Monday, October 5, 2015

The Sun, the Weather, and Meursault

It would be a stretch to say that Meursault is in any way a sunshine-y man, but he is clearly affected by the sun and the weather in a way that most people probably are not. The sun practically drives him to murder a man. He was about to leave the beach, "but," he says, "the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, was pressing on [his] back." So he moves toward the spring (and the Arab).

Because he is so moved by the weather, it seems almost reasonable to say that Meursault almost sees himself as an element of nature, even going so far as to call the world his brother at the end of the story. In that light, it almost makes sense that he is so affected by his natural surroundings.

1 comment:

  1. I think this is a very interesting perspective. It almost gives evidence to the idea that Meursault is the most sensitive person in the novel as opposed to the most detached one.

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