Albert Camus’ The Stranger Essay

Color and weather as elements utilize to explore thought and emotion in Albert Camus The fantasticLiterary techniques have long been an effective tool that authors lend oneself in order to hold deeper meaning at heart their text, particularly for novels that have a seemingly simple purpose. The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward is a perfect example of this, on the surface it is about a murder committed by a heartless man, beneath it traces the development of this man, his thoughts, his principles and finally the acceptance of his fate. Color and weather atomic number 18 two elements that Camus uses in order to develop this deeper meaning, and to explore his protagonists thoughts and emotions. This technique explores the wider concept of existentialist philosophy as well, essentially classifying The Stranger as an existentialist novel. Color and weather argon used in conjunction at times, but when employed separately their stoop materializes in different wa ys within the novel.Weather as used by Camus directly influences the actions of his protagonist Meursault. The most prominent instance would be when he commits the murder of the Arab, because of the intense heat. This is evident in the line The Sea carried up a thick, flaming breath. It seemed to me as if the thrash about split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. My upstanding existence tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver.1 Here, the temperateness and the heat be used to create vivid imagery that characterizes the weather as a agitate by itself, an irrefutable force that has control over Meursault, something that dictates his physical actions at times. Meursault touchs the physical attributes of the world around him in a more greater capacity than others, which is an indication of his existentialist temperament. The physical world is all that matters to him, nothing beyond it.The cheerfulness is used as a recurring symbol to trace the progress ion of Meursaults character with the novel. His attitude towards it, they way he views the effect of the sun on himself is an indicator of his transgression as he is convicted and then as he develops his realization of the world, and accepts his fate. In the first part of the novel, the sun seems to cause him merely discomfort, he feels suffocated and weary under the constant battering of its repressive force. This is indicated when Meursault says, on the day of his mothers funeral But today, with the sun bearing down, making the whole landscape shimmer with heat, it was inhuman and oppressive.2 The death of his mother did not cause him grief, but the force of the sun did.Here, he is entirely focused on the physical aspects of his being he does not function on a level deeper than that. However, this is contrasted to his view towards the end of the novel, when he says .all dark long, waited patiently for the first light to show on the pane of sky.3 He values the terra firma and w hat it has to give, in the view of his approaching death he looks to the sun as a symbol of hope. thence what the sun re introduces to Meursault has changed, once it symbolized aggression and violence, now it indicates hope, and acceptance in his life.While weather was used to influence Meursaults actions, color is employed by Camus to reflect Meursaults thought process and his emotions. Meursault observes color intently as he is completely immersed in the physical world in the first part of the novel. rosy-cheeked features prominently as an indicator of violence, death and aggression. At his mothers funeral, Meursault describes his mothers burial chamber as the blood red earth spilling over Mamans casket, the white flesh of the roots heterogeneous with it4 The red earth reflects the death of his mother, the white represents the empty feeling he associates with it. The line could be seen as an allusion to his ambivalent feelings towards his mothers death, guilt at not being abl e to set to societys expectations, represented by red, and awareness that his mothers death has not caused him to feel anything therefore he is empty, represented by white.Yellow and green appear occasionally in the word form of the novel as well, to reflect certain aspects of Meursaults thinking, and emotions. After an enjoyable dinner at Celestes, Meursault says The sky was green I felt near.5 Green here represents contentment, and a certain tranquil cool it that enables him to live in the moment, with his simple concerns and thoughts. Yellow is used when he describes his dead mother and the mirror on his wall. Thus, it represents di traffic circleidation and aging, something that does not appeal to Meursault.Blue and blackness are significant colours as when they are contrasted with each other, they represent Meursaults struggle between an obligation to conform to society, and a desire to be freed from all responsibility. It can be inferred from the line I felt a little lost between the blue and white of the sky and the monotony of the colors around me the sticky black of the tar, the dull black of all the clothes, and the shiny black of the hearse6 that his ambivalence troubles him. Black as a symbol of sorrow represents what Meursault should be feeling, despair and loneliness, while blue and white represent his desire to be liberated, to live in the world without having to feel guilty for his lack of feeling at his mothers death.Meursaults piercing observation of color and the fact that the weather affects him in profound ways all allude to something deeper. at that place is a perceptible change in Camus writing style when he describes nature, and when he describes emotion or a social situation. The sentences flow freely when he writes of nature, describing the sun or the weather or the lap of water against his skin. This is starkly different from the language used to depict social situations, or emotion. The sentences are condensed and clipped, suggesting Meursaults unease with conforming to society and its regulations. His connection with nature hints at his existentialist tendencies revealed later on in the novel, as he finds pleasure in the physical world instances such as good weather please him.The usage of these elements as literary techniques in the novel contributes to a deeper understanding of the nature of existentialism itself. Existentialism is a predominant theme in The Stranger, one that Camus has chosen to explore in a compelling way. His focus on the physical, weather and color are both aspects of the world that are visible on the surface. They symbolize the very essence of existentialism, a focus on the absolute, what is tangible and present rather than something unidentifiable and abstract.Existentialists focus on concrete human existence, Camus has alluded to this by employing weather and color as techniques in the novel to illustrate his protagonists thoughts. The development of these symbols, the Sun in particular and what it heart to Meursault is indicative of Camus own thoughts towards existentialism. His character Meursault is resolved of his struggle in the end he reaches a tip where he accepts his impending death. By doing this, Camus encourages the reader to persevere in spite of absurdity. He cites it as an breastwork to overcome rather than a reason for ending ones life, which is the common outcome of an existentialists thinking.Thus, Albert Camus makes use of color and weather to convey certain deeper connotations of the novel, as well as to indicate his protagonists existentialist tendencies, and his own thoughts on this philosophy. He uses symbols, vivid imagery and contrast to highlight the conflict within Meursault, which is an important facet of the novel. His symbolic presentation of the sun traces Meursaults character development, from a man upstage from most of the world, to a man who accepts his fate and truly appreciates the world around him. These are the elements that contribute to the reasonableness of a novel, give it many layers that provoke thought within the reader.BibliographyCamus, Albert (1942) The Stranger, Alfred. A. Knopf, Inc (1998)1 The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, page 592 The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, page 153 The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, page 1134 The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, page 185 The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, page266 The Stranger by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, page 17