The Stranger #3

          The sun causes Meursault a significant amount of pain. As he walks along the beach, he feels the sun beating on him from every angle; the sun is pushing him, telling him to keep moving toward the Arab ahead on the beach.  Though the Arab is a source of evil in his world, it does not seem to be the Arab that is causing Meursault this discomfort. He even says, regarding the earlier altercation, “As far as I was concerned, the whole thing was over, and I’d gone there without even thinking about it” (58). However through his descriptions of the “cymbals of sunlight crashing” and “the dazzling spear flying up,” there is a sense that Meursault feels as if the external world is falling in on him (59). All of the forces of the external world pressure Meursault, and finally, he snaps and shoots the Arab not once but five times. Meursault describes the experience as “knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness” (59). This is one of the very few times the audience can actually see Meursault apply an emotion to himself, and even then, he is only knocking on the door, not letting happiness actually envelope him. The external forces of the world finally cause Meursault to show some semblance of feeling even if it only is a “quick” stitch of it.