Meursault's Recognition of His Existentialist Beliefs
             As one reads Camus' The Stranger they gradually come to the realization that Meursault is a representation of the ideal existentialist. However it is not until the very end of the piece that Meursault comes to this realization himself. Only when confronted by the priest does he realize what he truly believes.
             Early in the novel Meursault relates much of what happens to him to his physical surroundings, and not to his own personal actions. He often comments on the feeling of the sun on his body, and the effects it has on him. For example, just before his first encounter with the Arabs he says, "I wasn't thinking about anything, because I was half asleep from the sun beating down on my bare head." He uses the sun's effects as an excuse for why he doesn't take any action during the incident, instead of it being his own decision.
             Then as the story continues he begins to realize that everything that happens to him is his and only his decision. He begins to understand this after shooting the Arab when he says, " And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness." From this point on he lives with the understanding that he committed a crime and now his will be punished for it.
             In the last scene of the book Meursault comes to a final conclusion on what he believes. When the priest confronts him in his cell, he comes to his own understanding of how life and the world work. After the priest is escorted out Meursault states, " As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world." After this epiphany he comes to the conclusion that regardless of his impending death he doesn't regret anything he has done. With these realizations he acknowledges his beliefs in the two key e...