What did it really mean to be pals?

  The relationship between Meursault and Raymond is one of the most essential relationships in The Stranger. Raymond pulling Meursault into his world and Meursault allowing him to is one of the main reasons Meursault ended up on that beach with a gun in his hand 

The quote that kickstarted the toxic and explosive relationship between Meursault and Raymond was. " If it isn't that pitiful!" He asked me didn't I think it was disgusting and I said no." I believe these questions about Salamano directed towards Meursault was Raymond's way of feeling out Meursault and seeing if he would judge him for his lifestyle. Due to the fact that Meursault didn't judge Salamano Raymond took that as an indication that Meursault wouldn't judge him for the things he does. In other words Meursault passed Raymond's test. 

Raymond was looking for a person who would justify/ agree with/not judge any of his decisions and choices which is exactly what Meursault did. For example, Meursault agreed with Raymond that he thinks his mistress was cheating on him, then he says he can see why Raymond would want to punish her (Meursault didn't necessarily agree but what Meursault said was enough for Raymond), then Meursault agreed to write the letter ( this is where Meursault went from just a voice that simply agreed/ justified Raymond's actions to an active participant in Raymond's decisions/ plans). In addition to all this on Page 29 when Raymond asks Meursault if he wants to be pals Meursault says sure. I think this mutual agreement that Meursault and Raymond came to –whether Meursault knew it or not, was them agreeing to be more than just pals (Pals in the sense of borrowing a cup of sugar ).

This mutual agreement carried over to when Meursault, Raymond, and Masson were on the beach and ran into the Arabs when a fight then broke out. Meursault was only in charge of simply fighting if another one were to show up but he still said “Yes.” Meaning that he was prepared to become physically involved in the interaction. This further strengthened the agreement between Meursault and Raymond. All this leads to my closing question, Was Meursault killing the Arab an unspoken condition of their mutual agreement to be ‘pals’?

Comments

  1. Maya ViswanathanNovember 15, 2022 at 3:40 PM

    I really liked your post! I think you did a great job outlining how Meursault and Raymond's relationship evolved. I don't think that Meursault killed the Arab because of their agreement to be pals. It might be something that Raymond had in mind, but it's not clear to me that Meursault was fully aware of Raymond's expectations of him as a pal. A lot of the things Meursault agreed to seem to be out of his habit of saying yes to everything and not necessarily something he really planned to agree to. Later on, he seemed to be encouraging Raymond not to fight. Because of this, I don't think Meursault killed the Arab because he thought he owed it to Raymond.

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  2. MitchellNovember 18, 2022 at 10:51 AM

    This is an interesting way to approach the tangled Raymond-Meursault dynamic. Given what *Raymond* seems to mean by "pals," and the sense that he seems to want a more explicit agreement from Meursault than "sure, whatever," does seem to imply that HE means something quite specific by this status. But as usual, Meursault seems oblivious to the moral implications, that he's essentially "joining" this dicey criminal-adjacent enterprise and affirming his loyalty to Raymond. I don't see a lot of evidence that *Meursault* is thinking of any such obligation when he's on the beach with the gun in his hand, but structurally, it does account for how he gets there in the first place, and when Raymond and Masson ask if he's "in," he agrees to "take one" if another shows up. It seems that Raymond maybe does have some expectations with Meursault as his "pal," even if he's not *specifically* expecting him to take out this Arab man who is following them around.

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  3. Xenia MongwaNovember 18, 2022 at 12:06 PM

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  4. Xenia MongwaNovember 18, 2022 at 12:07 PM

    Interesting question! Meursault acted as a listening ear to Raymond, while not really giving much of a response. His silence may have indicated to Raymond that he agreed with the plan to kill the Arab, while in his mind he might have still been on the fence. I think he might have made the choice to follow through with the plan because he didn't want to let Raymond down.

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  5. Luca ZepedaNovember 22, 2022 at 10:54 PM

    I am glad you are shedding light on this topic because it is truly a very interesting one. The fact that Meursault and Raymond had thi sort of mutual agreement to be pals sparked a new level of thinking for Meursault in that he was going to do what Raymond asked to maintain this "pals" bond. Writing the letter, testifying for Raymond, and agreeing to get involved in the altercation when needed all seemed to be part of the "pals" contract in Meursault's mind. Great Post!

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