Images and Symbols in The Outsider

Albert Camus along with Jean- Paul Sartre is considered as the exponent of
more refined form of absurdity and existentialism. His ideology, revolt and his idea
of absurd diverted the attention of the critics from his fictional works. The images
used by him in his works are based on his personal experience of life. His personal
experiences are reflected in both his essays and the novels. The visual images,
especially, are more elaborated by him in his novels. In the region of Algeria the
heat becomes too tense. Camus has used the symbol of heat in his novels including
“The Outsider.” Other than heat, the nature imagery of ‘sun’ and ‘sea’ are often
found in his novels because he is born and brought up in such an environment.
Mostly, the ‘sun’ is described by Camus as violent force. In “The Outsider” also
Meursault committed the murder due intense heat of the sun. The ‘sea,’ however,
offers relaxation and calmness to the body and soul. In the present novel,
Meursault also visits the sea beaches frequently with his girlfriend Marie to swim.
It is interesting to know that the images of ‘sun’ and ‘sea’ also emerge as symbols
in his fictional works.

In his first novel “The Outsider” Camus depicts the symbol of ‘sun.’ In fact,
the sun transformed into a symbol through the series of events. The series of events
begin when Meursault, along with his two acquaintances Raymond and Masson
goes for a walk on the sea beach near Algiers after the early lunch. It is still not
midday but the heat has already become intense and unbearable. The two Arab
men have come near to them while walking on the sea- beach. Raymond has
already some serious issues with them related to the beating of his former mistress.
Raymond instructs his fellow regarding tackling of the Arab men. The Arabs are
now very close to them. At that time Meursault observes: “The overheated sand
now seems red to me.”

The red colour of sand symbolizes the importance of physical experience. It

indicates the possibility of the violence in the near future. The red colour of the
sand, to be very specific, signifies the bloodshed. The Arab men get involved into a
violent fight with Raymond and Masson. They punch each other and the Arab man
attacks Raymond with his knife. Raymond receives the wound in his arm and the
mouth. Then, the Arab men retreat and Meursault, Raymond and Masson remain
standing the intense heat of the sun. After that violent incident, they return back to
the beach- house. Meursault tells the unclear version of the incident to the wife of
Masson and Marie. Raymond meanwhile receives the medical treatment from a
neighbouring doctor. Raymond once again wishes to go for a walk on the beach
after receiving his treatment. Meursault and Masson accompany him. The Arab
men are taking rest near a tiny rivulet on the edge of the beach. One of them is
playing a monotonous tune on a pipe made of reed. The fatality of the situation is
indicated by this monotonous tune and the intense sunlight. Raymond hands over
his revolver to Meursault and he keeps it in his pocket. However, once again the
Arabs retreat and the situation of the possible fight is averted.

But, the danger keeps lingering. Meursault decides to take a solitary walk on
the beach. The sun is described once again as hostile enemy. Due to intense heat he
is not able to walk fast. His body turns tense and aggressive because of the heat of
the sun. The hostility of the sun is indicated by Camus through the use of an image
of reflection of light. Meursault walks further to find the shade to for the comfort.
The violent nature of the sun plays its game once again and it appears like a molten
metal to Meursault. For a single moment, he thinks to return back but the sun
enforces its will over him. Meursault tells: “I thought then that all I need do was to
turn back and it would all be over. But behind me a whole beach vibrating with sun
was pressing down upon me.”

The similar intense heat is experienced by Meursault on the day of the

funeral of his mother. He can remember the hot weather of that day. Thus, once
again, the heat of the sun is connected with the death. The Arab man, meanwhile,
draws his knife and its glare reflects into the eyes of Meursault. He is blinded by
the glare and the drops of sweat that come into his eyelashes. His eyesight gets
blurred which is indicative of his inability to think clearly. It seems to him that fire
is coming down to earth from the sky. And, he shoots the Arab man five times and
murders him. Thus, the sun emerges as a symbol of violence and destruction. It
also indicates at the intention of Camus in writing this novel. He intends to reveal
the absurd nature of the universe. Meursault emerges a symbol of detached man
from the whole world. The whole blame is put on the sun and Meursault is
portrayed as man who has no need to feel guilty for the crime that he has
committed. Therefore, it is evident that absurdity of life is highlighted in this novel
through the medium of the story of Meursault.
 However, contrary to the symbol of the sun, the symbol of the sea has
pleasant implications. Meursault takes delight in his weekend trips to the sea-
beaches. It provides him delight and physical fulfillment. He first gets close to
Marie in the sea- water. Gradually, the sea emerges as the symbol of his longing
for freedom during his imprisonment. He wishes to get free like the sea- waves. He
wants to enjoy the company of Marie at the sea- beach. He wants to listen to the
pleasant sound of sea- waves. He wants to feel the water of the sea on his body
again. Towards the end of the novel he is shifted to another cell and he is no longer
able to see the ocean from there. Only the sky is visible to him from the new cell. It
indicates that his association with the earth and the sea is soon going to end. Now,
he belongs only to only the sky. Thus, the symbol of sea acquires the meaning of
freedom in contrast to his confinement in the prison.

From the existential point of view, the heat symbolizes the indifference the
indifferent attitude of the universe towards humanity. The intense and unbearable
heat symbolizes the feeling of disregard of the natural world for the human beings.
Thus, Camus tries to establish the fact that the human life is essentially
meaningless and it is futile, like the efforts of Sisyphus, to find any meaning out of
it. The heat symbolizes the mental and physical blindness. It troubles Meursault at
several occasions including the day of the funeral of his mother, on the day of the
murder of the Arab man and also during his trial at the court. Due to the intense hit
in the courtroom he is not able to defend himself by defending himself in a
convincing way. Moreover, the bright glare symbolizes the importance of physical
experience for Meursault. Like the sun and the heat, the glare also proves to be
destructive for him. Therefore, it can be concluded convincingly that most of the
images and symbols used by Albert Camus are unique, impressive and free from
the artificiality. Undoubtedly, Camus is successful in establishing his point of view
that human life is meaningless through the symbolic technique in this novel.