be sure This shows his indifference from the first line He takes the bus On the way he feels sleepy At the old home the Director tells him the coffin is sealed The Caretaker asks to open it but Meursault refuses to see his mother s face He spends the night by the coffin He drinks coffee He smokes He listens to the Caretaker s endless talk The next day the funeral takes place Thomas P rez his mother s companion walks under the hot sun and nearly faints Meursault notices only the sun and the heat He says very little He does not cry After the funeral he returns to Algiers calmly He says Mother now was buried and tomorrow I d be going back to work as usual This shows his detachment Society later sees him as heartless Meursault and Love The very next day Meursault meets Marie Cardona at the beach They swim They laugh They spend the day together In the evening they go to the cinema and watch a comedy Later they spend the night together Meursault says Marie came that evening and asked me if I d marry her Meursault answers coldly I said I didn t mind if she was keen on it we d get married He even agrees to marry her if she wishes Marie loves him but he feels indifferent His response confuses her but she stays with him Even when he is in prison Marie comes to visit She hopes for marriage But Meursault never changes He remains calm and emotionless Meursault and Neighbors Meursault s neighbors reveal his detachment Salamano curses and beats his sick dog yet cries when it runs away Meursault listens silently without comment Raymond Sint s rumored to be a pimp He beats his mistress and asks Meursault to write a letter He agrees without concern Later Raymond fights the Arab and the police slap him Raymond asks Meursault to testify He accepts calmly He shows his indifference to morality The Murder and the Trial One Sunday Meursault Marie and Raymond go to Masson s beach house They swim and eat Later they meet two Arabs One is the brother of Raymond s mistress A fight happens Raymond is injured Later Meursault walks alone The sun blinds him The heat presses on him He sees the Arab with a knife He fires five shots At the trial the focus is not on the crime Witnesses like the Director the Caretaker and Marie talk about his behavior at his mother s funeral The Prosecutor calls him a monster He says a man who cannot cry at his mother s death is dangerous When asked why he killed Meursault says It was because of the sun The court laughs He is sentenced to death Existential Hero and Anti-Hero In prison Meursault thinks about life The Magistrate shows him a crucifix He refuses faith The Chaplain asks him to pray Meursault shouts I didn t believe in God He rejects God and hope He accepts death He realizes life has no meaning Yet he finds peace in this truth He says the world is indifferent He feels happy under the vast night sky Meursault is not a hero He has no ambition or glory But he becomes an existential hero He accepts the absurd He faces death without fear The character of Meursault is unique He is calm honest and indifferent He does not lie to please society He accepts life as meaningless He accepts death as natural His trial shows society s fear of people who are different Meursault is an outsider an anti-hero but also a symbol of truth and freedom