Post 4

Scattered throughout The Stranger are numerous symbolic representations of ideas, something appropriate considering the purpose of the story. I want to specifically highlight an allusion that stands out to me the most: the sun as “the Absurd”. If we establish that Meursault reacts hyperbolically to the heat of the sun (even though he presumably encounters it very often), it is very... absurd to see that he somehow reacts stronger to the sun than the death of his mother. A similar variation is seen with the death of the Arab: instead of actually portraying a fight between Meursault and the Arab, Camus describes the standoff as more of a fight between Meursault and the sun; instead of the Arab rattling the dagger, it is the sun that provokes and "cuts" Meursault with its rays. We also find further evidence that the sun imposes pain upon Meursault on page 57:  "[E]very time I felt a blast of its hot breath strike my face, I gritted my teeth, clenched my fists in my trouser pockets, and strained every nerve in order to overcome the sun and the thick drunkenness it was spilling over me. With every blade of light that flashed off the sand, from a bleached shell or a piece of broken glass, my jaws tightened" (Camus 57). Not only does the sun result in an extreme response from the Meursault, but it very obviously intertwines itself into each situation. Considering the third "death", that being Meursault's sentencing, we notice that the sentencing itself happens during dusk. Only when the sun has disappeared is Meursault able to think clearly: during his "blind rage", he realizes that there was originally "no hope" and realized that there really was no difference between him and any other person not sentenced to death, rather that he just knew when his "expiration date" was. This forces him to consciously face something that he had previously passively accepted: when his mother died, he said that "nothing had really changed at all" and that ultimately it is implied that something like that was bound to happen and is inescapable. With his sentencing however, Meursault comes to see that he wasn't exempt from anything like that... With this newfound embrace of the meaninglessness of the universe and realization of the Absurd, we see that the sun no longer is something that causes pain: “I woke up with the stars in my face. Sounds of the countryside were drifting in. Smells of night, earth, and salt air were cooling my temples. […] As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world” (122). In the closing scene, Camus shows us that with this meaningless universe, we should create meaning and enjoy the things while we are alive. For Meursault, that is looking forwards to his execution and all the spectators as there was still life to live.