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Meursault's View Of Death

779 Words4 Pages

Thesis: Through the course of the novel, the underlying motifs of death’s ever looming presence, and its ultimate inevitable are omnipresent in the overall narrative.
Point: The point of view, introduced in the opening paragraph of the prose, allows the reader to comprehend Meursault’s perspective on death. As he is faced with death through the novel, the funeral and the murder, he remains detached from himself. Instead, through his point of view, Meursault focuses on the physical aspects of the world. With such a primary emphasis on such characteristics, it reflects on Meursault’s ideology on death, a mundane occurrence that is inescapable, and life, a meaningless existence with no higher meaning. During the funeral march, he is unfazed by …show more content…

Before the untimely demise of the Arab, Meursault reminds passive about shooting the Arab once given the gun by Raymond. As he is given the gun, he expresses his indifference of shooting the Arab by stating,” “It was then that I realized you could either shoot or not shoot”(56). In his comment, he implies that there is no true difference from the two alternatives, either way everyone must perish at some point in their lives. From this point in the narrative, Camus emphasizes the insignificance of human life through the murder of the Arab. In a fit of irrationality, he non nonchalantly murders the Arab in cold blood. After the first shoot, he passively states,” "the trigger gave[…]" (59). With a lack of empathy for the injured Arab, he continues to shoot the body four additional times. In the aftermath of the slaying, the narrator does not focus on the immediate consequences of the murder; rather, once more detailing the oppressive heat, a source of the murder. Because of the heat and the light reflected off of the Arab’s knife, Meursault absurdly thought to shot the Arab. Yet, even though he uses such factors as an excuse for the murder, he feels no remorse or regret for taking away a life. For, in his past expiernce with death, he knew it was a inescapable for the Arab. So, why should he feel regretful for a happening that is bound to happen at

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The heat is also very important in this novel. Both times that death was in front of Meursault, the heat was unbearable for him; his mother’s funeral and the murder of the Arab. The heat is very uncomfortable for him, because he mentions it many times. Sometimes it is so bad, he becomes dizzy and is unable to think properly. When he is in court, every time he is questioned about the murder, he alway relates back to how hot the scene was.

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Meursault was guilty of shooting the Arab multiple times, killing him immediately. With no remorse, Meursault fired the gun at the Arab after he was already dead. When Meursault was tried for the murder, he was convicted more on the content of his character, rather than the crime itself. The prosecutor brought up the topic of his mother’s death often, which was noticed by the defensive attorney, “Come now, is my client on trial for burying his mother or for killing a man?” (Camus 96).

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Another reason would be the key fact that meursault had acted in self defence. The day of the murder, Meursault had been walking on the beach alone minding his own business. As he walked along the beach, he noticed an arab man lying down. Meursault stopped because as he had recalled earlier, this arab man had gone on and attacked his friend Raymond with a knife. Unexpectedly the arab went on and pulled the knife out on meursault.

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He is unable to make ration and irrational decisions when using the gun and he is unable to think clearly. All of his action when the sun is on him reflects his ignorant to recognize himself and a driving force to commit crimes. Meursault’s actions are not done by him thinking, but more when the sun reflects makes Meursault more motivated to take action. The reason

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An Examination of Meursault’s Motive in The Stranger Many people who read The Stranger conclude that Meursault’s murder of the Arab was not deliberate because of his passive and apathetic personality within the novel, especially exhibiting emotional indifference to the people around him. His murder of the Arab at first seems to be completely thoughtless and impulsive. It is reasonable to assume that because of his personality, he would not have or develop a motive. However, that could not be further from the truth. The novel presents many motivations for Meursault throughout the novel.

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Meursault also strays from the morals society has imposed; he does not see a difference between bad and good; he merely observes without judging. However, when Meursault kills an Arab, he is brutally judged for the aspects that make him unique. In the second part of the novel, as the trial

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(59) After long passages describing the painful violence of the sun, Camus’s transition into the murder is shockingly abrupt, provoking a sense of bewilderment at the unexpected randomness of the murder, conveying effectively the irrationality of Meursault’s murder of the man. However, during the trial, when Meursault reveals that he murdered the Arab only because of the sun, refusing to allow others impose their logical but false interpretations upon his life, “people laughed” (103) and even his own “lawyer threw up his hand” (103) as they are unable comprehend and accept such an irrational motivation. To protect themselves from this harsh reality of the universe, they can only fabricate and impose their own logical explanation for Meursault’s behavior. The prosecutor, for instance, is convinced Meursault murdered the man in cold blood, certain in the narrative he has constructed out of events completely unrelated to the murder, from Meursault’s “ignorance when asked Maman’s age” (99) to his association with a man of “doubtful morality” (99). In both cases, Meursault’s indifference for societal standards of morality has painted him as a man immoral and cold-hearted enough to premeditate the murder.

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