2nd body

            Meursault realizes the meaninglessness of life when he personally confronts death. “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. Finding it so much like myself—so like a brother, really—I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate” () Indeed, Meursault, in the last lines of the novel, concludes his evolution and discovers that the universe is just like him. The world is indifferent to human life, which is ultimately meaningless because all life leads to death. This new realization provides Meursault with a sense of companionship, a feeling he has been searching for all his life, and considers the world “a brother.” In fact, Meursault illustrates his desire for companionship in the form of his observation. He has been describing everything around him with great detail as if he is searching for answers to the outside world. Meursault finally reveals a sense of happiness once he gains this new perspective on human existence. All he wanted was not to be alone, and he finally feels he is not, although his last company was with an angry mob. Although Meursault has been gradually coming to this realization, he finally feels happy once he reaches his fate.