Throughout the tale told within Albert Camus’s The Stranger, there is a reoccurring theme of darkness versus illumination within every chapter. The motif is indicative of Meursault’s character as a person. The ways that dark and light respectively affect Meursault speak for his personality where the words do not explicitly say them. The theme of contrasting light and dark being as prevalent as it is entails that the motif was meant to be noticed -- and is occasionally difficult for a reader to ignore. Light is commonly associated with aspects that are typically benevolent in nature -- such as hope, holiness, purity, judgment and faith. This idea has been present within humanity for such a long time it could be considered evolutionary, as
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The conflict between light and darkness throughout the whole book. Some events might have not even occurred if Meursault’s particular strong reactions to light were not present from the beginning. The motif is set up in the first part of the book, within the first chapter, during the funeral. Meursault is exposed to the heat and the light for the duration of the funeral procession, which makes him uncomfortable and further hides away any emotion he might show to begin …show more content…
This says more than the author could have written had he written it out simply. This says that Meursault does not want the pity of others and is not afraid to use force to get what he wants or to get his point across. Contrary to the findings of a reader that only committed to a superficial reading of the tale, Meursault is not an emotionless man. His emotions are hidden, and certain events can and will trigger a response to show them, but only in circumstances that are truly against what he believes. Compounded with Meursault 's nihilistic statements of how little things matter in the end, the findings are plausible. In conclusion, the symbolic representation of light and dark throughout the tale of The Stranger tells that Meursault is not a stoic man, but is desperate to keep his emotions hidden from the world. However, when pushed past the point of tolerance, Meursault reveals that he is not afraid to show what he truly thinks or use force to get what he wants or establish that he is unchanging in his
The conflict between light and darkness throughout the whole book. Some events might have not even occurred if Meursault’s particular strong reactions to light were not present from the beginning. The motif is set up in the first part of the book, within the first chapter, during the funeral. Meursault is exposed to the heat and the light for the duration of the funeral procession, which makes him uncomfortable and further hides away any emotion he might show to begin …show more content…
This says more than the author could have written had he written it out simply. This says that Meursault does not want the pity of others and is not afraid to use force to get what he wants or to get his point across. Contrary to the findings of a reader that only committed to a superficial reading of the tale, Meursault is not an emotionless man. His emotions are hidden, and certain events can and will trigger a response to show them, but only in circumstances that are truly against what he believes. Compounded with Meursault 's nihilistic statements of how little things matter in the end, the findings are plausible. In conclusion, the symbolic representation of light and dark throughout the tale of The Stranger tells that Meursault is not a stoic man, but is desperate to keep his emotions hidden from the world. However, when pushed past the point of tolerance, Meursault reveals that he is not afraid to show what he truly thinks or use force to get what he wants or establish that he is unchanging in his