The Stranger Camus Analysis

Meursault was always a peculiar man to society. His indifference to the world was viewed as someone not quite “normal” because he embraced the idea of existentialism. Meursault’s story starts at his maman’s funeral where everyone expected him to mourn, however, Meursault showed no emotion. He believed that everyone around him will eventually die and life must go on. His whole life changed when he went to a beach house with his friends Raymond and Marie. Raymond had physically abused his girlfriend who he believed was cheating on him. Later on, a group of Arabs followed Raymond and physically hurt him. Raymond wanted revenge, so he brought his gun with him. Later Raymond hands his gun to Meursault. Meursault walks back and finds himself next …show more content…
Meursault holds Raymond back from using his gun by telling Raymond to fight the Arab instead. “The sun glinted off Raymond’s gun as he handed” it to Meursault (56). When Meursault states that “the sun glinted off Raymond’s gun”, Camus is referring to the exact moment the gun caused tension to rise. Camus uses the word “glinted“ to show that the gun was bright enough to capture everyone’s attention. Similar to a diamond when the sun reflects off the diamond it shines bright enough to be noticed. The sight of the gun causes tension to rise around Meursault’s surroundings. They “stared at each other without blinking” waiting for Meursault’s next move to occur (56). The tension that the gun has built causes Meursault to realize that the choice is literally in his hand. Meursault can either shoot the Arab or not shoot at all. Therefore, Camus utilizes the gun to built enough tension that will allow Meursault to embrace the idea of …show more content…
Raymond goes back to find the Arabs that had beaten him up, and Meursault follows him. Raymond tries to scare the Arabs with his gun, but Meursault stops him from using the it. Raymond hands his gun to Meursault and they “stared at each other without blinking, and everything came to a stop there between the sea, the sand, and the sun, and the double silence of the flute and the water” (56). When Meursault says “everything came to a stop there between the sea, the sand, and the sun, and the double silence of the flute and the water”, Camus is describing the way the sight of the gun caused tension to rise around Raymond, Meursault, and the Arabs. Before Raymond handed the gun to Meursault, one of the Arabs was “blowing through a little reed” (55). The instant sight of the gun in Meursault’s hand causes his surroundings to mute, including “the double silence of the flute” (56). The Arab stopped playing his flute at the sight of the gun, and everything around them goes silent too. The effect that the gun has on Meursault’s surroundings allows Meursault to realize that he can make the choice of using the gun or not. In other words, Meursault is embracing the idea of existentialism through the tension of the