Meursault and the Weather

In the first part of The Stranger, I have noticed how important the weather has played in showing Meursault's perspective and emotion. Usually authors depict funerals as morbid, however in the stranger the setting is extremely hot, with the sun bearing down on Meursault during the whole service. The sun is seen as oppressive and overpowering, causing not only Meursault to feel fatigued but also act brash. On page 59 Meursault claims, "All I could feel were cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead and, indistinctly, the dazzling spear flying up from the knife in front of me". While noted that the Arab man was only paces away from Meursault at this point, and he is most likely nervous or conflicted, Meursault's senses blind him. With the heat causing a drunken fatigue, the light of the sun crashing down on his head, and sweat covering his eyes, he kills the Arab man. To me it was very important that even after the man was on the ground motionless, Meursault chose to shoot him again.

When drawing a parallel between the death of Meursault's mother and the Arab man I notice how the weather is very oppressive in both. Now while I understand this could just be a coincidence and normal thing if you live in North Africa, at these two points in the story Meursault goes into much heavier detail as he talks about the weather. When Maman dies and the funeral service is over, Meursault goes home and continues his life. For the rest of part one it is odd how Meursault never talks to anyone about his mother nor does he 'continue' to mourn. We do not find this same finality at the end of Chapter 6. On page 59, Meursault says, "I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where I'd been happy. Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness". He understands that killing this man meant something, he would feel a mix of remorse and relief. While simple it is also an important reflection for Meursault considering most of the time as readers we cannot understand Meursault's emotions or thought process.