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Definition of Imagery
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After Apple-Picking" contain imagery that engages... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines from Robert Frost's poem "After... read full definition
Imagery, in any sort of writing, refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. For instance, the following lines... read full definition
Book 1, Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—The Closed Casket:
Camus uses imagery to vividly describe the room in which the casket containing Meursault's recently deceased mother stands:
It was a very bright, whitewashed room with a skylight for a roof. The furniture consisted of some chairs and some cross-shaped sawhorses. Two of them, in the middle of the room, were supporting a closed casket. All you could see were some shiny screws, not screwed down all the way, standing out against the walnut-stained planks. Near the casket was an Arab nurse in a white smock, with a brightly colored scarf on her head.
Camus draws on visual imagery here, from the "shiny screws" of the casket to the "white smock" and "brightly colored scarf" of the Arab nurse. This imagery emphasizes sight immediately before Meursault elects not to see his mother's body in the casket. The mention of the "shiny screws, not screwed all the way down" emphasizes the fact that he opts not to look at his mother's body, highlighting the fact that the casket isn't perfectly sealed but, rather, open for viewing.
This emphasis is particularly significant considering that Meursault electing not to view his mother's body ultimately contributes to his demise, as it is brought up during his trial to demonstrate his abnormal and apathetic nature. More broadly, sight and seeing is important throughout the novella: Meursault is blinded by the glare of the sun right before killing the Arab man, physically pained by the sun's rays. It is what Meursault doesn’t see that leads to his death sentence, both literally (in the case of not seeing his mother's body) and figuratively, in the sense of not seeing why it is important to care about other people. Finally, by including the Arab nurse in the imagery-laden description, the race-class structure of the colonial French state of Algiers is evident before it becomes explicitly relevant after the murder of the Arab man.
Related Themes:
Book 1, Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—In The Dark:
After eating dinner with Raymond, Meursault stands in the dark of the stairwell for a moment in a scene rich with imagery:
I left his room, closing the door behind me, and paused for a minute in the dark, on the landing. The house was quiet, and a breath of dark, dank air wafted up from deep in the stairwell. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I stood there, motionless. And in old Salamano’s room, the dog whimpered softly.
Camus describes what Meursault hears (the dog whimpering, the blood pounding in his ears, the quiet house), what he smells (dank air), and what he sees (darkness). The use of imagery in a dark and quiet scene is peculiar, and it highlights Meursault's solitude in this moment: he is literally alone on the stairs but, more broadly, he is figuratively isolated from others in the world.
Moreover, this moment of isolation in the dark hints at the fact that Meursault is in the dark in a more general sense—that is, he is unable to understand what makes life worth living. The notion of understanding aspects of life is brought up a few sentences earlier, when Meursault explains “at first I didn’t understand” as Raymond references Maman’s death and Meursault doesn’t comprehend the reference. The sentence before the quotation above Meursault explains, “Raymond gave me a very firm handshake and said that men always understand each other,” and yet Meursault is very much not understood—not understood by the jury, by other people, nor even by his close friends, who find his emotionlessness odd. This is partly why Meursault is alone in the world. Furthermore, a fundamental tenet of the absurd is the unintelligible nature of life’s meaning: if life does have a meaning, it is not one that is readily available, and yet people still seek clarity and understanding. Meursault, then, is both literally and figuratively in the dark, as is, to a lesser extent, everyone else.
Related Themes:
