The Stranger #3

            In the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, Mersault’s indifference towards the external world causes the reader to question if Mersault is a reliable narrator. The reader learns that Mersault is a reliable narrator when he is arrested. When the magistrate asks Mersault if Mersault has hired an attorney, Mersault explains, “I admitted that I hadn’t and inquired whether it was really necessary to have one” (63). Mersault does not see the need to hire a lawyer. In Mersault’s mind he committed the crime, and Mersault will admit to committing the crime. According to Mersault, there is no point in trying to prove that he did not shoot the Arab because, if Mersault claimed he did not commit the crime, Mersault would be lying. Mersault’s truthful, indifferent perspective on the trial can be used to infer that the rest of the novel is also told from Mersault’s truthful perspective. Mersault will tell a story exactly as the story happens without any emotions. Hence, Mersault is a reliable narrator.