The Stranger
Albert Camus

Camus created what he called the Philosophy of the Absurd, arguing that life is inherently futile. His first published novel was The Stranger; in this novel, he tried to answer the question of how one lives a life with meaning in a world that that doesn’t have any. This novel’s protagonist is Meursault, a man who sees no meaning in the world and behaves accordingly.

Major thematic elements: the meaninglessness of life, the physical world, communication

IB Literature and IB Language and Literature Connections

Place of publication: France
Language: French
Era: 20th century
Genre: Fiction
Author: Male

Readers, writers and texts | Time and space | Intertextuality: Connecting texts

Identity | Culture | Creativity | Communication
Perspective | Transformation | Representation

Full text, basic summaries, and overviews

The Stranger | Full text
Translated by Stuart Gilbert: “Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure…Which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been…”
Translated by Matthew Ward: “Maman died today Or yesterday, maybe, I don’t know…That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.”

The Stranger | Audiobook | YouTube | WEEKabulary | 3:27:13
There’s an introduction at the beginning—audio starts at 1:57. Timestamps for chapters are in the comments. The same audiobook is also posted on the account Audio Books: “The Stranger (The Outsider) by Albert Camus, Matthew Ward (Translator) part 1/2”
Listen here

The Stranger Study Guide | Spark Notes
This guide includes plot and chapter summaries and analysis, characters, literary devices, quick quizzes, essay prompts and more.
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The Stranger Study Guide | Course Hero
Course Hero’s guide includes plot and chapter summaries, a nice overview and infographic, discussion questions organized by chapter, & more. It’s also available as a 16-part playlist on YouTube.
Read more | Watch here

Is life meaningless? And other absurd questions - Nina Medvinskya | YouTube | TED-Ed | 6:12
It’s worth it to make sure students understand the philosophy behind The Stranger before they start analyzing it as a piece of literature. This video provides a nice overview to Camus’ background, philosophy of the absurd, the connection to the myth of Sisyphus, and the critical response to the novel.
Watch here

THE STRANGER BY ALBERT CAMUS // ANIMATED BOOK SUMMARY | YouTube | Animated Books | 7:31
This video summarizes the novel chapter by chapter with time stamps for each section.
Watch here

The Stranger (Camus Novel) | Wikipedia
Wikipedia’s entry on The Stranger includes plot, characters, critical analysis, publication history and English translations, adaptions and allusions, and more.
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About the author

Albert Camus | Biography
These two biographies are straightforward and easy to follow. The first: Britannica’s biography, which include Camus’s early years, literary career, and legacy. Second, this biography from The School of Life, which includes photographs which help illustrate Camus’s life.

Albert Camus - How to Live in the Present (Philosophy of Absurdism) | YouTube | Philosophies for Life | 23:42
”In this video, we will be talking about how to live in the present from the philosophy of Albert Camus.” Seven key ideas are highlighted in this video—outlined in the video’s description on YouTube.
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Albert Camus: The rise of a literary icon | YouTube | FRANCE 24 English | 12:40
This video is more biographical, charting Camus’s life, receipt of the Nobel Prize, perception in Algeria, and posthumous comeback.
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Albert Camus Banquet speech | The Nobel Prize
Camus won the Nobel Prize at a difficult time in his life—he was experiencing writer’s block, depressed, and facing rejection from French literary circles.
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Albert Camus | Biography
These biographies are much more detailed and have a stronger focus on his philosophy and writings.
From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
From the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Articles, essays, and videos about The Stranger

PHILOSOPHY - Albert Camus | YouTube | The School of Life | 9:36
This video is about Camus; Meursault, the protagonist of The Stranger; and the philosophy Camus lived by and wrote about. Note: the video contains nudity at the 7:33 mark.
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Existentialism: Crash Course Philosophy #16 | YouTube | CrashCourse | 8:53
In this video, Hank Green explores “essentialism and it’s response: existentialism….Jean-Paul Sartre and his ideas about how to find meaning in a meaningless world.” As an extension activity, students may also enjoy Crash Course’s video on the Theater of the Absurd (#45).
Watch here

The Myth of Sisyphus | Various Sources
In discussions of The Stranger, discussions of Sisyphus naturally come up. Here are a variety of resources to support those discussions:
What is a Good Life?: Crash Course Philosophy #46 (Camus, Sisyphus, and existentialism).
The Myth of Sisyphus: An Absurd Reasoning by Camus (PDF, including sections “Absurdity and Suicide,” “Absurd Walls,” “Philosophical Suicide.”
The myth of Sisyphus - Alex Gendler (TED-Ed on YouTube - the story of “Sisyphus’ reckless confidence that proved to be his downfall.”
The Myth of Sisyphus (Spark Notes Study Guide)

Alburt Camus’s The Stranger: Critical Essays | Cambridge Scholars Publishing | Excerpts
We found two excerpts from this book, which includes 15 critical essays on The Stranger. The first, from CambridgeScholars.com, and the second on Google Books.

The Importance of Perspective in The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus: The Absurdist’s Need for Conscious Rebellion | West Virginia University
Riley Keaton Imlay | 2018
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Prototypes of Existence and Essence in Camus’s The Stranger | John Valentine | University of Central Florida, Florida Philosophical Review
This essay looks at the philosophy rather than literary aspects of The Stranger, but could be very interesting in class in parts, or for students who are ready for more complex texts about the work.
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Camus: A Critical Examination | David Sprintzen | Temple University Press, Philadelphia 1988 |
This 10-page PDF examines Meursault, estrangement, the way The Stranger is a cyrptomythic tale, and the connection between rebellion and conduct. Link to purchase full text is in Shopping section.
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Books of the Times | The New York Times | Charles Poore | April 11, 1946
This is a review of The Stranger written after the publication of its English translation in 1946.
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Lesson plans and other teaching resources

Dr. Bordelon’s World Lit II Course Site: The Stranger
This page contains a full unit’s worth of materials: terms to know, general questions, group questions (LOTS of questions), criticism, and more.
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Teaching Albert Camus’s The Stranger | Prestwick House | Sample pages
The sample pages outline three types of literary theory and how they apply to The Stranger: Psychoanalytic, Feminist, and Marxist.
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Existentialism & The Stranger Unit | Ms. Lara Rankin’s Educational Escapade
This unit includes essential questions, an outline of the unit organized by day, and hyperlinks to great documents: handouts, quizzes, etc.
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The Stranger Study Guides/Discussion Questions/Essay Questions | Various Sources
The Stranger Study Guide Questions | HumbleISD.net | Questions for Part 1, chapters 1-6 and Part 2, chapters 1-5
Things to Consider While Journaling on The Stranger | bentoneglish.com | 10 bullet points to help students understand the novel as they read it.
The Stranger Study Guide | Jericho High School English - Ms. Fischer | Scroll for questions to contemplate, Questions on the essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” and The Stranger, Focus Questions for Parts 1 and 2, and Cooperative Learning Group Questions.

The Stranger Summer Reading Assignment | Various Sources
From Mrs. Flanagan, Palm Beach Schools: Reading questions, overview of existentialism, author, contextual, and historical background, reading questions for all chapters, two reading assignments, literary background terminology, and two basic comprehension quizzes.
From Mr. Cote, AP English Literature: overview of existentialism, essay assignment

Shopping List

Texts and other resources you may find helpful.

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The Stranger, Translated by Matthew Ward
Paperback on Amazon.com
The Myth of Sisyphus
Paperback on Amazon.com
Albert Camus: A Life by O. Todd
Paperback on Amazon.com
The Plague, Translated by Lara Marris
Paperback on Amazon.com
Albert Camus and the Human Crisis by R. Meagher Hardcover on Amazon.com
Albert Camus: Elements of a Life by R. Zaretsky
Hardcover on Amazon.com