The Stranger: Journal #2

Option 2: Evaluate the author's use of first person point of view. Why didn't Camus choose third person omniscient? How is his choice of point of view related to Camus' purpose/themes in the novel.

Personally, I feel that Camus chose to have the story told in first person as opposed to third person omniscient because when a story is told in first person there is a certain level of closeness that you have to the character because it is told by them. With third person omniscient the narrator can tell many characters thoughts, but with this story and Meursault being an outsider to the world, it makes sense to have the focus only be on him and only know his thoughts rather than everyone else's as well as his. I believe that because he is an "outsider" or "stranger" because the story is told by him the reader is more able to want to side with Meursault and see him as something other than a "stranger". Lastly, by telling the story from him point of view, the subtle changes that Meursault does go through in the book, are more obvious.