In the novels Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Stranger by Albert Camus, the sun, heat and light play a significant role in the development and understanding of the novel and the characters in it. Upon initial reading of The Stranger, the reader may have a general recognition of a relationship between the novel's protagonist, Mersault, and the sun and heat, both before and after one of the novel's significant events. What's harder to understand on first reading is why this is important and what it means. On the opposite side of the field is Crime and Punishment. Images relating to weather and heat have an obvious connotation and importance, as they generally appear before an important event, but the aspect of the novel's setting has a different importance. As author Thomas Foster states in his reading guide How to Read Literature Like a Professor, “time is never just time. It's never just rain. And that goes for snow, sun, heat, cold, and probably sleet” (75). Regarding these two novels, sun and heat are never just sun and heat, but have a particular meaning that some readers manage to ignore. While The Stranger's BLANK about the sun and its incredible heat can be linked to Meursault's impaired judgment, the sun in Crime and Punishment can be linked to Raskolnikov's gradual descent into madness, weakening his judgment and reducing his patience. Because the sun plays a crucial and symbolic role in both Crime and Punishment and The Stranger, the meaning and relationship within each of the novel's protagonists are partially similar. In both novels, during periods of heat, both characters become incredibly confused and exhausted. Often their...... middle of paper...... going [. . .] All he knew, all he felt was that everything had to be changed “one way or another,” he repeated with desperate and unshakable self-confidence and determination” (156 – 157). This quote refers to the idea that if Raskolnikov and his obsessive willpower were left unchecked, he would eventually be driven to madness. This is the difference that separates the two protagonists and their relationship with the sun. Without the important similarity between the images of sun and heat, the reader is missing crucial information regarding the analysis and characterization of the protagonists of Crime and Punishment and The Stranger. Although both main characters are greatly influenced by the heat and environment, Raskolnikov's uncertain and easily pressured personality and Meursault's hatred of love are what enhance the differences between the two protagonists..