Life Is A Sum Of All Your Choices

Furthermore, Camus uses family and personal relationships as a way to develop the protagonists’ isolation in the novel, working in providing context for the developing plot. In The Stranger, the author uses this methodology

Finding the meaning of life has been an endeavor undertaken by countless philosophers with almost no uniformity from their answers. Ranging from promises of eternal life, to the belief that life has no meaning at all, Albert Camus, a French philosopher, offers his own unique view on the matter. In Camus’ novel The Stranger, he uses the beach scene where Meursault, the main character, kills an Arab in order to signify that life definitely has a meaning at times, albeit with absurd implications.

This quote refers to the fate and absurd aspects of Camus’s philosophical framework. First, Camus addresses fate because it doesn’t matter if the Arab dies by being shot or if he dies of old age, heart failure, etc. Everyone has the same fate, ultimately, and that is death. Also, in context, when

The writer “agreed with Kierkegaard that despair is not an act, but a human state. He saw this state of despair resulting from isolation from the rest of the world” (Tornaritis and Miller). The short story also has several autobiographical moments and reflects Camus’s attitude to the Algerian situation. Daru went to the remote school and the writer made similar decision at the end of his life. Camus moved to “the small village of Lourmarin , in the region of Provence… he bought a home in which he could escape from people to work alone in monastic style” (Lea 22). It looked like both the author and his character wanted to cloister themselves. However, the writer found out that it is difficult to be alone, while his character did not show signs he had problems with loneliness. Camus did not explain Daru’s reasons in details, but experts believe the man chose the remote area to escape from the pressure of urban life, like the writer did. The teacher also could fulfill his need to feel that people need him. Daru’s school became the main food source for the community because of the last drought, and he gave children and their families grain that was sent by the French administration. Like Camus, Daru was born in Algeria and did not want to leave his native land in spite of its inhospitality. These conditions were shown from the beginning of the story: “and suddenly this snow, without warning… This is the way the region was,

As the narrator, Clamence, tells the story of his fall from ‘Eden’ (Paris) and his exile to the ‘hell’ of Amsterdam, Clamence, explains his life and exile in Amsterdam to readers while speaking to an unknown person at a bar. Clarence’s’ highly critical view of himself and life reflect a loss of faith in human nature and justice. Camus ' chosen profession for Clamence as a lawyer draws attention to the narrator 's views, which center on justice and morality.

This book allows the reader to be surprise that he shows no emotions where he should. He shows a minimal emotions during his mother’s funeral, love for Marie, excitement for his job promotion, and no regret for murdering the Arab. In the end, Camus show that humans existence is based on living and dying.

The theme of absurdity can be seen through three different lenses in The Stranger, by Albert Camus: life, decisions, and reflection. The first lens in which the reader can see absurdity in the novel is when the protagonist lives for the sensual pleasures of the present moment. The second lens in which the reader can see absurdity in the novel is when the protagonist absurdity of the protagonists decisions on how he does or doesn’t decide to kill the Arab. The third lens in which the reader can see absurdity in the novel is when the protagonist how he reflects back on his decisions and life and concludes that life means nothing between birth and death. The changes in the lenses of Meursault ‘s absurdum are projected through the author’s choice of different language.

In this novel, Camus sets the story in Oran, Algeria, coincidently , where he grew up. He describes the town as dull, boring, and soulless almost. “ The town itself, let us admit, is ugly”. (Camus, p. 1) The author is showing us that there is nothing really special about Oran, or in existentialist terms, the people don’t make Oran special. Their only concern, or their only focus, was conducting what they called “business”; nothing more. However, the main protagonist, Dr. Rieux, was one of the few in his society to actually question, what is the true definition of life? He seemed like he was the only one that realized that Oran was missing just this; life. He was curious what was a person’s or an individual’s purpose in this dry town. When masses of dead rats were lining the street, the public showed little curiosity with, of course, the exception of the doctor. As the plague soon hit, the attitudes of the public had miniscule change.

Camus follows the idea of the paradox of free will in both stories in order to exemplify how no matter the choice a person makes in their life it will not let them escape death. Meursault begins the story as an emotionless human being who dares not weep at his mother 's funeral. Additionally, Meursault only focuses on the physical struggles of life like when the caretaker speaks of how “If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you risk a sweat and then catch a chill in the church” while walking (17). This reveals despite

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

Death is the only certainty everyone will die regardless of everything. The Stranger by Albert Camus relies on death to show the degradation of Meursault's , the main character , absurdist beliefs throughout the novel with a sudden revitalization at the end. Through Meursault’s encounters with death at different points in the novel the author Camus conveys to his readers how death or coming to accept death allows a person to accept their beliefs while living yet not accepting death causes people to contradict their beliefs. In the novel, Meursault experiences the funeral of his mother, trail for the murder of an arab, and himself being condemned to death thus these events in the novel allows to Camus expresses his message about death.

The novel The Stranger, by Albert Camus, translated by Matthew Ward, follows the story of a man, Meursault, and how his emotionless way of living and his one grave mistake ends up killing him through a court of law. Throughout his journey, there is tension in him, and between him and other people and groups. This tension is represented throughout this novel with the motif is heat. And as tension can grow and is part of everyday life, it is part of Meursault’s as well. Furthermore, through tension and it growing, it can result in a conflict of multiple varieties. This motif comes up at scenes such as the trial in the courtroom, the conflict on the beach with the Arabs, and the magistrate and his heated argument. And due to Camus specific placement of the motif during these scenes, it also foreshadows conflict and trouble throughout the novel. Camus’ motif of heat shows a tension between opposing sides to foreshadow various types of conflict which demonstrate the theme that tension leads to conflict.

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?

Albert Camus was a French-Algerian writer, who made an enterprising contribution to a wide range of issues in moral philosophy. Camus was a moralist as well as a political theoretician and stood in high public esteem not only in France but also all over Europe after World War Ⅱ. Albert Camus spent a dismal childhood with poverty and bereavement of his father’s death. In his school years, Camus became an avid reader, developing a lifelong interest in literature as well as profoundly opened his eyes to philosophy. Therefore, Camus principally dealt with philosophy themes in his work. In this short biography of Albert Camus, we will explore his philosophy of absurdism and its effect on Camus’s morality. Besides, the reader will be examining Camus’s influences on existentialism.

Albert Camus, born in colonized Algeria, a father to absurdism, and author of The Stranger confronts the philosophical themes of purpose, integrity, and passivity. The Stranger’s main character, Meursault, is a laconic man whose passive actions and brutal honesty lend to connections in his court trial. Those of which condemn him to execution. Meursault falls victim to his complete honesty, complete passivity, and disregard for the purpose of action. He is straightforward, and his actions usually follow his thoughts. Actions and decisions that most average people regard as serious, Meursault regards as arbitrary. Meursault’s exemplification of absurdism proves to not only lend to his characterization, but as a comfort in his death as well.