Free College Essays - The Motif of the Sun in The Stranger by Albert Camus :: The Stranger The Outsider

The Motif of the Sun in The Stranger In Camus raw The Stranger the predominate motif of the sun has been variously interpreted by many critics as a symbol of Meursaults repressed emotions.This is an interpretation I simply cannot accept, for I have always regarded the sun as emblematical of the superego - the burden of society inside Meursault.Like the sun, society is generally purview to be a positive thing. People usually regard a good strong society that instills its members with a strong, unified code of ethics as something to be desired. In the same way, people tend to cogitate of a bright, warm, sunny day as something good and positive. However, both the delineate of society and theforce of the sun can become overpowering. They beat knock off on people, smothering and suffocating them, unspoilt as the sun beats see upon Meursault throughout the novel. The sun is present whenever the force of society is strong within Meursault. At the funeral the sun bears down on Meu rsault as society smothers him with expectations that he will grieve his mothers death in a typical manner. At the beach when he kills the Arab the sun is ever present and overpowering, making Meursault fox and confused. In the same way the power of society suffocates and confuses Meursault as it bears down on him with its views on morality. The sun is also present at the trial, just as is the force of society which claims to possess the right to judge people. The force of society is absent in the prison, likewise the sun is absent from Meursaults off-key cell, and because the overpowering force of society has been removed, Meursault is finally able to open himself to the gentle sluggishness of the world.At one point Meursault leans from the window in an attempt to tonus the suns last