The Stranger

Identities are often connected to the past because after all isn't this partially how our identities are formed? Well Albert Camus might argue you on this point claiming that society wants to believe that our identities are shaped by past events but in reality we just exist in the moment. In Albert Camus', The Stranger, Meursault lives life simply and in the moment not worrying about what has happened because in the end he claims, "it means nothing and matters little". This philosophy is exactly what puts him on death row because while he is concerned with the here and now, the jury (representing society) is interested in his feelings and justifications about past events.