Light and Heat Imagery in The Stranger by Albert Camus
11/14/2013
Word Count: 1,365
Light and Heat Imagery in The Stanger by Albert Camus, and Its Effects on the Murder and Existentialism in the Novel In The Stranger by Albert Camus, the murder committed by Meursault is questionably done with no reason. Although the entirety of the second part is spent in society’s attempts to find a cause, Meursault has a durable existential mentality that proves that even he knows that there is no true reason for the crime. Through the use of light and heat imagery and diction in The Stranger, Albert Camus comments on the duality of society trying to find a cause for the murder and Meursault defying this because of his existential mentality. These elements heighten Meursault’s negative outlook on life by the end of the novel, and his final acceptance of the existential mentality. After Meursault commits the crime in the novel, it is imperative that everyone, including him, attempts to find a cause for the murder. The light and heat imagery shows that, even as Meursault commits the crime, he already has an existential mentality; this is the core problem in society’s attempts to find reasoning for the murder, since he is in full acceptance of his actions. For example, as he is about to commit the crime, Meursault says that “most of the time, [the Arab] was just a form shimmering before [his] eyes in the fiery air” (58). This is dehumanizing the Arab that he is planning on murdering, which originates from the “fiery air.” This is also foreshadowing the existential aspects of the novel that are evident in the second part, saying that a human is nothing to him, and is insignificant enough for Meursault to have the capability to murder him. Based on this quotation, a possible “cause” for the murder could be that he was delusional from the sun, and the Arab being nothing but a “shimmering form.” This heat imagery is furthered when Meursault says, “The sun was the same as it had been the day [he] buried Maman, and like then, [his]
Word Count: 1,365
Light and Heat Imagery in The Stanger by Albert Camus, and Its Effects on the Murder and Existentialism in the Novel In The Stranger by Albert Camus, the murder committed by Meursault is questionably done with no reason. Although the entirety of the second part is spent in society’s attempts to find a cause, Meursault has a durable existential mentality that proves that even he knows that there is no true reason for the crime. Through the use of light and heat imagery and diction in The Stranger, Albert Camus comments on the duality of society trying to find a cause for the murder and Meursault defying this because of his existential mentality. These elements heighten Meursault’s negative outlook on life by the end of the novel, and his final acceptance of the existential mentality. After Meursault commits the crime in the novel, it is imperative that everyone, including him, attempts to find a cause for the murder. The light and heat imagery shows that, even as Meursault commits the crime, he already has an existential mentality; this is the core problem in society’s attempts to find reasoning for the murder, since he is in full acceptance of his actions. For example, as he is about to commit the crime, Meursault says that “most of the time, [the Arab] was just a form shimmering before [his] eyes in the fiery air” (58). This is dehumanizing the Arab that he is planning on murdering, which originates from the “fiery air.” This is also foreshadowing the existential aspects of the novel that are evident in the second part, saying that a human is nothing to him, and is insignificant enough for Meursault to have the capability to murder him. Based on this quotation, a possible “cause” for the murder could be that he was delusional from the sun, and the Arab being nothing but a “shimmering form.” This heat imagery is furthered when Meursault says, “The sun was the same as it had been the day [he] buried Maman, and like then, [his]
Cited: Camus, Albert, and Matthew Ward. The stranger. New York: Vintage International, 1989. Print.