Further reflection on The Stranger...
The nature of the murder that takes place stands out to me as it seems Camus uses the peculiarities of the murder to place the event, like much of the novel, in the category of the absurd. Camus himself described the book as "the nakedness of man when confronted with the absurd".
From the conclusion of the first part of the book on to the end, it seems as though Camus is critical of the justice system (this isn't the only system he seems to be critical of either), which fails to deal with Miersoult's case justly. In fact, it seems as though the absurdity of life is a means for Camus to erode value systems in the community (judicial, religious, relational, to name a few), as a way of saying that life has no absolute or transcendent meaning.
This makes the title of the book, and the peculiar nature of the character, somewhat puzzling. If that were Camus' goal (attacking absolutism) you would think the title character wouldn't be a stranger at all, but an average joe.
Considering Camus' abilities, it would be arrogant to conclude that I've uncovered some error in his thinking, it's more likely Camus' goals are either broader, or completely different, from my estimation.
