The Stranger #2

In this section The Stranger, one of the pervasive themes is the conflict between the basic concepts of existentialism and modern society. By exerting his individual will, Meursault lived a life that could be  called a self absorbed existence at best, and in doing so he found himself a criminal. He is exactly the sort of person that society does not want to exercise free will or choice. He is confronted by the many layers of society's expectations as his existence as a prisoner begins. His refusal admit to express the level of remorse that society has deemed appropriate in response to his mother's death casts him as a heartless monster. The magistrate attempts to convince him to believe in the absolute truth of religion. "He said it was impossible; all men believed in God, even those who turn their backs on him" (Camus 69). The average man cannot accept a world without a higher power guiding his actions. Rejecting such basic societal conventions completely removes an person's ability to empathize with and to understand him.