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Meursault's View Of Death

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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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Camus gives the reader no background or details as to why Meursault shoots the Arab, let alone why he shoots him four times. As the reader, it is hard to analyze the situation because of how natural the occurrence seems. There was no premeditation to his actions and it seems that it was only a coincidence that Meursault had the gun in the first place. When looking at the text it appears that Meursault is shooting at the blade of light reflecting off of the Arab’s knife into his eyes, “the Arab drew his knife and held it up to me in the sun. The light shot off the steel and it was like a long flashing blade cutting at my forehead”(Camus 59).

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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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