There is no meaning in the world beyond what we humans give it. The world is an absurd and chaotic place where it is up to the individual to decide what to do with it. In The Stranger, Meursault, the main character, struggles to resolve the chaos of the world and resist the pressures of society. Meursault continually disobeys society's standards which remind the reader of human loyalties and social divisions. Therefore, his demonstration of human absurdity reveals how all people are all the same. The magistrate, who visits Meursault while he is in prison, serves as a juxtaposition of Meursault's character to demonstrate how the individual, and not society, is responsible for one's purpose in life. In The Stranger, by Albert Camus, the use of diction and irony reveals how the main character's emotionlessness, criticism of society and religion, and final epiphany are existential, which suggests that Camus strongly disapproved of French presence in Algeria. illustrates how Meursault's lack of emotion towards things society requires emotion to make him one who determines his own life. At the beginning of the novel, when Meursault learns of his mother's death, he states: “For now it is almost as if Maman is not dead. After the funeral, however, the case will be closed and everything will have a more official flavor." (3) In French and most other societies, one of the most basic expectations is some form of grief or emotion at the news of the mother's death. Meursault says that after the funeral “the case will be closed” and that it will now have “a more official aspect”. Meursault views his mother's death as a task or verdict, which goes directly against what society believes he should pay... middle of paper... purge his guilt. Thus, when man believes in a divine being as the total reason for his existence, then when his faith is questioned, his entire existence is questioned. Therefore, people are unable to live according to their religion. The irony of this novel is that by killing and condemning Meursault for his "callousness", it challenges social constructs, because Meursault would never have been put on trial if he had not killed the Arab man, which is exactly what they are doing the French to the Arabs: killing them. By condemning Meursault for his crimes, the French are actually condemning themselves. Furthermore, his revelation that we are all equal illustrates Camus' opposition to French oppression of Algerians. Only through realizing the gentle indifference of the world will we begin to resolve the violent absurdity of life.