With Albert Camus' The Stranger, I have my first example of a character who seems to be free of society's vast influence. Meursault, the novel's protagonist, is an amoral character who is not concerned with societal values and ideas, such as love ("it didn't matter") and God ("it seemed unimportant"; "it didn't interest me"). Many of Meursault's actions are simply based on the fact that there was no reason not to do them.
Through his recognition of the indifference of the universe and the inevitability of death, Meursault effectively triumphs society. He defies its attempts to reason through people's actions, as so many of the characters did during his trial. He defies its hope, which tortured him and made him restless in his prison cell after he received his death sentence. He defies its system of justice, which attempted to make him succumb, feel remorse, and recognize the murder as wrong. Meursault recognizes how society shapes people and their standards and thus happily remains an outsider, accepting his mutual indifference with the world.
