Reflective statement
Reflective Statement on Albert Camus' The Stranger Meursaults' actions were viewed and analyzed in a classroom discussion of The Stranger. Many articles have shown the author Camus' emphasizing racism. He showed how rampant racism was throughout the setting in Algiers during the 20th century. His racist beliefs can be seen in multiple ways, all of them putting depicting arabs negatively in The Stranger. The Strangers' setting was vital to the story, because it gave a deeper meaning to the plot. In Algiers during the 20th century there was great tension between the native arabs and the French. This is the central concept the author Camu is trying to portray throughout The Stranger. It was emphasized in many ways to show an accurate view of how many were treated during the time. Many were considered second class citizens, and shown unfair treatment. In the novel arabs are depicted negatively many ways. The first is that no arab was given a name throughout the novel. Every single time there was a mention of a new character that was not an arab was given a specific name. The author does this to show all arabs are alike in a bad way. The arabs in the story are all shown in negative circumstances. The one arab woman that was present in the story was beat by her husband, and there is not a mention of it being wrong in any way showing more so how many arabs were treated during this time. Another can be seen when Meursault is in jail and the jail is populated with nameless arabs subtly inferring that arabs are all criminals and end up in jail. Even the main plot point is to emphasize how arabs are aggressive people by having them attack with a knife stabbing someone. A setting where racial tension is rampant in this 20th century Algier town. A deeper look into Camus beliefs can be seen in his writing where he shows arabs as an aggressive race who are all the same, which was shared by French in Algiers' during this time,