Fate vs Choice

One of the connections in The Stranger is the sun relating to death. Meursault's death is as certain as the sun sets every night, but what he lacks is his belief in choice and hope. He testifies that it is by chance he murdered the Arab.
In Greek Mythology, the Gods give men Pandora as a gift. Pandora opens a jar full of evils, but closes it right before hope escapes. Thus, men have blind hope. Without the gift of foresight, men are blind to their future and must have hope in order to keep their will for survival. In Meursault's case, he thinks of the sun as inhuman and oppressive, and that he's forced to conform to social standards such as crying at his mother's funeral. Meursault did not believe that his actions would make a difference in the world because his fate has already decided- Meursault, just like everyone else, will die. Detached from his mother's death, he believed the best way to handle such a situation is to just accept it as soon as possible and move on with life. He didn't see a point in crying.

Meursault says he would choose to relive the same life with the same state of mind- no hope, no choice. It may seem the Gods are behind men's action since they supposedly control their fates, but the Gods still leave them choices to make. For example, the citizens of Thebes are given the choice to honor the God, Dionysos. If they do not follow him, then Dionysos will cause the city to go into a frenzy. Relating this idea to the novel, Meursault has the choice to kill the Arab. He calims the murder was not premeditated and he had no intent for murder. Instead, it was all because of chance. Just by chance he had the gun, and was standing near the Arab with the sun glaring down upon him. Again, this idea of being oppressed comes into play. He thinks to himself that he could just turn around and leave. At that point, he knew he had a choice, but failed to make the right decision.