The Stranger Line Analysis

She said, “If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church.” She was right. There was no way out. - Camus, The Stranger

    While I was reading The Stranger in class this week this particular line stood out to me and takes place towards the end of chapter one. Here the nurse is talking to Meursault during the funeral procession. If you look at this quote in a literal sense it describes how the sun's heat is practically inescapable. Though, on a figurative level, Meursault perceives this to a human's degree. He sees that just like the sun's heat, death is just as unavoidable. He believes that we only live out our lives only in order to die all the same. This further entails the fleeting meaningless of human life that many like Meursault perceive to be true. We know that Meursault is very indifferent to the people around him but even acknowledging this belief of this doesn't even phase him. This is why this line stood out to me. Most people would have reacted this way with some sort of level of discomfort although Meursault almost acts like it's just something that everybody knows. I honestly could not imagine meeting someone like Meursault in real life and if I did, I still would probably be in awe of some of the things he might say.