He had sought divine judgment when he shot the Arab, but when judgment was given to him in the name of something greater than himself, he did not accept it. A man was speaking for an entire population who had no say in his decision and was choosing to take a man's life. Meursault rejected the judge's decision to execute him and believes that every part of the case “seemed to distract from the seriousness of the decision” (109). Suddenly, when his life was at stake, the judge's decision to “shoot or not shoot” (56) was “no longer the same thing” (57). There are three simple ways to connect to death: someone you know dies, kill someone, or die. Meursault experienced all three possible associations with death, but he never felt the depth of death until he faced it personally. Death finally had meaning if it meant he could no longer live. As Meursault struggled with empathy, he immediately felt the absoluteness of death upon hearing his sentence. This time too Meursault had uninterrupted days to reflect on the meaning of death. He ultimately concluded that “since we will all die, it is obvious that when and how do not matter” (114). Even though he came to this conclusion, Meursault still hoped for a miraculous pardon or a flaw in the guillotine; so it is clear that he was not entirely convinced of his conclusion. He was about to be deprived of his life and could not live his last days freely. Meursault finally understood why his father had gone to witness an execution. By watching a man's life be taken that way, a person learns to appreciate their time alive. Meursault, to the chaplain's dismay, refused to believe in life after death, and although he claimed that it did not matter when or how a person dies, Meursault lived his final days in a