Study Questions

1. According to Meursault, what did the prosecutor “aim at” during his closing argument?

2. How does Meursault want to explain his lack of regret to the prosecutor?

3. What does the prosecutor call “the most odious of crimes?”

4. How does the prosecutor compare Meursault’s crime to the parricide case?

5. Since Meursault has already admitted killing the Arab, what verdict does the prosecutor ask for?

6. How do some of the spectators in the courtroom react when Meursault tries to explain his reaction to the sun?

7. What word does Meursault’s lawyer use when referring to Meursault during his speech?

8. What is Meursault’s impression of his lawyer?

9. How is Meursault to be executed?

10. How do those near Meursault react to him after the sentence is read?

Answers

1. His purpose was to convince the jury that Meursault’s crime was premeditated.

2. He wants to explain in a “quite friendly, almost affectionate way.”

3. Parricide is called the “most odious of crimes.”

4. He says Meursault is “morally guilty of his mother’s death.”

5. Murder without extenuating circumstances is the verdict he asks for.

6. They giggle.

7. He uses the word “I.”

8. Meursault thinks his lawyer is inexperienced and less talented than the prosecutor.

9. Execution is by decapitation in “some public place.”

10. They regard Meursault with looks of “almost respectful sympathy.”