Blog 56

Meursault’s decision to kill the Arab was a life changing experience for him that Meursault blames on the physical discomfort he felt when he was approaching the Arab. However, it is not until the Arab draws out a knife that “I could feel the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead” (Camus 59) which causes Meursault to react and shoot the Arab. At first the reader is forced to believe that it was Meursault’s reaction to the sunlight that caused him to kill the Arab; however, Meursault’s reaction was done in self-defense and out of a fear for his life. Meursault’s emotional reflexes caused Meursault to justify his action of murder by allowing him to blame the sun for his actions even though he shot the Arab out of fear for his life. The deepest insight and maybe the only time Meursault’s true controller appears is right after he shoots the Arab four more times: “…it was knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness” (Camus 59). The fact that Meursault does not think about how he feels physically or what his physical reaction to shooting the Arab is, but instead thinks about how he has ruined the happiness he had, epitomizes that Meursault is actually being guided by his desire for happiness and emotions.