To what extent is Mersault an existentialist? Does his philosophy make him an outsider to the society in which he lives? The author of the book 'The Outsider', Albert Camus was an existentialist. This philosophy formed the basis of his main character Mersault. As an existentialist this philosophy makes Mersault an outsider to the society in which he lives. He believes that life is an unrelenting effort with no reward at the end, believing the …showed first 75 words of 739 total…

…showed last 75 words of 739 total…an outsider to society. Life is unrelenting to Mersault and in the end he did not get any rewards out of it, but he realised he was happy with life and how he lived it. Mersault knew that he was an outsider to ordinary society and lived in his own self created society. His pure laziness, negligence and attitudes to his life are why Mersault is an outsider to the society in which he lives.