Existentialism In Albert Camus The Outsider
The Outsider follows an apathetic, amoral protagonist named Meursault along the course of a series of events that are, in Meursault’s eyes, happenstance. The novel is divided into two parts: the lead-up to Meursault’s murdering of the Arab and the aftermath. The philosophical views of the French-Algerian author, Albert Camus, have greatly contributed to the bulk of the absurdist philosophy. “The Outsider” as well as a multitude of his other literary works are expressions of these. Despite himself having denied personally identifying with the label, Camus’s name is also commonly associated with the existential philosophy. There are fundamental differences that set the two apart from each other however, save for a few similarities in some aspects. …show more content…
Faced with a universe thought to be without greater meaning than that which the individual gives it, the individual places emphasis on the freedom to make decisions and the acceptance of consequences. As the idea of the nature of the universe and life having definitive meaning is fanciful, it is the responsibility of the individual to give meaning or value to life. Absurdism, on the other hand, is a philosophy that believes that the human tendencies to seek inherent meaning in life are futile; certainty is impossible due to the sheer immensity of information available and yet to be discovered. There are a number of ways to deal with the confrontation of the Absurd; in The Outsider, Meursault continues to live in spite of it. Although Camus had originally intended to explore the absurdist philosophy in “The Outsider”, concepts of the existentialist philosophy can also be found to be present in the book. This essay explores how Camus demonstrates aspects of both of these philosophical themes throughout the novel, marked by Meursault’s choices, actions and the implications behind
Albert Camus The Stranger
1353 Words | 6 PagesThose who don’t know their purpose may feel that their daily lives are ridiculous. Camus’ The Stranger, portrays an inexplicably nonsensical character, Meursault, who winds up in a unanticipated situation. Similar to real life struggles, the character perpetually repeats insignificant actions not accordant to any essence.
Meursault As An Anti-Hero In The Stranger By Albert Camus
388 Words | 2 PagesIn The Stranger Meursault is an anti-hero. Camus gives Meursault a detached personality making him not care about anyone or anything. This reflects Camus’s view on life. He does not care about life and simply drifts thought it.interactions with other humans. As Mr.David mentioned in class, Meursault sleeps, eats, has sex, goes to work, and does nothing else.
Essay On Ultranationalism
748 Words | 3 PagesComing with the Similarities there are very definite differences between
Diction In The Stranger
932 Words | 4 PagesThrough the use of diction and symbolism; Camus reveals Meursault’s is apathetic towards his bonding with others and unable
Meursault's Emotions In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
724 Words | 3 PagesCamus uses the motif of weather, most commonly sun and heat, to express Meursault’s emotions. Meursault often describes the weather and how it ‘affects’ him. This can symbolize his actual feelings he tries to hide. An example can be found when Meursault is walking to his mother’s funeral. On the outside he is calm and even seems a little annoyed.
The Stranger Literary Analysis
1100 Words | 5 PagesIn Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger, readers follow the story of Mersault, a young man living in Algiers who is dealing with his mother’s death. Right away readers can look at Mersault and see his careless and unemotional life. He clearly does not care for what people think about him, and he would never lie about himself to be recognized. He does not accept the society’s idea of happiness by the way he deals with the moments in his life. He does not believe in life after death and has no religion to support his beliefs, which make his life poor and empty.
The Stranger Character Analysis
1437 Words | 6 PagesThe Stranger by Albert Camus follows the daily life of Meursault, a French-Algerian that embodies Camus’ philosophical views of absurdum. Meursault’s life is a simple one; at first glance, he is like any other working, middle class man. However, through the first person narration, we gain insight into his unconventional thought process. He does not place value on anything, including, possessions, love and ambition. Nevertheless, he is content with his life.
Social Norms In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
1196 Words | 5 Pages(59) After long passages describing the painful violence of the sun, Camus’s transition into the murder is shockingly abrupt, provoking a sense of bewilderment at the unexpected randomness of the murder, conveying effectively the irrationality of Meursault’s murder of the man. However, during the trial, when Meursault reveals that he murdered the Arab only because of the sun, refusing to allow others impose their logical but false interpretations upon his life, “people laughed” (103) and even his own “lawyer threw up his hand” (103) as they are unable comprehend and accept such an irrational motivation. To protect themselves from this harsh reality of the universe, they can only fabricate and impose their own logical explanation for Meursault’s behavior. The prosecutor, for instance, is convinced Meursault murdered the man in cold blood, certain in the narrative he has constructed out of events completely unrelated to the murder, from Meursault’s “ignorance when asked Maman’s age” (99) to his association with a man of “doubtful morality” (99). In both cases, Meursault’s indifference for societal standards of morality has painted him as a man immoral and cold-hearted enough to premeditate the murder.
Non-Conformity In Albert Camus's The Stranger
1319 Words | 6 PagesA society contained to a set of principles punishes the non-conformers this is what sociology calls social control; when conformity is rewarded, and non-conformity is punished. This is represented in Albert Camus ' The Stranger aptly named as Meursault the main character doesn 't abide by general societal norms and rather than getting convicted for the murder he did commit he feels he is sentenced because of not loving his mother as society expects and, in a way, he is. Through Meursault 's actions of killing the unnamed Arab, helping Raymond, not grieving his mother, and having no true wants but basic primal necessities the reader can consider him immoral or evil from his violence; however, with the full presentation of his character which the reader experiences, as Meursault is the narrator, when he is imprisoned the reader reacts more sympathetically than they would if they had been one of the jury members. From the beginning of The Stranger, the reader understands Meursault is a complex character. The very first line of the book is, "Maman died today.
Flora Meursault's Existentialism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
900 Words | 4 PagesFlora Mehdi Albert Camus ' book The Stranger, is a first-person account of the life of Meursault, an emotionally detached and excessively blunt man living in the French Algiers in the 1940 's. He describes his endeavors realistically and directly with no mercy for others or himself. The novel begins with Meursault receiving a letter explaining his mother 's death, he immediately expresses that he finds the trip to her funeral as an "inconvenience". Rather than cry or grieve at the service he smokes a cigarette and is distracted by the heat. After the funeral, he goes swimming and meets Marie, a woman whom he then attends comedy movie with as if his mother hadn 't just died the day before.
The Outsider Reflective Statement
1761 Words | 8 PagesBook: The Outsider written by Albert Camus, originally published in French as L’Etranger in 1942 translated by Joseph Laredo in 1982. Reflective statement Initially, I lacked general interest in Albert Camus’s The Outsider. I did not find anything particularly inventive or new. The interactive oral allowed me to explore aspects of the book in detail which admittedly made it seem impressingly alluring. The cultural and contextual characteristics were not as bland as they had originally appeared to me.
Meursault's Absurd In Literature
1421 Words | 6 PagesBy making Meursault an indifferent, atheist character, Camus is exposing
Existentialism And Absurdism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
1021 Words | 5 PagesIn his novel The Stranger, Albert Camus creates an emotionally incapable, narcissistic, and, at times, sociopathic character named Meursault to explore and expose his philosophies of Existentialism and Absurdism. Throughout the story Meursault follows a philosophical arc that, while somewhat extreme - from unemotional and passive to detached and reckless to self-reflective - both criticizes the dependent nature of human existence and shows the journey through the absurd that is our world. In the onset of The Stranger, following his mother’s death, Meursault acts with close to utter indifference and detachment. While the rest of “maman’s”(9) loved ones express their overwhelming grief, Meursault remains unphased and, at times, annoyed at their
The Stranger, By Albert Camus
553 Words | 3 PagesIn The Stranger, Albert Camus’ protagonist, Meursault, serves as a symbol for existentialism, underscoring societies “absurd” tendency to enforce various delusions on reality in efforts to gain a semblance of meaning. Throughout the novel, Meursault was vilified by his peers for having been immoral. Any reader skimming The Stranger might agree with this sentiment as he did, infact, murder a man, fail to express grief in regards to the death of his mother, and admitted to having no affiliation to any religion or God. However, it is only when Camus’ elaborate metaphor is unfolded can the reader recognize that Meursault is hardly immoral, but rather amoral or even indifferent. Rather than, solidifying an identifiable personality, meursault presents
The Themes Of Death In Meursault's The Stranger
1232 Words | 5 PagesThe themes of death explored using absurdism in The Stranger is shown with a general disregard for death by Meursault and the strange way he sees life based on these existentialist views. The Stranger is a perfect example of an existentialist novel that was written for that time period, as during this time around the area of France and Europe there was an existentialist movement that Albert Camus, the author, was involved in.
More about Existentialism In Albert Camus The Outsider
Albert Camus The Stranger
1353 Words | 6 PagesMeursault As An Anti-Hero In The Stranger By Albert Camus
388 Words | 2 PagesEssay On Ultranationalism
748 Words | 3 PagesDiction In The Stranger
932 Words | 4 PagesMeursault's Emotions In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
724 Words | 3 PagesThe Stranger Literary Analysis
1100 Words | 5 PagesThe Stranger Character Analysis
1437 Words | 6 PagesSocial Norms In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
1196 Words | 5 PagesNon-Conformity In Albert Camus's The Stranger
1319 Words | 6 PagesFlora Meursault's Existentialism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
900 Words | 4 PagesThe Outsider Reflective Statement
1761 Words | 8 PagesMeursault's Absurd In Literature
1421 Words | 6 PagesExistentialism And Absurdism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
1021 Words | 5 PagesThe Stranger, By Albert Camus
553 Words | 3 PagesThe Themes Of Death In Meursault's The Stranger
1232 Words | 5 Pages