Discussion of the sun in the Albert Camus novel "The Stranger".

The sun is a powerful and all too-often overlooked symbol in many novels. It is usually seen as a guiding light in the dark or as hope in times of despair. In the Albert Camus story, The Stranger, the sun represents a new element. Camus, a very unconventional thinker, twisted the common meaning of the sun into a painful image. The sun is on constant vigil of Meursault?s every action. Ironically, the bright light …

…as if the sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. My whole being tensed?? All the factors of the sun?s heat and light affecting Meursault send him into an uncontrollable frenzy where he can only think to shoot the Arab, then to shoot him four more times. Works Cited Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Ward, Selena. SparkNotes on The Stranger. 3 March 2003. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/stranger>