The Stranger, Chapter 4 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does the prosecutor mainly try to prove in his summation?

   • That Meursault was acting in self-defense on the beach
   • Correct answer: That Meursault planned the killing and acted with full knowledge
   • That Raymond was the real planner of the killing
   • That Meursault was not sane when he fired the gun

   He says he will prove premeditation both from the facts and from the dim light cast by Meursault's criminal soul.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why does the prosecutor treat Meursault's intelligence as evidence against him?

   • It proves he wrote Raymond's letter entirely by himself
   • It shows he lied to the magistrate throughout the inquiry
   • It means he fooled the witnesses from the old people's home
   • Correct answer: It means he knew exactly what he was doing when he killed

   The prosecutor says Meursault knows how to answer and knows the value of words, so no one can say he acted without realizing what he was doing.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What does the prosecutor say he found when he peered into Meursault's soul?

   • Correct answer: Nothing at all, not even a soul
   • Hidden grief for Maman
   • A deep hatred of the Arab
   • Fear of his own death

   He says he found nothing: that Meursault has no soul and that the moral principles governing men's hearts are beyond his reach.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What case does the prosecutor say the same court will try the next day?

   • A robbery at the firm where Meursault worked
   • Correct answer: A man accused of murdering his father
   • An assault by Raymond's adversaries
   • A second charge against Meursault himself

   He calls the murder of a father the most monstrous of crimes and says Meursault is also guilty of it in a moral sense.

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5. 5

   Question 5. When the judge asks for his motive, what does Meursault say?

   • That the Arab had threatened Raymond
   • That he had been drinking wine
   • Correct answer: That it was all because of the sun
   • That he wanted to protect Marie

   Fumbling with his words, he blurts out that it was because of the sun, and people laugh.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why does Meursault's lawyer keep saying "I" in his summation?

   • He is confessing to a part he played in the crime
   • He is quoting Meursault's written statement aloud
   • Correct answer: A guard explains to him that all lawyers do it
   • He is mocking the prosecutor's style

   A guard tells Meursault to keep quiet and then adds that all lawyers do it; Meursault feels it excludes him even further.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Meursault notice his lawyer leaves out of the defense summation?

   • Correct answer: The funeral
   • Marie's testimony
   • Raymond's gun
   • The letter

   Meursault thinks the lawyer's silence about the funeral is a glaring omission.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does Meursault's lawyer predict while they wait for the jury?

   • A full acquittal and his release that same night
   • Correct answer: A few years in prison or at hard labor
   • A retrial because of flawed evidence
   • A death sentence that could be overturned on appeal

   He expects Meursault to get off with a few years in prison or at hard labor and says they can always appeal.

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9. 9

   Question 9. How does Meursault respond when Marie smiles at him before the verdict?

   • He waves to her and mouths her name across the room
   • He looks away from her because he feels ashamed
   • Correct answer: He feels nothing and cannot even return her smile
   • He smiles back and nods to Céleste and Raymond

   She makes a gesture as if to say 'At last,' but his heart feels nothing and he cannot return her smile.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events actually happen in Part Two, Chapter 4?

    • The prosecutor asks the jury for Meursault's head.

      Happened

    • Meursault gives a long speech explaining why he feels no remorse.

      Didn't happen

    • Meursault hears an ice cream vendor's trumpet during his lawyer's summation.

      Happened

    • Marie is called back to the stand to testify again.

      Didn't happen

    • The lawyer's colleagues tell him his speech was brilliant.

      Happened

    • Meursault declines to say anything after his sentence is read.

      Happened

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'parricide' mean as used in: 'the crime of parricide'?

    • Correct answer: The act of killing one's own father
    • The theft of goods from a church
    • A crime committed by a whole gang
    • Lying under oath while in a court of law

    Parricide is the murder of one's father; the prosecutor links it to the trial scheduled for the next day.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'extenuating' mean as used in: 'find extenuating circumstances for a crime'?

    • Making the crime seem even more serious
    • Proving that no crime took place at all
    • Correct answer: Partly excusing it and lessening the blame
    • Stretching the trial over many more days

    Extenuating circumstances partly excuse an offense; the lawyer asks the jury to find them.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'interminable' mean as used in: 'all the interminable days and hours'?

    • Tense and full of danger
    • Correct answer: Seeming to go on endlessly
    • Quickly forgotten afterward
    • Carefully planned in advance

    Interminable means endless or tediously long, which is how the talk about his soul feels to Meursault.

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