As The Stranger comes to an end, several themes of existentialism are illustrated through the thoughts of the protagonist. In a meeting with the prosecutor and his lawyer, Meursault is excluded from conversations about his case. Expressing his feelings about his exclusion, Meursault explains, "In a way, they seemed to be arguing the case as if it had nothing to do with me. Everything was happening without my participation. My fate was being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion" (98). Although existentialism rejects the idea of fate, it focuses on the idea that people are punished for the decisions they make. Meursault made the decision to senselessly kill a man and he has no control over the punishment he will receive. The universe does not care for humanity according to existentialism, and in Meursault's case, the lawyers do not actually care what happens to him. Meursault made a bad decision and according to existentialism, he must be punished for his actions.
After Meursault loses patience with the priest, he takes time to reflect on life: "I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn't done that. I hadn't done this thing but I had done another" (121). Meursault's reflection highlights main ideas of existentialism. Life is full of decisions and people are punished for the decisions they make. Humanity is punished for all the decisions, paving the lives of people. Although people have free will to make their own decisions, they cannot control what punishments they receive. Meursault understands that he had the power to make his own decisions, but all of his decisions wouldn't change anything. He would eventually be punished the same in the end.
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