The Stranger Journal #3

I think that Camus chose to split the novel into two parts because he was trying to emphasize the changes taking place in Meursault and his life. First, the fact that he makes it two parts just clearly shows that Meursault is a different person. He's the same character but his personality has changed and that is shown in part two, especially when he says that he "lost the habit of analyzing" himself (Camus 65). The use of colors is still continued through the two parts. Meursault lost the ability to analyze himself but he is still good about analyzing other people's actions and his past. There is a strong appearance of religion in the second part, when the magistrate is trying to convince Meursault to adopt God, and religion is almost absent in the first part of the book. The most interesting thing I found is that the intense imagery of the sun and light have almost entirely gone absent from part two of the novel. I think Camus chose to do that because he was trying to highlight the fact that Meursault was in a dark prison cell, and there is a 'lack of hope' in part two as well. At first it seems like Meursault could get out of his situation but when he tells the Magistrate he doesn't not believe in God his chances of being freed drop significantly. Speaking of which, the lack of light imagery could connect with Meursault's rejection of religion! God=light. Boom.