The Sun: Lighting Up the Absence of Meaning in Life - Essay Example

April 11, The Sun: Lighting Up the Absence of Meaning in Life It does not matter if life has meaning or not, as long as people live it in the best way they can enjoy it. Meursault believes in this philosophy, which is explored in Albert Camus' novel The Stranger. Meursault tumbles over life in a state of stupor. The sun beats on him constantly, which is one day blistering enough to compel him to repeatedly shoot and kill an Arab. Throughout his trial and impending execution, he feels nothing for himself or society. This essay analyzes the motif of the sun in this novel. The sun reflects the lightness of Meursault’s existentialist approach to life, the sweltering setting that induces sleep or rush in society, and the flat tone of the text that emphasizes the absurdity of finding meaning in life. The sun reflects Meursault’s lightness of being that does not come from his spiritual strength, but his existentialist approach to life. Living and dying meaningfully are not Meursault’s concerns. He is not bothered with the idea of death. He has such an extremely detached attitude towards his mother’s death, for instance. He says, “MOTHER died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure” (Camus 4). His own mother dies and he does not remember when. He also does not cry or feel emotionally affected. He does not show any interest in seeing his mother’s face too, before the coffin’s lid is screwed close. In other words, he does not pay his respects to the dead the way most people do. At the same time, his own death bores him. Meursault, nevertheless, appreciates the reflection time that imprisonment gives him. He realizes the absurdity of life and tries to escape it through believing in God. For him, all people die, whatever their beliefs and social classes are. They all end up dead, so to live in any particular meaningful way is meaningless. Meursault does not bother to live a meaningful life too. He sleeps most of the time and things that pique his curiosity are things that do not usually matter. Instead of looking for meaning in his life, he enjoys it through minor activities, such as cutting out an “advertisement of Kruschen Salts” and putting it in his album and complaining about their office’s wet roller towel (Camus 15-18). Furthermore, Meursault helps Raymond with his schemes. His only justification is that he has no reason to not satisfy Raymond (Camus 22). At some point, Meursault lets the weather get under his skin, until he becomes queasy enough to kill an Arab. Even at the face of death penalty for his crime, Meursault does not feel remorse, but only a “kind of vexation” (Camus 44). Life and death are nothing to Meursault, because like the sun, they are part of human existence. The sun reflects the natural cycle of life and produces a sweltering environment that encourages people to either rush or sleep. The sun stands for the natural cycle of life that can also be seen in the setting. The black motif during the funeral stands out because of the sun. However, for Meursault, the rituals for the dead, even for his mother, hold no importance for him. The sun only serves to accentuate the nothingness of life in general. The black colors of the hearse and horse and the scents of the environment and these animals further dull Meursault’s senses. The funeral essentially makes him sleepy. In addition, the sun warms the environment enough to keep people on the move or unmoving. Meursault’s life is a series of rushing and sleeping. During his mother’s funeral, he feels like hurrying it up because of the heat on his back and his dark suit. He truly does not have any emotional connection with his mother’s death. The Marengo landscape is furthermore described as possessing “something inhuman, discouraging” (Camus 11). He becomes more painfully aware of his physical discomfort than the decline of his humanity, due to his absence of feelings for other people. However, Camus shows that Meursault cannot be entirely blamed for his listless existence. Society has a large role in embedding a sense of nothingness in people. Meursault remembers his employer who dislikes his absence for two days, and the former realizes why. Apparently, he will get a four-day-leave, since he returns to his place on Saturday. This indicates the pervading motivation of capitalistic individuals to generate profit without respect for human life. The society is also not concerned of living a meaningful existence. Indeed, the rush to make money becomes the main driver of humanity. The sun affects the flat tone of the story by underscoring the theme of existentialism, which reveals the absurdity of finding meaning in life. The sun makes everyone equally warm; no one can escape its heat, its reality. Meursault is not interested in having an emotional connection with others, since he believes that people die anyway. He does not like to chat with other people during his train travel and his mother’s vigil and funeral, for instance. Meursault also does not have any strong emotion for anyone, even for his mother. Twice in the story, he repeats the word “No” when asked if he wants to take a last glimpse on his mother’s body. In addition, his “friendship” with someone who is reputed to be a criminal is of no consequence to him. He thinks that he “didn’t care one way or the other,” which is basically his approach in life. He simply does not care what he does or what others do. If something is interesting enough to do, then he does it. An example is his relationship with Marie that is not about love for Meursault. It is about enjoying the moment, such as kissing her when she laughs (Camus 24). The sun, moreover, makes every detail of life clear to Meursault and these details highlight people’s mortality and ignorance. He sees life in from an isolated and disgusted perspective. When he sees his mother’s co-residents in the Home, he notices “… that one couldn’t see their eyes, only a dull glow in a sort of nest of wrinkles” (Camus 8). For him, the near absence of light in the eyes signifies an impending reality of death. Another detail comes from his mother’s friend, M. Perez. Meursault sees his ears as if they are candles: “…pendulous, scarlet ears that showed up like blobs of sealing wax on the pallor of his cheeks and were framed in wisps of silky white hair” (Camus 11). The candle is like the sun, which gives light. However, unlike the permanent sun, candles die away into evaporated wax, which is what M. Perez looks like to him. These old people are walking corpses; they might exist now, but later on, they will die just like his mother. Meursault also rejects the impracticalities of people’s spiritual beliefs and practices. The tone of Camus’ writing seems to make people uncomfortable too in being forced to conform to society’s expectations about proper norms and behaviors. Meursault, for instance, feels uncomfortable in saying no, when asked if he believes in God. He also feels angry towards a prison chaplain who forces him to believe in God. Meursault thinks that life does not need God to have meaning, because life is about the sun that rises and sets. Life is a cycle that ends somewhere and that is the only meaning people can get from life. The sun is an important motif that affects Meursault, the setting, and the tone of the text. Meursault is aware of his life from an existentialist perspective. He finds it absurd to live life by following spiritual beliefs and practices. The sun also affects the setting and makes people feel sleepy or focused on the rush of living. The sun pervades the tone of the text, as it applies to life in a matter-of-fact manner. The sun heats up the world and no one can be separated from its warmth. In the same line of thinking, people live and then they die. Camus asserts that the meaning of life is found in the face value of death that awaits all people. For every person, the sun will set on him/her someday, and by then, they are all dead and life will never concern them again. The novel then poses a meaningful question: So why do people have to be concerned of finding meaning in life now? Work Cited Camus, Albert. The Stranger. 1942. Web. 8 Apr. 2012. . Read More