"And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness" (59).
To me, Meursault seems like a lifeless human being; however, this instance was one of the few times he clearly indicated his emotions: unhappiness. Throughout the novel, Meursault has indicated little interest in anything. Even when a woman he's been with for a long time indicates her love for him, he refuses to reciprocate her love; I believe it is because he can't feel the emotion. This time he felt "unhappiness," so the event must have been very serious to him. When he killed the Arab, he was bound to feel unhappy at the situation. The heat and intensity from the sun pressured his finger to trigger the gun. But, is there a significance to the "four quick times"? Why four and why quick?
I think it's also important that the one emotion he feels is a negative one. This kind of ties back to what we were discussing in class today in regards to how pain and suffering are at the center of our lives. There is no reason behind it, but we are all unhappy. I think Mersault is the emblem of he who lives a complete life, but why does he seem so dissatisfied?
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was interesting that he finally showed some emotion! To answer your question, I interpreted that last line (four quick times) referring to the four times Meursault shot the Arab man.
ReplyDeleteWhen he shot the Arab, I think it was curious because I could not tell whether Meursault was doing it for himself or for his friend Raymond. Usually he is emotionless towards his friends and anyone who gets close to him, so why would he feel it necessary to defend his friend's honor?
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