The Importance Of Existentialism In The Stranger By Albert Camus

I. Introduction ` A. Thesis: In his novel The Stranger, Camus uses motif of death and isolation to show his philosophical viewpoints which includes the theme of the universe being irrational and life being meaningless. II. Camus illustrates his critical observation of death by demonstrating it through the main character Meursault, who shows human existence has no logical meaning and people aiming to produce reasons as to why life is significant. III In the beginning of the story it starts off with Meursault receiving a telegram that his mother had passed

What if we all lived lives believing there is no true purpose of our existence? In the novel The Stranger, author Albert Camus conveys his ideas of existentialism through the life of main character, Meursault. In this novel, Camus works in his own philosophical views, pushing the idea that human existence has no rational meaning or cause. But, since this isn’t something individuals usually accept they are essentially attempting to put a meaning behind their lives. There are three main events that affect Meursault in one way or another. From the death of his mother, the murder he commits, to this revelation of the meaning and importance of his life, you are able to see the emotions Meursault feels and how he experiences life with such a standpoint.

The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, It follows the story of our tragic hero, Meursault, shortly after his mother dies through the events that lead to him being sentenced to death. Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions. The Stranger shows how even when a person does not explicitly express emotion they are shown in some way. How emotions are expressed is a window to a person's personality. I will first discuss how Meursault appears emotionless, than how Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions for him and lastly what impact this makes.

Through the use of diction, Meursault perceives life is meaningless, which leads him to have the absence of strong bonding with acquaintance around him. He indicates that he lacks empathy from personal and social level. Meursault is a simple man who lives his life in a stickler type and changes annoy him. As the novel introduces Meursault mother being dead, he shows lack of concern and a burden to visit his mother for the last time. “Maman died today...

The battle for existence is what drives Meursault to connect more to the physical world. In The Stranger by Albert Camus, there’s a young, detached man named Meursault living in French Algiers. At the beginning of the novel, Meursault receives a telegram, which informs him of his mother’s death. He acts calm during and after the funeral and frolics around with his girlfriend, Marie. While on the beach with his friends, they are suddenly confronted by Arabs and get into a fight.

Meursault has an absurdist attitude toward his world inside of his mental and physical world. Meursault blames his rash actions on the world and environment. At Meursault’s trial, after he killed the Arab, he defended himself by saying, “it was because of the sun.” (Camus, 103) Meursault actually believed that the sun made him kill the Arab man. In The Stranger, the sun is the main antagonist.

Meursault is an insignificant man living an insignificant life, with no purpose other than to come to peace with his insignificance and thus remove its power over him. He expresses little emotion even when faced with intensely emotional situations. In The Stranger, Albert Camus details a part of Meursault’s life, which, though short, is filled with drastic life events. We see his mother die, his girlfriend fall in love with him, his neighbor threatened and attacked, his own murder of his neighbors attackers, and eventually his conviction and death sentence. Yet in all these events, Meursault remains aloof and ambivalent, with little to no reaction at all.

Taylor Smith Mrs. Fowler IB Language Arts 17 May, 2016 The Stranger: The Epiphany The Stranger is a novel written by Albert Camus and was published in 1942. It follows the story of Meursault, an indifferent French Algerian, and his actions leading to his eventual death. Camus, a French philosopher, author, and journalist most notably renowned for his philosophy of absurdism, distributes a recurring theme of existentialism and absurdism throughout the novel, and heavily does so in passages that serve the most significance to the story.

All mankind must live free and happy realizing that all must die. In Albert Camus’ novel The Outsider, Meursault is portrayed as a man with tragic hero qualities and heartlessness because he has no emotions to show the world which will cost him his life. Meursault is a detached and deathly honest guy who refuses to lie about himself to save his life. Meursault is interested far more in the physical aspects of the world around him than in its social or emotional aspects. Meursault implies that there is no higher meaning or order to human life.

During Maman’s funeral, Meursault presents no sadness but an indifferent attitude, which was eventually been questioned and criticized by the public due to his absurd actions. He does love his mother “the same as anyone” (67), but love her in his own way. His hidden love toward his mother presents through his subconscious actions. First of all, while Meursault noticed about Maman’s death he immediately ask for leave, and took a two-hour bus to Marengo, he said that he “wanted to see Maman right away. ”(4), which he can’t wait to see mother, his urgent mood had shown his care on Maman.

Reflective Statement, The Stranger Throughout the interactive panel discussion for The Stranger, I learned about how Camus’s views were reflected in his novel and differences between the societies of the novel and of real life. The story’s protagonist, Meursault, is seen by reader as an existentialist but he has certain traits where he could be perceived as someone who wants a connection but has difficulty receiving it. I also learned about how other people viewed Meursault's character in relation to the society.

The heat is also very important in this novel. Both times that death was in front of Meursault, the heat was unbearable for him; his mother’s funeral and the murder of the Arab. The heat is very uncomfortable for him, because he mentions it many times. Sometimes it is so bad, he becomes dizzy and is unable to think properly. When he is in court, every time he is questioned about the murder, he alway relates back to how hot the scene was.

Existentialism is a philosophy that invites us to find purpose and meaning in life by thinking independently and acting deliberately, without overt influence from social norms. This philosophy manifests in Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger in the strange character of Meursault, who defies many major social norms throughout the novel. He places no faith in justice or authority figures. He does not pretend to grieve for his dead mother. He finds no logic or rationality in the universe. By exposing the meaninglessness of these social norms in society, Camus invites us to challenge the social norms that dictate our daily lives and to create our own meaning in the society.

In Camus’ novel, The Stranger, the main character Meursault depicts the absurd man and consequently shows the somewhat negative effect that has on a person. Throughout the novel Meursault is apathetic, detached, and a stranger to society. He embodies the meaninglessness of life through his indifference, he shows the atheistic aspect of absurdism, and indirectly lives by a quantity of experience. The beginning of the novel shows this acceptance and embracement of the absurd. The story starts with, “Maman died today.

In Camus’ novel, The Stranger, the main character Meursault depicts the absurd man and consequently shows the somewhat negative effect that has on a person. Throughout the novel Meursault is apathetic, detached, and a stranger to society. He embodies the meaninglessness of life through his indifference, he shows the atheistic aspect of absurdism, and indirectly lives by a quantity of experience. The beginning of the novel shows this acceptance and embracement of the absurd. The story starts with, “Maman died today.