I chose the following paragraph to analyze from "The Stranger" by Albert Camus. The excerpt is from the very beginning of part two and written from Meursault's perspective after he is arrested for murder. "At first, I didn’t take him seriously. I was led into a curtained room; there was a single lamp on his desk which was shining on a chair where he had me sit while he remained standing in the shadows. I had read descriptions of scenes like this in books and it all seemed like a game to me. After our conversation, though, I looked at him and saw a tall, fine-featured man with deep-set blue eyes, a long gray moustache, and lots of thick, almost white hair. He struck me as being very reasonable and, overall, quite pleasant, despite a nervous tic which made his mouth twitch now and then. On my way out I was even going to shake his hand, but just in time, I remembered that I had killed a man." Essay: Meursault’s Surroundings as a Crutch for Understanding Society During his interrogation in a poorly illuminated room by an unfamiliar examining magistrate, Meursault concentrates first on the environment before later shifting his focus to the examiner after the questioning concludes, displaying Meursault’s unreliable method of using his surroundings to assist in deciphering social situations. Meursault’s obsession with light, compounded by his inability to effectively read social cues, causes a perpetual misunderstanding of the gravity of situations that pushes him to turn to the more straightforward environment as a way of understanding the circumstances in which he finds himself. This reliance on his surroundings enables the light to obscure his rational side and have an undue influence on his actions. The lone lamp and singular interrogator produce an inappropriate sense of comfort for Meursault that ironically highlights his preference for more intimate situations. Meursault’s laborious attempts to correctly interpret social cues are evident in his glossing over the details of the interrogation excepting first the sources of light and subsequently the examiner, exposing his desire to feel accepted by society despite his unconventional mannerisms. The private room that the examining magistrate leads Meursault into produces an incongruous feeling of comfort and security, highlighting Meursault’s inability to correctly gauge the mood and severity of a situation. As soon as he is “led into a curtained room,” he observes that merely “a single lamp” illuminates the space. The curtains muffle outside influences and successfully block any pressure from the sun, permitting Meursault to relax despite the grave nature of the interaction. The sparse light shines only on the chair Meursault sits in, creating a spotlight effect on him that he ignores in his relief to have escaped from the sun. The juxtaposition of Meursault sitting in the light while the examiner is “standing in the shadows” shows that despite Meursault’s attempts to be truthful and genuine, meaningful connection to society remains out of his reach. The power imbalance created by their positions also goes unnoticed by Meursault due to his fixation on the light. This careful observation of the environment to interpret the situation comes at the expense of accurately understanding the social dynamic at hand, further emphasized through his perception of the interaction as “like a game.” Meursault’s reliance on his surroundings to gauge a social interaction fails to consider the irrationality of human character and ends up alienating himself because of his drastic misinterpretation of the situation, highlighting the misleading nature of ambient lighting to Meursault in social scenarios. Meursault then proceeds to skip straight through his conversation with the interrogator to his assessment of the man’s moral character and bearing, in the process illustrating Meursault’s perception of honesty as the best moral value. Meursault reflects that the examining magistrate appears “very reasonable and, overall, quite pleasant.” Meursault’s attentiveness toward the magistrate’s fairness and rationality, and subsequent positive impression of the magistrate, lays bare Meursault’s preference for direct and truthful interactions. Meursault even maintains this positive impression of the magistrate “despite a nervous tic which made his mouth twitch now and then.” Meursault, conscious of the interrogator’s discomfort yet neglecting to address these feelings, further exemplifies his preference for rational, straightforward exchanges with others. He tries to bond with the examiner through this honest exchange, but Meursault’s previously inaccurate perception of the mood that he absorbs through observing his surroundings impairs his ability to make this connection, exposing his inability to directly confront the emotions of others. Meursault gets so wrapped up in these attempts to bond with the magistrate that he forgets the purpose of the investigation in the first place, betraying his yearning for human connection. As Meursault leaves the room, “he is even going to shake [the examining magistrate’s] hand.” His comfort with this seemingly mundane social courtesy stems from the courage he gains from the intimate environment at the beginning of this interaction. Meursault remembers the murder, however, “just in time” to prevent himself from following through on this thought. The absence of remorse in this objective statement stands in stark contrast to his personable demeanor moments prior, laying bare the extremes that Meursault willingly resorts to in "even going to" shake the magistrate's hand, a typically unnatural action for him. The relaxing surroundings and straightforward exchange with the magistrate falsely lead Meursault to believe in the possibility of connection, but he finally realizes that the murder renders these objective observations useless in deciphering the appropriate behavior, revealing his flawed methods to bond with society will never work. Meursault struggles to feel accepted through an open and honest approach that paradoxically pushes people further away rather than eliciting the empathy he seeks, causing his attempts to simplify social interactions to only lead him further astray. Despite his growing recognition of this fallacious method, Meursault allows the environment to dictate his perception of the other people during his trial, which only serves to exacerbate his alienation. Meursault’s inability to guide others into feeling empathy for him despite his honest nature serves as his fatal flaw, ultimately resulting in his conviction and then his death.