The Paper of the Absurd: a Literary Analysis of the Stranger

At the end of the novel, Meursault is able to understand the meaning of life. He was able to do so because he was approaching death, which is an existentialist principle, death is the one certainty of life. Before, when his mother died or when he killed the Arab, he did not have any feelings. When he thought about his own life and that he was about to die, he accepted it. He realizes that one can truly enjoy their lives when they approach and accept death. The understanding of this allowed Meursault to be at peace with himself. With this being said, this novel was an unusually good book, which made me think. A majority of the book made me feel like the rest of society, which was not accepting Meursault's behavior although analyzing gave me

The Stranger by Albert Camus focuses largely on the concept of absurdism. Camus uses family and personal relationships, or the lack of it thereof, to show the isolation that the main character, Meursault, undergoes in the novel and it’s effect on him overall. Camus utilizes the protagonists’ character development as a tool to further his plot of the novel. The absence of family and personal relationships tied in with the particular recurring topics of the novel are crucial in both the development of the protagonists’ characters as well as the plot as it affects the portrayal of the main character.

Immediately before shooting, Meursault describes the overbearing effect of his surroundings on his physical existence, saying “My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave” (59). When Meursault murders the the Arab man, he is merely reacting to his uncomfort in the extreme heat and sunlight. He says that “the trigger gave” giving the impression that he was disconnected from this action, not completely aware of what he was doing. As a result, the murder demonstrates how events in life are irrational and take place without reason.

In society, many people will reach a stage in their life where they encounter an “existential crisis” and begin to seek answers by questioning the meaning of their existence, or whether a meaning truly exists. Absurdism is the school of thought which argues that meaning is inherently absent in the universe, but that one must embrace this to live freely. Albert Camus uses this philosophy to masterfully craft The Stranger, a novella in which the main character named Meursault blindly wanders through life because he believes that it possesses no true meaning. He is incapable of remorse when he arbitrarily murders an Arab, and thus his life spirals downhill as

Meursault often acts without any real reason, yet society, represented by the judge, jury, and prosecution, attempt to come up with rational explanations to behaviors that are ultimately irrational. The theme of the meaninglessness of human life is a concept that Meursault wrestles with throughout the novel and finally comes to terms with after his last conversation with the chaplain. Eventually everyone will die and the lives of everyone on Earth will go on just as they had before; therefore, our lives are essentially meaningless. This is a story of indifference in a world where any misstep outside of society’s moral standards is

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.

Meursault manager told him that he lacked ambition (41). He was caught up in the monotony of life, and before he knew it all he had taken for granted was soon taken from him. Meursault's imprisonment is physical as it is metaphoric. It's in prison that he accepts death and wishes through his execution that those that watch him will in turn learn that regardless of how one lives their life death comes for everyone. Meursault comes to the conclusion that it is only through an execution that life can truly be valued.

Throughout the novel, we see him being apathetic towards the people of the society, his mother, his girlfriend, and his neighbors. He does not seem to care too much about social norms. He views the world from a different perspective. He stands for what he believes in. He does not get overwhelmed with any types of emotions. Although sometimes he does try to view the world as others do, but maybe that is too late for him to do. Before his execution, the Chaplain comes to try to make him believe in the faith, pray for forgiveness but he refuses how he refused the magistrate. He does not think it is a necessary thing for him to do. He does not support the idea of forcefully believing something. At the very end of the novel he says, "For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet me with howls of execration" (Camus, 75). The quote is said by Meursault as he feels that he deserves the disdain of the society because he is different from others. Literary element tone is noticeable in this quote as it shows the change of the emotion of Meursault. He does not think the same way as the people in his society does. He is an outcast and he knows that is why he is being punished for it. He truly believes that on the day of his

"She came back to my place. When I woke up, she was gone."(21). The relationship between these characters is absurd because it starts the day after meursault's mother's death. Normally after the death of the person who gave you life one would be in mourning but not meursault. Meursault's indifference is most likely because he sees no meaning in life and that is why the relationship is absurd.

Although Meursault begins to have realizations of his actions and his own self, he is still being judged by everyone as a stranger according to his actions in Part 1, a man who had no reasoning or explanation behind anything he did. The reason Meursault shot the arab multiple times does not exist, he had no reason to shoot him, but he just did. This once again shows absurdism, because there is no explanation for his actions, and this disturbs the jury even more, and they harshly judge him. Meursault is not the only stranger though. As he was seen as a stranger by those who were judging him in Part 2, he saw those same people as strangers too. In Chapter three, Meursault was under a ton of pressure in the court sessions, and as everyone was staring at him, he could not recognize a single face. Everyone was a stranger to him, and “With the crowd and stuffiness of the air … was feeling a bit dizzy” (Camus 52). As Meursault was unable to recognize anyone, he became uncomfortable. It is also important to recognize that in Part 2, Meursault does not name anyone, unlike Part 1. He only names people by their role, such as “magistrate” or “prosecutor.” He is once again isolated from everyone in Part 2, and they are all strangers to him as he is being judged for his murder. Absurdism and isolation show their role in making Meursault, as

Meursault abandons the hope of living because he knew he had to die one day; Meursault seems enlightened by the meaningless of life and the universe and Marie seems to be lacking this because she kept hoping that he would be freed when he’s faced the truth of his situation. Meursault, whilst sitting in his cell, awaiting his execution day, becomes profoundly aware that the time one dies doesn’t matter. He believed that everyone was “going to die”, so it was “obvious” the details relevant to the death, such as ‘when and how”, cease to be of importance (Camus 131). Meursault abandons hope of living a longer life and he was not worried about when he would die. He accepts the absurdum of the universe, without questioning why he was dealt such a hand in life.

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

The philosophy of existentialism speculates the fact that all people are destined to die, and the importance of their death is no greater than the vacant importance of their lives. In The Stranger, Meursault's view of death directly compares to that of the philosophy of existentialism: “‘Well, so I’m going to die.’ Sooner than other people will, obviously. But everybody knows life isn't worth living. Deep down I knew perfectly well that it doesn't much matter whether you died at 30 or at 70, since in either case other men and women will naturally go on living - and for thousands of years. In fact, nothing could be clearer” (Camus 114). In the way Meursault thinks

Widely recognized for philosophical writings as a French essayist and playwright, Albert Camus is a major contributor to exploring the absurd in modern Western literature. Characterized by highlighting the human condition, Camus’ writing style focuses on the everyday lives and inner psyche of individuals in both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. Such a character-driven writing style is most notably displayed in his 1946 work, The Stranger, a tale of an emotionally-detached man known as Meursault, who lives in French-colonized Algiers during the intermission of the two World Wars. Consisting of two parts—The Stranger first explores his daily life as a free man, and in the second, delves more into the character’s own philosophy as Meursault contemplates during his remaining time in jail. At its core, the story explores the relationships and interactions of the odd Meursault through the character’s inner monologue and dialogue with those around him. The story itself is very ambiguous in its’ nature, and the idea of contemplating the meaning of life and purpose is prevalent throughout The Stranger. Evidently, Camus writes Meursault as a man who believes that life has no meaning, and therefore people are free to do as they please. To supplement the protagonist’s view, the author also presents Meursault alongside various personalities of key supporting characters, each with their own unique personality, and differing outlooks on life. Doing so thus enables Camus to get readers to contemplate about meaning through multiple perspectives. Stylistically, through many devices that emphasize diction, imagery, and story themes. Ultimately, The Stranger is a way for Camus to convey that there are multiple ways to perceive the meaning of life, using Meursault to directly project a different view than what readers are used to. Surely, with the intent of crafting a protagonist so strange, that Meursault becomes comparable to other characters; less so as a reflection of what the author personally believes the meaning of life is, but more of what such exploration of the idea could be.

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.