The Outsider

Novel | Albert Camus
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What does the sun symbolize in “The Outsider?”

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What does the sun symbolize in “The Outsider?” [NU: 2022] ★★★

Albert Camus (1913–1960) in “The Outsider” (1942) shows the power of nature. The sun is not only heat or light. It controls Meursault’s actions. It makes him restless. It blinds him. It finally pushes him toward murder. 

The Sun at the Funeral: At Marengo, Meursault goes to his mother’s funeral. The heat of the sun disturbs him more than the death itself.  He feels sleepy on the way. During the funeral, Thomas Pérez almost faints under the burning sun. Meursault thinks only of the sweat, the glare, and the heaviness. He says, 

“I went out, the sun was up and the sky mottled red.”

He shows no tears, only the pain of the heat. Here, the sun symbolizes the indifference of nature to human grief.

The Sun on the Beach: At Masson’s beach house, Meursault, Marie Cardona, and Raymond Sintès go swimming. Later, Meursault

walks alone. The Arab waits near the rock. The heat burns him. He says, 

“The sun was scorching hot.” 

The sun presses on his body. His forehead sweats. His eyes fill with light. He cannot think clearly. Here, the sun symbolizes pressure, confusion, and the blind force of nature.

The Sun and the Murder: The Arab shows his knife. The sun reflects on the blade. Meursault fires once, then four more times. The reason he gives is simple. He says, 

“It was because of the sun.” 

Here, the sun becomes the symbol of absurd power. It shows how meaningless forces control human action.

The sun in “The Outsider” is more than weather. It disturbs Meursault at Marengo. It blinds him at Masson’s beach. It pushes him to kill the Arab. The sun finally becomes the symbol of absurdity and fate.

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Albert Camus
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from The Outsider