I think that Camus split the book into two parts to emphasize the change in Meursault’s situation. In Part One it seems as if he is just going through life, but then in Part Two he is jail. This changes his life, but when looked at carefully there are parallels to his life before he killed the Arab. Before going to jail Meursault was very methodical about things and lived by a schedule. […]I’ll take the two o’clock bus and get there in the afternoon. That way I can be there for the vigil and come back tomorrow night” (3). After going to jail, Meursault stills lives by a schedule. “[…]I’ve been sleeping sixteen to eighteen hours a day. That would leave me with six hours to kill with meals, nature’s call, my memories, and the story of the Czechoslovakian” (79). Another parallel between the first and second parts of the book is the reference to Maman. While it does not appear that Meursault cares for his mother or is sad about her death, it is evident that he actually does because he often thinks of her. In Part One he thinks, “The sun was the same as it had been the day I’d buried Maman[…]” (58). In Part Two Meursault talks to his lawyer about his mother and says, “The day I buried Maman, I was very tired and sleepy, so much so that I wasn’t really aware of what was going on. What I can say for certain is that I would rather Maman hadn’t died” (65). Throughout Part Two Meursault continues to reflect on his mother’s death, therefore it must be significant in some way.
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