"What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after." (Hemingway) Every person on earth follows a moral code that defines his or her actions. Mersault of Albert Camus" The Stranger and Raskolnikov of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment follow similar [existentialist] moral codes that regulate their attitudes toward death and religion.
Mersault seems to possess none of the usual conventions of morality. He feels no remorse toward either the death of his mother, nor his own act of murder. In addition, he denies any and all possibilities that a god might exist, discounting the supernatural as existentialists often do.
"Maman died today. Or maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from home: "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow, faithfully yours." That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday." (Camus 3).
These words spoken by Mersault imply that it does not matter to Mersault when she died. This portrays an existentialist theme of meaningless human existence. The existentialist ideal is a moral code that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience and stresses freedom of choice. It regards human existence as an unexplainable concept. Mersault's lack of compassion in his reaction towards the telegram, builds an image that describes a man who is not bound by the common rules of morality. .
Beyond his lack of compassion for human existence, Mersault presents no sense of remorse for his crime. He clearly believes that his act of murder does not require the in depth analysis that is called for by the prosecutor. He believes that his actions are of his own choosing, and do not concern other people. He isolates himself in a shroud of superiority. He obviously does not take the court seriously, nor does he respect its rules and traditions. "All these anonymous passengers were looking over the new arrival to see if the could find something funny about him.
