“This man has, I repeat, no place in a community whose basic principles he flouts without compunction. Nor, heartless as he is, has he any claim to mercy. I ask you to impose the extreme penalty of the law; and I ask it without a qualm.”
Meursault's actions are easily twisted into a devious plan by the prosecutor, who creates a man with intentions of future action and past revenge, qualities that we know Meursault has never shown. Ironically, Meursault is condemned for being immoral and insensitive but he is indicted by evidence strictly to the contrary of the persona which is under fire. Meursault works on a moment to moment basis and knowing his foundation in the Absurd we can understand how it was not his nature to interfere with Raymond beating up his girlfriend or to cry at the funeral. Meursault picks up on another inconsistency in the prosecution as well. He is indicted because he is intelligent. The moments of the first chapter are twisted, distorted, and thrown back in Meursault's face. He is not allowed to have acted without intent if he is intelligent. Yet he is allowed to be empty of soul. The creation of qualities in Meursault's character by the prosecution parallels the meaning and value that Meursault will later find he has the power to create in his own life. Paradoxically, he must be defaced in this manner before he can find that power.
The Stranger
