Mortality in the Stranger by Albert Camus Essay example

As people near the time of their deaths, they begin to reflect upon the history and events of their own lives. Both John Keats’ “When I have Fears” and Henry Longfellow’s “Mezzo Cammin” reflect upon the speakers’ fears and thoughts of death. However, the conclusions between these two poems end quite differently. Although both reflect upon Death’s grasp, Keats’ displays an appreciation and subtle satisfaction with the wonders of life, while Longfellow morbidly mourns his past inactions and fears what events the future may bring.

In the experimental novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, he explores the concept of existentialism and the idea that humans are born into nothing and descend into nothingness after death. The novel takes place in the French colony of Algiers where the French-Algerians working-class colonists live in an urban setting where simple life pleasures are of the upmost importance in the lives of working class people like the protagonist of the novel Meursault. What is fascinating about this novel is that it opens up with a scene of perpetual misfortune for him through the death of his mother although he seems to express otherwise. The reader perceives this nonchalance as a lack of care. Maman’s death and its impact on Meursault appear in both the

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.

The world over, much significance has been placed on the value of human life. Death, which signifies an end to the journey of one’s physical existence, is often greeted with grief, sorrow, high emotions and mourning. This is, however, not the case for Meursault, the main character in Albert Camus’s “The Stranger.” In the book’s opening paragraph, Meursault says, “Mother died today, or maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure. The telegram from the Home says: ‘Your mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow, Deep sympathy,’ which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday” (Camus, 1942). Based on this excerpt, it is clear that after receiving the news regarding his mother’s death, Meursault shows more interest in the day of the death. He further speculates that the death could have taken place the previous day. There is little evidence to show that he actually cares about the fact that his mother has passed on solely based on his reaction on receiving the information. From this perspective, it is evident that human life is overrated. Indeed, while childbirth calls for celebration and brings joy into the world, the certainty regarding the end of human life is greatly overlooked. I argue that Meursault’s indifference to the news of his mother’s death as intimated from the opening monologue of the novel embodies a critical element of his personality, which is greatly denoted by nonchalance, as well as detachment.

In the beginning of the book the main character who's name is Meursault is asking his boss for time off to attend his mother's funeral. In the first line he says “maman died today”. Meursault sees that the coffin has already been sealed. Meursault meets with the caretaker of his mother rushes in and offers to open the casket, but Meursault tells him not to bother. The next morning, the day of the funeral, Meursault again meets with the director of the old persons’ home. The director asks Meursault if he wants to see his mother one last time before the coffin is sealed permanently, but Meursault declines. Instead of grieving at the news of his mother’s death, he is cold. It's a little absurd and weird meursault has i interest in the death of his mother but rather he worries about borrowing appropriate funeral clothing from a friend, and is interested in the caretaker’s anecdote about the length of avigil depends on how long it takes before the body begins to decompose. Meursault takes off

Simplicity is an integral part of the young man’s union with the axolotl. But the simple creature the man comes to know and admire could not be without its neotenous characteristics. As the salamander grows it never reaches adulthood and seemingly never ages. In this feature of the axolotl, the young man comes to the realization that death is a part of life for all men. He is scared of facing aging and dying, unsure how to react or feel about the unknown, and wants to avoid the question that all men hate to face. Looking to the axolotl for answers, he gets a paradoxical result. The animal that never ages, the animal he transforms into to escape the question of death, is a representation of death. The axolotl is lonely, immobile, seemingly lacking life, inexpressive, and unable to communicate, all things we associate with death.

The poet insisted, “Eyes the shady night has shut / Cannot see the record cut” (Housman 13-14). Housman metaphorically justifies that death is not a menacing occurrence in a person’s life, comparing it to sleeping on a shady night. With this seemingly bare comment, Housman reveals his valiantness of death and his supportive perspective on dying young. Moreover, Maupassant implemented imagery in “Two Friends” to demonstrate that friendship triumphs over death. He wrote that “Monsieur Sauvage fell forward instantaneously. Morissot, being the taller, swayed slightly and fell across his friend with face turned skyward and blood oozing from a rent in the breast of his coat (Maupassant 448)”. In the climax, great friends Monsieur Sauvage and Monsieur Morissot ungrudgingly were willing to die together rather than revealing the location of their country’s soldiers. Maupassant was purposeful in his word choices to create an image of two friends dying together, even if they had the choice to betray their country and escape. Thus, imagery is a powerful literary device to justify the authors’ purposes of writing.

Death plays many roles in books it is often used to develop major themes. This is especially the case in Albert Camus’s book, “The Stranger”. Meursault's death is a vital aspect to show the book's theme. Without the message his death brings the story would not be the

In The Stranger, Albert Camus writes about a detached yet normal man, Meursault, who encounters unusual situations that evidently leads to his demise. From cover to cover, it was established by the author that Meursault had an unusual way of thinking and that he was continuously revealing his peculiar perspective on life and death. Throughout the novel, Meursault is reminded of death and continues to be judged by everyone in the society that he lives in, for instance, when he was put on trial for shooting an Arab man. Camus writes about the main character by describing his absurdist mindset. It is through the focus of funeral scene, however, that Camus is able to formulate the values of the character and the society in which they live in. This scene was able to reveal Meursault’s perspective on life as well as death.

This excerpt from the novel shows his overall attitude towards the death of his mother, not wanting to see her for the last time before she is gone forever, which leads the reader to question the personality of this man. With the death of Ramone’s dog, Meursault “realized [Ramone] was crying” which in turn led him to “[think] of Mama”. However, he overcomes this thought by telling himself that “[he] had to get up early the next morning” and therefore “[he} went to bed without any dinner”. Camus incorporates the death of Ramone’s dog in order to once again display the strong contrast between Ramone’s reaction to his dog’s death compared to Meursault’s reaction to his mother’s death. Ramone is mourning over a member such as his dog passing away, and on ther other hand Meursault is indifferent towards the death of his mother. This greatly works in the development of the plot of the novel throughout the novel as he is indifferent towards other aspects of society as well and is condemned for his attitude towards his mother when he is put through trial. Keeping this in mind is essential in the understanding of some ideas presented later on in the novel.

To Meursault, “death obliterates all of society’s distinctions between innocence and guilt, and a premonition of his death exposes to a man the artificiality of society’s rules” (Lazare). Society, rather, views death as a final form of judgment rather than as an escape from it. In Christianity, for example, one either proceeds into Heaven or Hell after he or she dies, facing judgment for one’s actions in life. Because Meursault’s point of view differs from this

It is human nature to often cry or mourn during emotion-provoking moments like a parent’s death, however Meursault contradicts this social norm and instead concentrates on his surroundings. Therefore, through this hyperbole, Meursault portrays existentialists as individuals who, rather than focusing on the gravity of the situation, observe the world around them, rendering them as callous entities who lack human

Facing his imminent death, he realizes that humans could never know if the universe has inherent value and because of death, nothing matters in life other than living itself. The importance of life can only be seen with the anticipation of death. This realization Meursault undergoes is his confrontation with the absurd. Meursault reflects on his indifferent life and realizes that the universe is equally indifferent to himself. Knowing this, Meursault begins to understand that all humans should defiantly continue to search for meaning, even if the universe will never present one. This revolution from one's own fate can be seen with Meursault famous last words before his death, “for everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate" (Camus 123). This ultimately shows how each individual is responsible for their own acts of free will, whether it be good or bad. Meursault decides at the end to act as if his actions mattered, while simultaneously knowing nothing he could ever do would

The author views the process of death as unavoidable and a constant renewal and replacement system. To the author, death is happening everywhere, people and animals are dying all the time, but it never occurs out in the open where everyone can see it taking place. Death is something that takes place, hidden from the world and happens alone, privately. For example, a herd of elephants will pick up an elephant if he dies while they are traveling. The elephant herd will carry the deceased elephant from location to location, until they find a suitable place to lay the elephant at rest. Since dying never happens in the open, it’s easier to forget about it, forget that it’s happening, but that also makes it harder for people to grasp the concept

Camus suggests that closeness to death helps dissolves the simulacrum. Initially, Meursault has a tough time coming to terms with the “arrogant certainty” (109) of his sentence. Later, when Meursault states that, in “twenty years” (114), it would “all come down to the same thing” (114), he is shown to accept the reality of his death. Meursault’s change in perspective reflects a new understanding within himself: that death is something everyone is condemned to from the moment they are born. Meursault’s change in perspective is particularly significant because it allows him to “accept the rejection” (114) of his appeal– he reasons that if he is to die at some point which is likely to be soon, he may as well receive the fact on a deeper level. When Meursault accepts his own death, he is shown that neither his life nor the lives of those around