Don't Shoot

At the end of the news story in the Czechoslovakian newspaper, Meursault says, "On the one hand it wasn't very likely.  On the other, it was perfectly natural.  Anyway, I thought the traveler pretty much deserved what he got and that you should never play games" (Camus, 80).  The last sentence of that paragraph really struck me.  I was shocked that he thought that the Czech man deserved to die like that.  As I really thought about it though, I began to relate it to the Arab's death and started to question if Meursault did actually have a reason for killing the Arab.   

One can argue that Meursault did not intend to kill the Arab, but Camus was simply trying to continue the idea of existentialism.  This idea shows that the Arab's death was without reason and senseless.  However, I am beginning to think that Meursault killed the Arab on purpose.  In the final chapter of part 1, before the Arabs walked away Raymond handed his gun to Meursault and Meursault “realized that you could either shoot or not shoot” (Camus, 56).   This shows that Meursault was thinking about shooting them.  Also, perhaps Meursault killed the Arab because he was "playing games" with Raymond and Meursault thinks “you should never play games” (Camus, 80).

Why do you think Meursault killed the Arab? Do you think that he had a purpose (playing games) or do you think that it was just another way for Camus to emphasize existentialism? 

Comments

[Joe W.]

I believe Rosseau killed the Arab out of protection for Raymond, although it didn't seem to really flesh out that way. Rosseau thought of how Raymond was being followed by this man and that maybe by killing him, he would gain a larger respect. Of course, that is pretty hard to digest because of how DEEP Rosseau is in his apathetic nature, taking everything straight as it seems. "Kill this man? Well, you gave me the gun..." I don't really understand why it all happened. I just know that it made for a great story.

[Cristian d.]

Camus' construction of the murder scene was specifically aimed to draw attention to his ideas of existentialism. In fact, later Meursault cannot even come up with a worthy excuse during the trial, all he can remember is how hot and bright the sun was. Furthermore, Meursault possesses no affinity for anyone, even his own mother, therefore there is no way he killed the Arab out of loyalty. It was just another absurd act.

[Veronica T.]

When I read that last sentence, I had the same initial reaction. I thought that the mother and sister were the one's at fault, not the man. And the fact that Meursault believed otherwise really shocked me. But when you mentioned the relationship between the killing of the Arab and the story in the newspaper, the whole idea of existentialism really jumped out at me. I completely agree that Camus was trying to show that death could be without reason and, most of the time, not deserved.