The Influence Of Weather In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

“Weather is never just weather”(70), according to Thomas C. Foster, author of How to Read Literature like a Professor, there is always a more complex meaning behind the rain, snow, or sun displayed in the novel. This theory can be easily backed up when analyzing the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus. In this instance, the sun is the main aspect of weather throughout. However the sun is not just apart of the setting, the produced heat controls the protagonist, Meursault’s, emotions and actions. As well, the focus of existentialism in the novel provides a major influence on Meursault’s inability to love and find a meaningful purpose in life. The influence of the weather, coupled with the feature of existentialism, give major insight into Meursault’s views of human condition. Foster focuses the majority of chapter 10 of his novel on rain; however, the points he expresses stand the same for the instance of sun. In The Stranger, Meursault has a very distinct relationship with the sun. It tends to make him very irritable and he easily loses focuses when he feels the hot sun “starting to burn his cheeks…veins in it throbbing under the sun”. During the day of his

The recurring symbol of the sun shows Meursault’s inability to focus on anything other then physical sensations, while he lets the heat consume his mind and body. The weather has a much greater effect than just being a part of the setting, as Foster states in How to Read Literature like a Professor. Along with the weather, the literary feature of existentialism provides a larger understanding of Meursault’s character. His disengagement with love, as well as a belief in a higher God, allows his life to seem rather meaningless. His acceptance of death causes him to see everyone and everything as an insignificant part of life, as everyday they are a step closer to