Albert Camus-the Outsider

Megan Graeser Professor Mary Bockover Philosophy 485 10 May 2018 Meursault and the Meaning of Life Albert Camus’s The Stranger is about a man named Meursault who has accepted that life is irrational and inherently meaningless. He considers himself an outsider, or a “stranger,” to society because he keeps to himself, but also because his world view is much different than that of his peers’. In the book, Meursault experiences moments in which one would usually feel grief, happiness, and even regret, but he is completely detached from the restraints of “irrational” emotions. In this short essay, I will argue alongside Meursault that the only way to enjoy life is to accept it for it’s meaninglessness.

An ‘outsider’ is a person or people who do not fit in society in due to their appearance and/or behaviour. Through the use of literary and film techniques, both S.E Hinton’s novel The Outsiders and David Galloway’s documentary Struggle Street portray a community of marginalised people with sensitive people. These techniques inspire empathy from the audience, encouraging the audience to view outsiders in a different perspective.

Albert Camus’s novel, The Stranger is regarded to the philosophical ideas of Existentialism, yet seems to also incorporate Absurdist tenets throughout the book that show ideals of being a unique type of individual with different actions that society disagrees with.

The solitude of man with the innate endeavoring nature to incessantly find passion, be fruitful, and embrace the tangibles causes us to lose focus of the scornful end. The condemnation we find ourselves in subsequent to the impotent attempts to satiate our inexplicable questions, is the puncture to our ideal notion . The disenchantment the truth of our obscure being offered is masqueraded with the absurdity through which we seamlessly wander through this life. The irrefutable desire to numb the conscious is the bittersweet burden which we carry to suppress the abyss of disparity which we are floating amidst. Monsieur Meursault in Albert Camus’ The Stranger is the blaring anomaly. Fortifying himself through his indifferent nature and blunt honesty, Meursault is ostracized. Deemed with a psychosis he finds comfort in the unruly inescapable solace of life, death, which morphs into his gradual declination. The sun tracing his unusual circumstances, catalyzing his imminent reactions provides itself as the only paradigm to symbolize Meursault. The intricacies which unfold are reiterated by the Sun which juxtapose the indigenous contingency to find meaning. Meursault’s paradoxical compel and abhorrence to the sun highlights the idea that the what we choose to learn may not be abiding in beauty. Our choice in this duality sets forth the invitation to introspection offering its only absolute form through our own willingness. Meursault understanding himself is bonded to the sun

Camus published “L'Etranger” or “The Stranger” during World War II, and it became one of his most discussed works in Europe (Rhein). The popularity of Camus’ work can be attributed to the overall feelings in Europe brought by the havoc of war that had left the lands marred. Many people throughout Europe were hurt by the war and began to question the point of life amidst such destruction. This resonates with the modern audience as well because “The Stranger” continues to play on themes that can be seen in the horrifying occurrences that fill the media today (Rhein). Many atrocities allow a modern audience to relate to the events of WWII, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Haitian earthquake, which leave many questioning

I ask you for a man’s head… and I do so with a heart at ease… Never as strongly as today have I felt this painful duty made easier, lighter, clearer by the certain knowledge of a sacred imperative and by the horror I feel when I look into a man’s face and all I see is a monster (Camus, 1988). “The stranger” by Albert Camus a creative and deep novel about a human being named Meursault who is a man that makes no normal assumptions about life. This novel deals with the issue of nonexistent belongingness in Algerian society. He is a man without social ambition, no beliefs in religion or meaning of life, and whose only desire is to live a simple life free of any meaning (Gnanasekaran, 2014). He is a man who is living on the earth with no purpose and is indifferent to everything that happens around him.

Discuss the significance of the title of the novel. Who is an "outsider’ throughout the story, and what makes that person an "outsider"? What other interpretations of the title are there?

Within the last defendant Raymond’s testimony, who was Meursault’s friend that all this was ultimately caused from, we can see the how exactly the prosecutor fully intends to rationalize Meursault. Raymond was

In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault the protagonist, becomes drawn into a “senseless” murder that has to face the absurdity of life and because of his actions, Meursault is presented as a danger due to his lack of “morality” to society. Meursault who is not able to take control of his life but respond to what life offers him believes in the simplicity of life. He tries to understand the living through logic and objectivity, which ultimately turns futile, as he himself cannot maintain proper control over his thoughts and emotions. From the interactions between Marie, to the murder of the Arab, and the meeting with the Chaplain, Meursault overcomes his indifferent views to form an opinion about what life really means. The central theme presented by Camus is how the threat of mortality becomes a catalyst for understanding the significance of life.

Many believe that Camus’ novel is a work of existentialism, that an individual is responsible for giving meaning to his life, as opposed to the institutions around him. Meursault deals with death in a way that is unnatural to humans, but a way that after reading his internal monologue we can understand. He offers a different view of death. The chaplain that visits Meursault says he is suffering from ‘extreme despair’ but Meursault disagrees, he is only afraid because to be afraid ‘is only natural.’ After the conversation with the chaplain, Meursault accepts death, now he feels ‘forever indifferent’ to the world around him. He realises that death is a natural occurrence; he has no control over when or how he will die. In this moment Meursault relinquishes the ideals of hope. It would only torture him on his deathbed. Now Meursault is at peace with the world, he states ‘What did it matter that Marie now had a new Meursault to kiss?’ This acceptance of death is still relevant today as death is a universal occurrence, it happened in the 1930’s when the novels set, the 1940’s when the novel was written, and today in the 21st century. This is one of the main reasons why I believe it is still relevant to today’s reader.

Throughout the novel, death remains present. The novel begins with the death of Meursault’s mother, develops with the murder of the Arab, and closes with Meursault’s impending execution. Through these instances, Camus articulates that everyone will die eventually, it is just a matter of when. He suggests that the universe, or a greater being as the chaplain insists, does not care what anyone does during his or her lifetime. Once someone is dead, whatever that person did no longer matters because he or she ceases to exist. The novel’s careless tone once again comes into play here. Like Meursault neglects to care about relationships or consequences, the universe does not care about a person’s life on Earth. This is what Meursault believes and

Life is often interpreted by many as having meaning or purpose. For people who are like Meursault, the anti-hero protagonist of Albert Camus' The Stranger, written in 1942, the world is completely without either. Camus' story explores the world through the eyes of Meursault, who is quite literally a stranger to society in his indifference to meaning, values, and morals. In this novel, this protagonist lives on through life with this indifference, and is prosecuted and sentenced to die for it. Through Meursault and his ventures in The Stranger, Camus expresses to the reader the idea that the world is fundamentally absurd, but that people will react to absurdity by attaching meaning to it in vain, despite the fact that the world, like

Through this character Camus challenges the reader to look through this lenses to see aspects of our culture that exemplify Clamence’s observations. These observations project back to the reader alienation from culture, conflictions, needs and wants. This could also lead back to Camus’s absurdist ideas because it represents a balancing of our pleasure and guilt. We can feel on top of the world with our privileged lives but how could we be happy when we know that others in the world are less fortunate?

In Camus’s major works, ‘absurdism’ was a frequent subject. The term ‘absurdism’ refers to a feud or conflict between our expectations or ideals and reality. Among his widely praised works, the “The Stranger” and “The myth of Sisyphus” can be read as an example of the absurdism. “The Stranger” is a story of an insensitive individual man, who lives for the

“The outsider” also commonly known as “The Stranger” is written by Albert Camus. It is a book that explores the many concepts, understandings and overall idea of human life. As my group and I take time to break down the varies aspects of the book, please take time to reflect, and understand your own meaning of human life.