If nothing had any meaning, you would be right. But there is something that still has a meaning.

A symbol always transcends the one who makes use of it and makes him say in reality more than he is aware of expressing.

The day of my arrest I was first put in a room where there were already several other prisoners, most of them Arabs. They laughed when they saw me. Then they asked what I was in for. I said I'd killed an Arab and they were all silent

There is no love of life without despair of life.

My dear, In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that… In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back. Truly yours, Albert Camus

Don't let them tell us stories.

So the thing that bothered me most was that the condemned man had to hope the machine would work the first time.