73 pages • 2 hours read
The Stranger
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Symbols & Motifs
The Weather
The weather in Algiers is a constant source of annoyance for Meursault. The hot, oppressive sun makes itself felt in almost every scene, as the characters sweat and fan themselves to alleviate the stifling heat. The use of weather to reflect characters’ emotions is a literary technique called pathetic fallacy. Pathetic fallacy occurs when a character’s environment reflects their inner emotional state, and the hot weather representing the Meursault’s anxiety is an example of this technique in action. Through the use of pathetic fallacy, the uncomfortable weather symbolizes Meursault’s perpetual discomfort, a feeling of annoyance and anxiety he cannot escape. Throughout most of the story, he lacks the self-awareness needed to describe his feelings of apathy or detachment, but he is certain that something is not quite right with the universe. Meursault dives into the sea to escape the sun, but he lacks an equivalent symbolic escape from his sense of dread and anxiety.
The weather also motivates Meursault’s actions and contributes to some of his worst behavior. At his mother’s funeral, he is focused more on his sweat than his dead parent. He cannot look past his physical condition to act in accordance with convention. The hot weather symbolizes the disconnect between Meursault’s actions and the expectations imposed on him by society.
Another example of this is the murder, wherein Meursault spends the day feeling hot and uncomfortable. When he encounters the Arab, the heat becomes almost unbearable. Anxiety, dread, and other unnamed emotions reach a boiling point at the exact moment the weather becomes so overbearing that Meursault takes out his frustrations on another person. Meursault does not kill the Arab because of the heat, but his inner turmoil, represented by heat, slowly builds as the day becomes hotter and more uncomfortable. Meursault’s incompatibility with the Algerian heat supports the book’s criticism of France’s colonial presence in Algeria. The Europeans cannot handle the African weather, but rather than admit that they are an occupying colonial power, they live uncomfortable lives that boil over into violence against the local people.
Weapons
Weapons play a key role in the plot of The Stranger, and each individual weapon carries an important symbolic meaning. The knife, the gun, and the guillotine are all used to harm people, but their uses reflect different power dynamics inherent in the social order. The Arab is armed with a knife, and he uses it to cut Sintes’s arm and face. The bloody attack is effective and leaves Sintes furious, but the knife’s capacity to harm is limited. This limitation is evidenced when Sintes returns later with a pistol. The Arab is outmatched, and his knife can do nothing to save him from being shot. The knife becomes a symbol of the lack of power felt by the Algerian in the face of French colonial forces. The Algerians have less resources and less ability to inflict pain on their more powerful oppressors, so any attempt to throw off the shackles of colonial rule is undermined by these limited resources. The knife symbolizes the weaker position of the Algerian Arabs in the social order, while the pistol symbolizes the greater power and strength possessed by the European colonizers. Additionally, the knife requires that the Arab get close to his enemy, while the pistol allows Meursault to shoot him from far away. The Arab and his fellow Algerians are forced into dangerous situations by their limited resources, while Europeans like Meursault can kill dispassionately and from a distance.
The guillotine is a weapon used by the state to kill people. Just as the pistol symbolizes the greater power held by the Europeans against the Algerians, the guillotine shows that the state wields the ultimate power. The fact that the guillotine is legal illustrates the state’s power: Unlike the knife or the pistol, the guillotine is the authorized use of violence by a desperate society. The guillotine is a distant, looming threat used to punish those who do not adhere to society’s rules. As such, the guillotine symbolizes the way society feels compelled to punish Meursault’s views. Unlike the other weapons, it is not used in interpersonal conflict but to maintain social order. The guillotine represents the final punishment administered to people who reject the conventional view of the universe; the threat of its deadly potential is society’s last weapon against people who believe life is meaningless.
The Crucifix
The magistrate interviews Meursault before the trial and discovers that Meursault is an atheist. This revelation shocks the magistrate, who takes a silver crucifix from a filing cabinet and brandishes it at the accused man. The crucifix is an important symbol in The Stranger as it represents the idea of organized religion as an attempt to apply order, meaning, and rationality to an uncaring universe. To the magistrate, Meursault’s lack of faith constitutes a rejection of rational order, and this defiance must be counteracted with a symbol of Christianity. The Christian religion attempts to apply order and meaning to life, suggesting that the world has been designed by God and that humans can reach a higher plane of existence by living in accordance with God’s rules. The legal system, society, and everything the magistrate represents is built on these Christian foundations, which are symbolized by the crucifix. By waving the crucifix at Meursault, the magistrate tries to impose rationality and order on a man who rejects such concepts.
Meursault does not care about the crucifix. The object has symbolic meaning but no magic powers, so simply exposing Meursault to the crucifix does not heal his apathy or his detachment from society. However, brandishing the crucifix is all the magistrate can do. He is an ostensibly powerful man who has ascended through the bureaucracy to hold an important position. He seems intelligent, engaging, and reasonable while interviewing Meursault. However, the lack of belief showed by Meursault proves the limitations of the magistrate’s power. The magistrate has no ability to reason or explain; he cannot justify the Christian social order which means so much to him. He can only wave the crucifix in front of Meursault and hope that—somehow—it will reignite Meursault’s belief in a rational world. The entire scene is absurd and only highlights the absurdity and hollowness of society itself. The crucifix represents the social order the magistrate wants to promote, but it also represents the inherent limitations of this rational society. This inert object is the only counterargument the magistrate has. By brandishing the crucifix, he displays his powerlessness and ultimately reinforces Meursault’s viewpoint.
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