How Does Albert Camus Use Meursault As A Vehicle For Absurdism?

Meursault does, however, still crave women as a whole in the same way which he craves, yet disregards, Marie. “I never thought specifically of Marie. But I thought so much about a woman, about women, about all the ones I had known, about all the circumstances in which I had enjoyed them...”(Camus 77). Meursault’s thoughts wander while he is in his jail cell, but never specifically dwell upon his relationships. In utilizing the word “I” Meursault links each of his these thoughts to him, solely pointing out each of these “circumstances” as they affected him, rather than any

The Novel The Stranger has been known to be an “absurd” philosophical fiction, that reflects strongly on Albert Camus’ philosophy. Albert Camus was a firm believer when it came to existentialism which is what The Stranger shows examples of by using Meursault and his decisions. Some people think that your decisions throughout life do not make you who ‘you’ are whether they are good or bad. Other people believe that the decisions you make are actually made based on your true character and help you find out who you were really meant to be, this was known as existentialism which is a philosophy. “I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where I'd been happy. Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness. ”Meursault knew that when he decided to shoot the arab his life was soon going to change and understood that the consequences were not going to be good. He sensed that Raymond and the other arab were left shocked, he felt unhappy after repeatedly shooting the Arab because he did not believe his ‘fate’ would be being sentenced to death for murder, yet Meursault knew that what was happening to him was based off of his decisions in which he had to accept. “I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I

In Part 1 of the novel, Meursault does not fully grasp the significance of life because of his absurdist way of life. Camus presents Meursault as a person who does not live life, but reacts to what life presents him. Meursault is incapable of understanding the metaphysics of the world due to his lack of emotions. The greatest understanding of Meursault is through his own mind; instead of being subjective, he is objective. “Behind them, an enormous mother, in a brown silk dress, and the father, a rather frail little man I know by sight” (22). His thoughts include “note-taking” details about his environment with an

At the beginning of the novel, Meursault is portrayed as detached. This is evident as the death of his mother and the proposal from his wife do not spark any emotions to be expressed from him. When Meursault's mother dies, Meursault acts very nonchalant as he usually does. “After his mother’s death, [Meursault] went swimming, began a casual affair and went to a comedy [movie]” (Camus, 85). Those are not the regular actions of someone that has just lost their mother. The thing with Meursault is that he is not normal. Meursault is different and for that very reason, society will not accept him. Meursault's is extraordinarily passive. For example, when he is over at Raymond's house, Meursault and Raymond brainstorm how to lure Raymond's mistress

That is why his need for Marie is important; she is an uncomplicated passage to the world for Meursault. They seem to be similar people as they live uneventful lives. For the times he mentions Marie, one can conclude she is for being youthful and enjoying simple pleasures such as swimming and sex, like Meursault. She desires marriage and romance to which Meursault agrees to as he does not mind for her sake. He enjoys her company yet is not deeply attached to her; it is nothing deeper than just casual sex and conversation, which helps the reader infer how one desires to not be lonely.

When I first read The Stranger by Albert Camus my gut reaction was why am reading this book? As I got deeper and deeper into the text I saw Meursault grow as a person. He began the book with limiting his own thoughts and perceptions, especially when trying to connect to other people. I soon began to realize the importance of the text and what made the book so significant. It wasn’t the fact that Meursault was unable to connect with others, but instead it was how he grew as an individual.

Albert Camus’ absurdist novel The Stranger gives us insight into the mind of a true sociopath and societal outcast. The novel plays on absurdist and existentialist themes and is told through the perspective of a young and demented Meursault. After killing an Arab man in cold blood, he must face the consequences of his actions. Before and after the brutal murder, see Meursault’s outsider status reflected in his attitudes, behaviors, and interpretations of events

Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger follows the life of M. Meursault, a sales clerk in 1940’s Algiers, from the death of his mother to his execution. Meursault, throughout the novel, embodies Camus’s absurdist philosophies: he disregards emotion, speaks his mind, and seems apathetic about his life. Meursault’s apathy is unusual, and thus, according to the incongruity theory of humor, is funny for most readers. As the theory states, however, Meursault’s apathy is only funny to the reader that does not expect it, and thus the humor in the book only applies to a sect of the readers.

What is the absurd? Camus categorized as the “belief in the absurdity of existence must then dictate his conduct” (Camus, 6). What Camus means is feeling of absurdity goes hand in hand with having a meaningless life. We get so used to doing the same routine that, we as people don’t think we just act like a robot. Camus asks “Does its absurdity require one to escape it through hope or suicide? And does the absurd dictate death” (Camus, 9). Camus says, “An objective mind can always introduce into all problems have no place in this pursuit and this passion” (Camus, 9). The problem with this is if we were always based on facts then we would not be able to base our opinions on experiences. Camus also relates the feeling of absurdity to exile, we as people what to have meaning and or purpose in our own lives. The absurdity displaces us from having a meaning life. Camus says, “Mean who die by their own hand consequently follow to its conclusion their emotional inclination” (Camus, 9). Camus considers this an absurd reasoning because this feeling of exile can turn anyone crazy leading into suicide which both the absurd and suicide are linked together.

The definition of absurdism is stated on Merriam-Webster dictionary as the “philosophy theory about the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless, the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe” ( Merriam Webster). The absurdist philosopher Albert Camus once supported the philosophical belief by saying an individuals should embrace the absurd condition of human existence while also defiantly continuing to explore and search for meaning (Albert Camus). Camus is known for voicing his beliefs about absurdism and even including its in his work, most notably in The Stranger where he portrays the protagonist. Meursault as strange, insensitive, and indifferent. In the translated work The Stranger, the

The definition of absurdism is stated on Merriam- Webster dictionary as the “philosophy theory on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe”. The absurdist philosopher Albert Camus once supported the philosophical belief by saying an individuals should embrace the absurd condition of human existence while also defiantly continuing to explore and search for meaning. Albert Camus is known for voicing his thought on absurdism and even including its in his work, most notably in the Stranger where he portrays the protagonist. Meursault as strange, insensitive, and indifferent. In the translated work The Stranger, the author Albert Camus uses simple, clear, and straightforward sentences to support Meursault's character as careless and insensitive and in the second part we can finally realize that Meursault's absurdist belief are causing him to be detached from his society.

In Albert Camus’ novella, The Stranger, he exposes his beliefs on absurdism through the narration of Meursault. Camus’ definition of absurdism is a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is illogical and meaningless. Camus, founder of absurdism and French Nobel Prize winning author, sends the reader his underlying theme that life is meaningless and has no ulti-mate significance. This underlying theme of life’s absurdity is extremely personal to Camus through his own individual experiences of his life.

How does Camus present the irrationality of normal human life through the Character of Meursault and use of logic:

It is easy to disregard exactly how strange Meursault – the protagonist of L'Étranger – is. A casual reader of Camus’ novel may see Meursault as little more than a social outsider, unable to live within the norms of society. In actuality, his strangeness runs deeper, into his personal life. He has no real emotional life, something which he himself doesn’t find odd. Not only does this make him seem even more like a social pariah, but it shows that he is mentally unable to understand why his behaviours are strange. This essay will analyse Meursault’s lack of emotion, whilst also explaining how it results in his eventual death. I will also analyse how society at the time would have expected Meursault to behave, and how this also contributed to his fate.

Meursault is a character who displays an indifference to others throughout the novel. This is shown by his behaviour to the people and events revealed in the novel. He operates without much change in his life which can be described as monotonous because he doesn’t necessarily welcome change. For example, he refuses the opportunity for