Movement is a recurring motif as Mersault tries to process his guilt. Mersault struggles to connect with those around him as much as he struggles to connect with his own self. He does not know how to deal with the guilt he feels for murdering Zagreus, nor does he know how to deal with his growing awareness that he may never be able to find happiness. Movement allows Mersault to distract himself from his problems.

His obsession with movement is hinted at in the chronological beginning of the story. Before he murders Zagreus, Mersault spends his evenings watching other people from his balcony. As he sits quietly and smokes cigarettes, other people move around in a social setting below him. They are distant and unavailable to Mersault, who categorizes himself as being in some way other to them. They are people who move while he is a stationary, detached observer who struggles to understand society. He focuses on the physical movement of the people and the way they pass through the streets as he has no way to comprehend the emotions they may be experiencing. In this part of the novel, movement is as alien to Mersault as emotions—both movement and emotions are ideas that belong to other people, not to himself.