The Stranger- Journal #5

There really is only one thing I noticed change upon reaching Part 2. Dialogue from characters began to grow longer.

In Part 1, Meursault would often describe what characters were saying rather then quoting them. In Part 2, he would quote very large amounts of what people said. Such as the Prosecutor and the Defense.

I see this is Meursault developing some level of interest in what people have to say (an exception being when he gets bored of listening to the prosecutor), mainly because a lot of it is directly affecting the future of his life, and much more complex in nature to summarize. Meursault likes keeping life simple, as evidenced by his acceptance of a court appointed judge, so it makes sense he would just repeat what others had to say compared to thinking about it and extracting meaning from it himself.

"and I do so with a heart at ease. For if in the course of what has been a long career I have ha occasion to call for the death penalty, never as strongly as today have I felt this painful duty made easier, lighter, clearer by the certain knowledge of a sacred imperative and by the horror I feel when I look into a man's face and all I see is a monster." (102)

Wow. Putting this through the sieve that is Meursault's mind would take away so much power and meaning from this statement.