The Worth Of Life In Albert CamusThe Stranger

The value and meaning of life is different to all individuals but what is the meaning of life to an existentialist? An existentialist place emphasis on individual existence, freedom and choice. For an existentialist, there is no school of thought or belief system that can explain life. Life has no order and they also place emphasis on action and choice in the face of the absurd condition of life. What most important to an existentialist is the idea that life has no purpose or explanation at its core so they embrace the fact that they are just living. In The Stranger, a philosophical fiction novel written by Albert Camus, Meursault faces alienation from himself and the world. The novel begins with the death of his mother, then going on to his relationship with Marie, and his involvement with Raymond Sintes. All leading to Meursault being drawn into conflicts with the Arab and winds up killing him. This all comes to demonstrate his general passivity, insensitivity and everything that goes against conventional norms. Meursault is indifferent towards the world’s indifference. Meursault’s character development as an existentialist through his indifference, and the idea of individual existence illustrate the primary theme of meaningless of life and the absurd in The Stranger.

He is very socially awkward, and does not like being around anyone. As an existential hero, like Meursault, they typically does not challenge conformity. As a result, he is no emotion toward anything or anybody. When his mother died, he feels no sadness or emotion towards her passing. In this society, this is looked down upon because it very unnatural to not feel sadness after a loved one passes away. His strange responses to questions has made society set against him. The ideas of existentialism are based on the main argument that humans create meaning for themselves and are entirely free to make their own decisions and are solely responsible for their own individual actions. For instance, “Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said that it did not make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to. I probably didn’t love her”(41). He is unlike the rest of society as they have true emotions and feelings, like Marie expresses about Meursault. Being in a relationship is very important, but Meursault does not want anything to do with it. His lack of emotion has made society to condemn him and get labeled as an

This shows Meursault as a character with no human grief and acts like Maman death has no effect on him. Also, Meursault is disconnected from a normal human emotion of grief and views society as if he is a spectator rather than a member of the group. Another key point is Meursault answering a call, “Maman died today. Or Yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: “Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours” (Camus 3).

Meursault can simply be seen as a man who has created a sense of isolation for himself from the world. The lack of belongingness is ethnic and political, and it is also personal in the sense that Meursault lacks the ability to have meaningful relationships. He is a man who lives his life for himself and no one else, who can be seen as refusing to say more than what he knows, or in other words is a man of few words. He prefers to live within his own mind because that is the only reality that makes sense to him. Meursault can be explained by the existentialist view of psychology which basically has the idea that life has no meaning, it is accidental and there is no purpose behind

They both seem to possess a certain disregard for social norms which seems to be most evident when he fondles breast her in public which would have been considered highly inappropriate considering the setting the story takes place in. Most likely the reason behind why Meursault is happy when he is with Marie is that she provides a relief from the pain he is accustomed to dealing which is as a result of his repressed physical desires as well as him trying assimilate into a society he does is not truly apart of . When he is with her he does not have to suppress any of his desires especially his sexual one . This mutual sexual freedom seems to be a major part of the two as its one of the first things Meursault misses when he is imprisoned for the murder of the Arab. This sexual freedom is apart of the larger social freedom Meursault seems to experience whenever he with Marie. When the two go swimming again and with the same results from the last time ensuing. Meursault does not seem to be worried about what's expected of him or what has to do all he seems to be worried about is happiness and pleasure. This part is crucial for understanding Meursault as we now knows he's a sexual being who has a dependent on happiness and pleasure to come from outside forces like sex which still binds him. In terms of their overall relationship it seems to be a mutual sexual attraction but a one way

Meursault is an anomaly in society; he cannot relate directly to others because he does not live as they do. Meursault is simplistic, even detached; he speaks of his mother's death without regret for her loss, merely stating: "Maman died today." He goes on to mention that perhaps it was yesterday - he is not sure which. He cannot abide by the same moral

Morality and humanity, these are systems of values whose origin lies within the perception of man. They are tools for defining life and ultimately one’s virtues, thus setting his/her principles in life. Using the narrator’s point of view and tone in The Stranger, Albert Camus represents how Meursault’s viewpoint on life denotes the death of his morality and humanity as well.

In the book, The Stranger by Albert Camus, it is about a man who instead, has a very, down and depressing look on life. The book first starts out with the death of the main character, Meursault's mother. Then the author takes us on a crazy ride through Meursault’s lonely and depressing life. Throughout this book, there are many possible themes, like the reaction to violence or death, guilt and remorse, meaninglessness and hopelessness and many more possibilities, but the theme that stands out the most in this book is the theme of meaninglessness and hopelessness and how Meursault believes that nothing means anything and that there is no hope for anyone because we all have the same ending and it doesn’t matter what you do until that day. The way that the author conveys this theme is through tone, characterization, and Meursault’s reactions to the events that took place in the book.

Albert Camus references existentialist concepts throughout his works. Some of the ideas that he addresses in The Stranger, as introduced by the Existentialism Packet, are that life is meant to be lived, and man is an alienated individual. The novel portrays an ordinary and passive man named Meursault, and his complete turning of life when he kills a person and is sentenced to death. Meursault’s long imprisonment due to his crime allows him to learn to think deeply, and positively widens his existentialistic views of his connectedness to the society as well as his ability to express emotions.

When it comes down to it, I often find that I have a rather cynical view on life. I often find myself thinking that life is absurd, horrible, and wonderful all at the same time. Meursault's apathetic nature and his lax view of the world I find lines up much with my own. I’m only a person who finds that I’d rather not be tied in the worlds conflicts and when it comes to personal emotions I tend to not have them towards those around me.

In his novel The Stranger, albert camus gives expression to his philosophy of the absurd. The novel may be a first-person account of the life of M. Meursault from the time of his mother's death up to a time plainly just before his execution for the murder of an Arab. The central theme is that the importance of human life is known solely in light of mortality, or the actual fact of death; and in showing Meursault's consciousness change through the course of events, Camus shows however facing the chance of death will have a control on one's perception of life.

Meursault’s approach to life remained consistent throughout the novel. He was convinced of the world’s indifference to him and everyone else. Meursault had a nonchalant and superficial view about his relationships with people and life circumstances. His view of society is that it owed him nothing, therefore he owed nothing to anyone. People were thought of as interchangeable parts, one being easily adaptable and replaceable by another. Meursault is portrayed as a generally unemotional and detached character. There is not much known about Meursault’s life, other than to realize it is much more complicated that the author is indicating. There may be one defining moment in his past that made Meursault this way that we are not informed of from the story. We do know that Meursault is interested in the physical world around him, rather than its social or emotion aspects. While Meursault is perceived as a generally unemotional and detached character, there are specific instances where his actions reveal a true awareness of his feelings.

In what perhaps is Albert Camus’s most notable work, The Stranger, the main character Meursault can be considered as a vessel for the philosophy of existentialism, an idea prominent in the time period in which the novel was written. Though at first glance Meursault may come off as a simple, uncaring man, as the story progresses, the reader is able to see Meursault as a complex and intriguing person. While in the beginning of the book Meursault is focused only on completing his physical needs, when his ability to fulfill them is taken away from him in prison, he is forced to truly think about his life, becoming fully absurdist in his philosophy.

What if life contributed to no meaning and the only point which matters is the existence happening during the present? To make things worse, as humans live, they breath, but as they die a salvation is received to their soul, and their existence is over. The Stranger by Albert Camus illustrates that the human soul exists in the world physically, therefore the presence or absence does not contribute to any particular event in life. Through, this thought the novel introduces Meursault, who alienates himself from society. He lacks concern for social conventions and is deprived of the physical bounding from people around him. Camus portrays that Meursault is apathetic towards his connection with others, which leads to his morality demise from

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