Harun is old and still remembers the events that resulted in the death of his elder brother, Musa. He spends most of his time in a bar in Oran trying to come into terms of what transpired seventy years ago and how his home country has angered him.
A student who is interested in Musa’s death has decided to conduct research on his thesis paper concerning the murder. He meets Harun to interrogate him about the incident that took place more than seven decades ago. Harun tells the student about what he knows about the death of his brother. Besides, he tells the interlocutor how he is frustrated by his home country.
Harun is an ironic character. He believes that God does not exist but seems to know more about religion. For instance, he refers to various biblical narratives in explaining his experiences. He compares his experiences to that of biblical Aaron. Besides, he compares his brother with biblical Moses. He hates Meursault, who is a nihilist but fails to point finger on himself for rejecting the religion.
Although Harun has been raised within a religious community, he perceives religion as the impediment of human success. Harun sees nothing good in religion. Even though he perceives Meursault as an outcast for rejecting Christianity, he falls short of comparing himself with Meursault. Both Harun and Meursault are nihilists.
