Blog Assignment: Feb 17th
Posted on: February 12, 2009
Two symbols that I found help Camus to better convey his message of the absurd and existentialism, were the old lady who couldn’t stop crying when she was paying respects to Meursault’s dead mother and the courtroom.
In a way, the old lady acts as a character foil to Meursault because she represents the way one would normally be expected to grieve. Her behavior contrasts the way Meursault reacts to his mother’s death and therefore accentuates his detachment from society.
A more major symbol in the book is the courtroom. The courtroom symbolizes society. During the courtroom scene, not only is everyone trying to find reason for Meursault’s crime, but they are also trying to understand his complexities as a character. The court trying to find the reason for Meursault’s actions, mirrors humanity’s attempts to find logical explanations for irrational events that occur in everyday life.
Lastly, Meursault constantly makes note of the intensity of the sun and heat. I know we began to touch on this when we were discussing the setting of this novel in class today; however, I am still somewhat confused on what Camus intentions were by making the sun play such an important part of the book. Maybe he does it with no real purpose at all? Or maybe to help him emphasize the fact that there doesn’t always need to be an explanation for ones actions, which compliments the notion of the absurd and that life has no meaning? I don’t know.
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