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I understand that Camus is trying to make a point about the "absurdity" and even futility of life.  However, Meursault is in no way an "everyman."  He is a cold blooded killer who seeks out his victim (why else would he return to that particular stretch of beach with a gun in his pocket?) and kills him for no damn good reason and without any remorse expressed or otherwise.  Critics opine that, "the law prosecutes Meursault for his failure to show proper feelings for his deceased mother, rather than for the crime of murder."  To me, this is utter nonsense.  Meursault was handed the verdict (in the context of a world where there is indeed a death penalty) he justly deserved.  It is not like he had this bizarre affect and did NOT kill anyone!!!  He indeed committed premeditated murder (does anyone buy that "I killed him because the sun was shining in my eyes" nonsense.  Makes the "twinkie defense look completely rational.)  and was meted the appropriate punishment for THAT crime not because he was a bastard.  A bastard he was - but a guilty bastard.  Please, someone help me see how this piece of trash without any redeeming human characteristic at all (except that he never did whine about his fate - I will give him that) is any kind of hero.  And, how does the story of a sociopathic jerk have any relevance to the life of a normal person?  What exactly am I missing here?  Thanks!!

A literary hero, according to Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, is not necessarily someone who ends up doing good, but is the protagonist or narrator of the story who goes through some sort of life change over the course of the plot.  Meursault is an "absurd hero" by Camus's standards of Absurdism which means he is characterized by the following:

1.  He exhibits Revolt: He has accepted that he is condemned to live a short time in an unreasonable world and rather than fighting against it, he has succumbed to the reality.

2.  He exhibits Freedom:  Man is entirely free to think and behave as he wishes, and through that he finds freedom.

3.  He exhibits Passion:  This does not refer to emotional passion, but rather the desire to experience physical pleasure as much as possible (hedonism).