. When Meursault enters this fragile state, he becomes aware that life has meaning and the only thing that matters is living life. He recognizes the loss of freedom he now has and how he took it for granted before. Not to say that he is completely changed, though. Meursault still believes that the past is the past and therefore has no intention of trying to alter it, but he has a realization that he could have lived his life differently (whether or not he would have or even wanted to). I guess that I can't really answer my question definitively with this novel. Yes, mankind is strong, yet it is also susceptible to frailty. The difference this novel makes is that being fragile isn't always a fault; it can simply mean being open to the world instead of putting up walls and resisting growth. Mankind is strong, yet sometimes it is best if it would take a moment and embrace being fragile.