Should he be sentenced to death or prison?

 In the Stranger, we see Meursault having little to no emotion at his mom's funeral which makes him seem strange but then see him mindlessly agreeing to things without really thinking and finally see him murder a man. The murder is the most severe and after he shoots once, he pauses and shoots again four more times. There was no reason for the shots except for the sun which doesn't really add up as a reason to kill someone. All these events that take place, lead the court to question his morality and his soul. This is eventually what leads them to decide that he is a danger to people and is the reason why they must kill him. 

Based on Meursault explanation during the kill, he seems to be responding to the sun in his kill and not to the Arab man. He then goes through the court case honest but not really saying much about what happened because their were no thoughts around why he shot the extra 4 times. I think its interesting because even after they sentenced him to death, he still didn't seem overly upset. He also has a girlfriend Marie who comes to visit him while he is in jail and is a witness to him in court. She asked him if he loved her before the murder and he said it doesn't really matter but no, and then continued in the relationship with her. After he was sentenced to execution he says, "Anyway, after that, remembering Marie meant nothing to me. (pg. 115) This quote proves how he doesn't care about people and thinks everything in life is meaningless which relates back to the killing of how he had no thoughts or emotions about the Arab, he killed.

All the events discussed above lead me to my final point; should he have been sentenced to death or prison? Well based on what we know he has killed a man with excessive shots for no apparent reason. He doesn't have morals and agrees with whatever other people tell him. For example Raymond beats his mistress after he thinks he cheats and then he asks Meursault to testify in his defense in court and Meursault's says sure. Meursault also seems to feel little emotional connection to people like in Marie and Maman's case, we see very little emotions to either of them. These instances don't necessary warrant death but possibly life in prison because he seems to have moral issues but doesn't seem like he wants to go out and shoot and kill everyone. I don't know if he is necessarily dangerous but could have a mental illness such as anxiety which is why he would feel hot so often and feel the need to run from it. I think that Meursault didn't deserve execution because of his motives but he does seem a bit uncontrollable because of how he responds when hot (or panicked). Also we in America have a different view of the death penalty than Algers in that time period did. This could lead to why they choose death penalty over life imprisonment. All in all I think Meursault is safe in the house where he can be calm but if he is out without supervision he runs into large self-control issues. The walk on the beach is like the second time we see him fully alone without many people. The rest of the time he usually has someone with him or nearby and if he did something they might be able to stop him.

*spoiler!

The "what if's" of Jake and Brett

 Starting the book, The Sun also Rises, we see how Jake and Brett seem to have some sort of romantic relationship or situationship going. We see Brett and Jake leaving the club to go drink at another place by themselves and how they end up kissing in the car. They also call each other their loves. We find out they have a past where Brett was Jake's nurse in the veteran hospital during the war which is a how they know each other so well. At the end after numerous scenes with Brett and Jake we see them in the car again this time the car seems to be pulling them together and apart. The last lines of the book are in response to the trip they all had together which ends up as a mess by the end. In the book Brett says," We could of have had such a *darn* good time together. "Jake's response to her is, "Isn't it pretty to think so? (pg. 251). 

This is where the "what if's" come in because there are so many possibilities to think about. Jake and Brett could of ended up accepting what couldn't happen and having a good life together or they could have decided to change their romantic love to something else. It seems unfair to Jake at the end that he has to see his love, Brett go off with other men to have affairs while she has a fiancé and it's not him. The story line that would of made it a happily ever after would of been Brett having a large realization that she doesn't need sex and that to fulfill that she could cuddle or kiss Jake. Brett could use the growth of being with Jake to stop being so obsessed with something that she doesn't really need and could help her get control of her drinking. Brett's love for Jake was more emotional attached and she felt like she could tell her heart to him and we don't see that else where in the book. This would allow Brett to have Jake as her husband and have a more traditional relationship and have both parties benefit and be supported. They have more emotional love to each other but they do some "couple things" like kiss, and cuddling but never have sex because of Jake's injury. In this type of relationship Jake wouldn't have to see Brett go off with other men and then call him when she needs help. This ending to the book would of made it a lot happier and healthy for both of them.

In conclusion, Jake and Brett have a different type of relationship in the book that can depict Brett as immoral or a user because she calls Jake when in trouble and doesn't really regard Jake's feelings toward her sleeping with Cohn (his friend). On the contrary, Brett doesn't owe Jake anything and she has told him that a relationship won't work ever and that she has a fiancé. There situation is different than nowadays because we have more ways to medically help people than in the 1900's. If their situation were to change it would depict Brett as a better person and would eliminate her sexual promiscuities as long as she took control over it and didn't keep it at the level it was at during the book. Jake would also seem to be less stressed and nervous as he had been in the book with Brett around.

*censored from book