Throughout the book, Meursault has a problem adjusting to bright lights and heat. When situations arise where it is particularly hot or bright, his mood becomes sour and he seems uninterested in what is occurring around him. When at his mother's vigil, Meursault thought about how the light affected him: "glare on the white walls was making me drowsy" (9). The fact that he becomes drowsy shows his lack of interest in his surroundings. Meursault's reflection on his mother's funeral procession, which was "flooded with sunlight. The glare from the sky was unbearable", was that "everything seemed to happen so fast, so deliberately, so naturally that I don't remember any of it anymore" (16, 17). His lack of remembrance of this event show that he is uninterested in the funeral procession. I think that this uninterested state which is shown through the sunlight supports Meursault's philosophy of absurdism because it shows how events and actions do not matter in the scheme of life. They are pointless because the end result of life (death) is inevitable.
I agree with what Gabby said about how the weather's influence over Meursault supports his philosophy of absurdism. I think that this is made clear, especially, by the extent to which Meursault lets physical conditions rule his mood, feelings, emotions and actions. This was seen perhaps most strongly with the intense imagery of the burning sun and its effect on Meursault before he killed the Arab on the beach: "All I could feel were the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead and, indistinctly, the dazzling spear flying up from the knife in front of me. The scorching blade slashed at my eyelids and stabbed at my stinging eyes" (59). Although the Arab was doing nothing, the hot sun affected Meursault in such a way that he began to see the reflection off the weapons as a threat, as a "scorching blade" that "slashed" and "stabbed" at his eyes. Although the weather nomally affects only our physical comfort, it affected Meursault much more deeply: he allowed it to control his mind and dictate his actions. In his trial, Meursault even says that the murder was not premeditated; he only did it "because of the sun" (103). I think that by letting the weather take such control over him, Meursault seems apathetic to the point that he won't even control his own urges, and instead does only what he feels like doing at that instant--without regard for the future or consideration of consequences. This exemplifies his belief that nothing really matters, and so he acts on his whims, influenced by something as trivial as the weather.
One thing that really stood out to me in the text regarding the heat and Meursault is the incidence in the court room while he was being tried. Instead of being interested in what was going on around him, and paying attention to his case he decides to loose interest and not pay any attention. The only thing Meursault seems to notice is the heat. He stated "But it went on much longer than when he was talking about my crime-so long, in fact, that finally I was aware of how hot a morning it was" (Camus 101). It was very odd to me that a man that was being tried for murder wasn't paying any attention to what was being said by his lawyer or the prosecution. Instead Meursault was worried about the heat which was a re-occuring pattern in the story. He even goes so far as to telling the judge that he killed that Arab because of the sun (Camus 103). Clearly him saying that is absurd, he claimed that he killed someone because of the heat. I still am not quite sure what to make of him saying this. Like Gabby and Emma, I also tied this back to absurdism, it seems as though Meursault sees no real meaning to life, but rather pays more attention to the weather. In many major parts of the story such as his mothers funeral, the murder, his trial, Meursault pays no attention to what is actually going on, but he focuses on the unimportant aspects (heat), which shows that he is an absurdist!
I personally wouldn’t necessarily say that Meursault’s obsession with the weather and heat is due to an absence of meaning. Instead, I feel that his indifference and amorality to emotional or social aspects is representative of his absurdist philosophy, and so the only feature left to examine is the physical. Throughout the book, Camus portrays Meursault as only noticing the world around him in a sensual way. This style is to reinforce the philosophy that there is no meaning to life, and thus the primal senses are the only focus. In terms of the weather, when Meursault is at his mother’s funeral, he notices “the blue and white of the sky…the sticky black of the tar…the smell of varnish and incense…fatigue after a night without sleep” (17). The pain of the heat and his fatigue cause him more anguish than the fact that his mother is soon to be buried. Even when he sees Perez with “tears of frustration and exhaustion…streaming down his cheeks” and his “fainting” Meursault does not think about how Perez is grieving from the death of his fiancé (18). Expanding on this emphasis of the physical past the weather, Meursault is also only concerned with the senses when it comes to Marie. When she is first introduced into the story, Camus doesn’t address anything about Marie except for the physical. Meursault notices “Marie’s heart beating softly…her leg pressed against [his]…the salty smell [of her] hair”, and the audience is given nothing about her personality as a character (20-21). He doesn’t even care when she leaves in the morning without any due notice, further developing Meursault’s apathy for the emotional; this is especially apparent when he leisurely sleeps “until ten” subsequently on a whim (21). Afterwards, Meursault looks out onto the street and again only makes physical observations of what he sees; he still doesn’t connect them in any way shape or form to meaning (21-24). So, without anchors in the social and emotional world, Meursault is a man who lives only by physical impulse; the weather and everything else that are physical senses, such of Marie’s sexuality and his affinity for sleeping, affects him and determines how he feels and what he does.
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Throughout the book, Meursault has a problem adjusting to bright lights and heat. When situations arise where it is particularly hot or bright, his mood becomes sour and he seems uninterested in what is occurring around him. When at his mother's vigil, Meursault thought about how the light affected him: "glare on the white walls was making me drowsy" (9). The fact that he becomes drowsy shows his lack of interest in his surroundings. Meursault's reflection on his mother's funeral procession, which was "flooded with sunlight. The glare from the sky was unbearable", was that "everything seemed to happen so fast, so deliberately, so naturally that I don't remember any of it anymore" (16, 17). His lack of remembrance of this event show that he is uninterested in the funeral procession. I think that this uninterested state which is shown through the sunlight supports Meursault's philosophy of absurdism because it shows how events and actions do not matter in the scheme of life. They are pointless because the end result of life (death) is inevitable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Gabby said about how the weather's influence over Meursault supports his philosophy of absurdism. I think that this is made clear, especially, by the extent to which Meursault lets physical conditions rule his mood, feelings, emotions and actions. This was seen perhaps most strongly with the intense imagery of the burning sun and its effect on Meursault before he killed the Arab on the beach: "All I could feel were the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead and, indistinctly, the dazzling spear flying up from the knife in front of me. The scorching blade slashed at my eyelids and stabbed at my stinging eyes" (59). Although the Arab was doing nothing, the hot sun affected Meursault in such a way that he began to see the reflection off the weapons as a threat, as a "scorching blade" that "slashed" and "stabbed" at his eyes. Although the weather nomally affects only our physical comfort, it affected Meursault much more deeply: he allowed it to control his mind and dictate his actions. In his trial, Meursault even says that the murder was not premeditated; he only did it "because of the sun" (103). I think that by letting the weather take such control over him, Meursault seems apathetic to the point that he won't even control his own urges, and instead does only what he feels like doing at that instant--without regard for the future or consideration of consequences. This exemplifies his belief that nothing really matters, and so he acts on his whims, influenced by something as trivial as the weather.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really stood out to me in the text regarding the heat and Meursault is the incidence in the court room while he was being tried. Instead of being interested in what was going on around him, and paying attention to his case he decides to loose interest and not pay any attention. The only thing Meursault seems to notice is the heat. He stated "But it went on much longer than when he was talking about my crime-so long, in fact, that finally I was aware of how hot a morning it was" (Camus 101). It was very odd to me that a man that was being tried for murder wasn't paying any attention to what was being said by his lawyer or the prosecution. Instead Meursault was worried about the heat which was a re-occuring pattern in the story. He even goes so far as to telling the judge that he killed that Arab because of the sun (Camus 103). Clearly him saying that is absurd, he claimed that he killed someone because of the heat. I still am not quite sure what to make of him saying this. Like Gabby and Emma, I also tied this back to absurdism, it seems as though Meursault sees no real meaning to life, but rather pays more attention to the weather. In many major parts of the story such as his mothers funeral, the murder, his trial, Meursault pays no attention to what is actually going on, but he focuses on the unimportant aspects (heat), which shows that he is an absurdist!
ReplyDeleteI personally wouldn’t necessarily say that Meursault’s obsession with the weather and heat is due to an absence of meaning. Instead, I feel that his indifference and amorality to emotional or social aspects is representative of his absurdist philosophy, and so the only feature left to examine is the physical. Throughout the book, Camus portrays Meursault as only noticing the world around him in a sensual way. This style is to reinforce the philosophy that there is no meaning to life, and thus the primal senses are the only focus. In terms of the weather, when Meursault is at his mother’s funeral, he notices “the blue and white of the sky…the sticky black of the tar…the smell of varnish and incense…fatigue after a night without sleep” (17). The pain of the heat and his fatigue cause him more anguish than the fact that his mother is soon to be buried. Even when he sees Perez with “tears of frustration and exhaustion…streaming down his cheeks” and his “fainting” Meursault does not think about how Perez is grieving from the death of his fiancé (18). Expanding on this emphasis of the physical past the weather, Meursault is also only concerned with the senses when it comes to Marie. When she is first introduced into the story, Camus doesn’t address anything about Marie except for the physical. Meursault notices “Marie’s heart beating softly…her leg pressed against [his]…the salty smell [of her] hair”, and the audience is given nothing about her personality as a character (20-21). He doesn’t even care when she leaves in the morning without any due notice, further developing Meursault’s apathy for the emotional; this is especially apparent when he leisurely sleeps “until ten” subsequently on a whim (21). Afterwards, Meursault looks out onto the street and again only makes physical observations of what he sees; he still doesn’t connect them in any way shape or form to meaning (21-24). So, without anchors in the social and emotional world, Meursault is a man who lives only by physical impulse; the weather and everything else that are physical senses, such of Marie’s sexuality and his affinity for sleeping, affects him and determines how he feels and what he does.
ReplyDelete