Translators Note

When reading the translators notes, we come across a very important point. we should focus more on what Mersault does not say opposed to the very few words that he does. The gaps later become important as we try to evaluate him as a persom.  We see several examples of this, the first being when Raymond was beating his girlfriend. Marie told Mersault to call the cops and find help and instead of doing that he simple says how he does not like the cops. Mersault is a very honest man, whatever he thinks or says he actually means. So when he says how he does not like the cops, he really means it, also we can see how he is trying to protect his friend. Or when she was commenting on how horrible it was what Raymond was doing, Mersault stayed quiet when he should have said something even the smallest statement like simply agreeing would have been resonable. But his silence shows that he may not care about the situation. Also, when Marie asks him if he loves her and he doesnt say yes, instead he says no but it doesnt mean anything and when she wants to marry him he just says ok. With the simplicity of the way he says everything and thinks, we would come to think that Mersault is actually a very simple guy, but instead all of these simplicities have made him a very complex character.