Four Gunshots

After Meursault kills the Arab by shooting him five times, he says, "And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness" (59). The fact that Meursault knocks four times when he shot the Arab five times is confusing. However, Meursault had first killed the Arab in one shot and then shot four more shots into his dead body. These extra gunshots were the four knocks on the door.

But what does this mean about Meursault's character? He believes that what condemned him were the four extra shots. He killed a man, but doesn't seem to care about that, only the fact that he shot him four extra times. He does not seem to feel guilty about actually killing the Arab, just that he shot him four extra times. This gives testament to Meursault's odd emotional sentiments. Because even if he hadn't fired those four extra shots, he would still be condemned for murder. The four extra shots gave him is own unhappiness, his own feeling of guilt, because those four extra shots proved to himself that it was his own fault, not the fault of the sun in his eyes.