Kagiso G. Mangoale
26 February 2014
Mr. Pav
IB English
Hard-Boiled Fiction and Masculinity

Hard-Boiled Fiction

1. Hostile, violent environment. 2. Traditional moral codes don’t work. 3. Isolation and alienation of characters. 4. Distrust in official institutions and values. 5. No commentary, just reporting. 6. Cynical, but honest. 7. Protagonists fight against systems rather than individuals. 8. Male-centered. 9. Apathetic approach to life.

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How the characteristics of hard-boiled fiction relate to The Stranger by Albert Camus can be seen easily throughout the entire story. Knowing that this form of writing was widely popular during that time period where dark fiction promoted readers to dive into a world where conventional attitudes and ways of life were being contradicted. This novel achieves the contradictions of a hard-boiled fictional piece and targets masculinity making it play a large role in the reasoning behind events.

Firstly the male centeredness along with the hostile and violent environment typical of hard-boiled fiction is portrayed in The Stranger using the characters of Raymond and Mersault himself both showing different versions of male violence within the environment of the story. Raymond, a domestically violent individual who believes women who cross him deserve beatings as a form of punishment, perfectly sets the brutal theme that later leads into Mersault’s crime of murder. “The sun glinted off Raymond’s gun as he handed it to me.”(Camus 56) Raymond provides the hostile and violent environment in the story.

The isolation and alienation of characters are present through Mersault’s behavior and attitude towards some of the other characters. “As always, whenever I want to get rid of someone I’m not really listening to, I made it appear as if I agreed.” (Camus 69) The attitude that Mersault has towards the police could be seen as an isolation of his character but more so his distrust in official institutions and values that are common in hard-boiled fiction. “The woman was still shrieking and Raymond was still hitting her. Marie said it was terrible and I didn’t say anything. She asked me to go and find a policeman, but I told her I didn’t like cops.” (Camus 36)

When it comes to the no commentary but rather just reporting of events within the story, this too can be identified with evidence using quotes, “Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace.” (Camus 59). The approach to narrating Mersault takes is cynical but true, “The day of my arrest I was first put in a room where there were already several other prisoners, most of them Arabs. They laughed when they saw me. Then they asked me what I was in for. I said I’d killed an Arab and they were all silent.” (Camus 72)

Lastly the apathetic approach to life portrayed in the story wraps the entire dark theme of the novel, making it not exactly event based but on a deeper level where the reasoning of Mersault can be analyzed. Why the main character does something and how it makes him feel is important. “That evening Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to. Then she wanted to know if I loved her. I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t love her. (Camus 41)