Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Why did Meursault kill the arab
Meursault kept on describing the day and repeating how he felt about the sun. As he was walking towards the arab all he can really think about, all that was on his mind was the sun and how it it was making him feel, the sweat that was running down his face and how the sun reminded him of his mothers funeral. I think Meursault did not have a legitimate reason to kill a man especially the way he shot him 4 extra times while he was already on the ground, but i think the situation he was in at the moment and the emotions and memories that the sun triggered led him to commit such a horrific crime.
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It does seem like the sun plays a key element in the crime. It's like he's being physically coerced into killing the Arab by the elements. It is curious, too, that he shoots the man four more times after the first time.
ReplyDeleteSuch care is taken to describe the environment--the sand, the ocean, the ocean liner, the rock on the beach, the light--and the sun seems to be attacking him, the light coming up like a spear stabbing him in the eye, the light coming down from the sun bombarding him. At a point, Meursault seems to become just another element of the setting--the Arab too--and so, it almost seems as if judging him for this act would be like judging a scorpion for stinging a person walking too near it.
Its true that maybe the memories and things he remembered may have contributed to him committing the crime. I do agree with you that he shouldn't have shot him four extra times. Since he did however I think it was a way of re-assurance that the Arab was really dead.
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