Killng an Arab (Chapter 5-6)

Chapter five starts when Raymond calls Meursalt and invites him and Mary to his friend's house on the beach. I never imagined one chapter later something so dramatic would occur. Mary tells him she wants to marry him and he agrees, then she asks him if he would marry any other girl in her current position, and he said yes. "I explained to her that it didn't really matter and that if she wanted to, we could get married" (pag. 41). How can this be? Everyone, or at least everybody I know takes marriage as one of the most serious steps to take. Meursalt on the other hand takes this huge event for granted. He does this with love too. "I answered the same way I had the last time, that it didn't mean anything but that I probably didn't love her" (pag. 41). How can it not mean anything? This definitely confirms that Meursalt is an insensitive human being.

Before the murder Meursalt and his friends had a great time on the beach. They walked, they talked and they ate. It was a perfect Sunday, very tranquil and very fun. Their first meeting with the Arabs was not such a big deal. I can't understand why he went back? Nor why did he react so savagely? This chapter is the climax of the book and it has all the emotion a climax should have.

The Cure wrote a song called "Killing an Arab" about the Stranger in which the murder scene is described perfectly. This song gives this part of the novel a certain attitude that makes it more intense. The book describes the sun, the sea, and the situation Meursalt is facing with the gun in his hands and the Arab laying on the sand. The song says: "Standing on the beach With a gun in my hand Staring at the sea Staring at the sand Staring down the barrel At the Arab on the ground I can see his open mouth But I hear no sound". Both are so similar that you could change the scene on the book for the song.

I loved it that when I read this part I could hear the rhythm of the song in my head.