The title of a novel usually explicitly represents the theme of the work, hints at the work's plot, or refers to a main character. The Stranger by Robert Camus, however, fails to do any of the three listed. There is no one page in the novel that overtly states why the title is what it is. Who is the stranger? Is it Mersault or is it the Arab that Mersault shot and murdered? To find a definite answer, one should refer to the definition of a stranger. A stranger is a "newcomer in a place or locality . From the plot, the Arab's feelings are never mentioned. His purpose for being in Algiers was simply that he had it out for Raymond. The reader cannot infer or imply that the Arab is a newcomer in a place or locality “ a stranger - simply because the reader knows very little about him and his actions. On the other hand, the reader knows a substantial amount about Mersault. He is undoubtedly the protagonist, after all. Prior to the shooting scene at the beach, Mersault is presented as a one-dimensional, flat, static, indifferent, emotionless, mundane person. After the shooting scene, when Mersault is indicted, he begins to become capable of feeling and of thinking for himself. He is immersed in a new metaphorical location: his feelings. It can thus be implied that Mersault is a stranger “ not to a physical location, but rather to his emotions. From the very beginning of the novel, Mersault was completely indifferent to the death of his mother whom he had not seen for some time. When a caretaker of the facility offered to unveil his deceased mother, Mersault bluntly said "No.  When asked why, he responded, "I don't know.  (Page six). When Mersault pondered the appropriateness of smoking a cigarette in front of his still mother, he simply said, "It doesn't matter.  (Page eight). Mersault willingly viewed the physical beating of Raymond's mistress and did not even flinch. (Page thirty-six). When Marie asked Mersault i