"But naturally you can't always be reasonable. At other times, for instance, I would make up new laws. I would reform the penal code. I'd realize that the most important thing was to give the condemned man a chance. Even one in a thousand was good enough to set things right" (Camus 111).
This was a quote of Meursault while he was in his jail cell after finding out he was sentenced to the guillotine. At the beginning of the book, we saw Meursault as an existentialist character. From this quote, do you think he still portrays the qualities of an existentialist or has the jail life changed him?
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Jail life has changed meursault in more than one way. He realizes that killing the Arab was wrong, and he wants a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of the community. He also realizes that he loves Marie after she stops writing to him. All he can think about is if she is okay, and he wants to know why she stops writing. It was the bitter sweet taste of you don't know what you've got till its gone for Meursault. Unfortunately it was too late by the time he realized his wrong doings.
I believe that he HAS changed because he now thinks of his emotions more and more. He even thinks about Maman and Marie. At the very end of the book he even talks about Maman's happiness right before her death. From her happiness he gains his own happiness and we see his change clearly when he states, "I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution..." (Camus 123). He is no longer existential, but begins to think of the future.
Existentialists believe that they should accept their actions without excuses. They do not expect consolidation for their mistakes or intentional choices. When Meursault mentions that it is to give a man a second chance, he is contradicting existential believes. This proves that Meursault has at least strayed from some of the ideas that existentials follow. He also uses the word important, which shows that he is accepting society values and giving meaning to life.
Meurasault is still an existentialist during his experience in jail, but this quote lets you view the beginning of some of the changes to his existential traits. From this quote Meursault now wants to have faith that he will survive, and the thought of the guillotine is giving him no faith whatsoever. He was not comfortbale with the fact that there was no gleam of hope that he could hold onto, and his fate was decided for him.
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