In a world where there is no purpose, many worry about following others and fitting the profile of what others want. In the novel The Stranger, written by Albert Camus in 1942, Meursault battles with this very lifestyle. Meursault is a common man who recently lost his mother, he then shows no sadness on the surface. Meursault starts off scared of what others think of him. As he tries to find his purpose in a world where there is not one, he realizes he must stray from the group. Through the development of Meursault, Camus demonstrates the philosophy of absurdism to show how true faith allows people to find purpose.
When a loved one dies, a normal reaction is to cry and grieve. Meursault gave off the perception of having no feelings about the
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He lives his life following the rules of bad faith. He makes decisions that will please others and follows the conforming personality of the people around him. Meursault merely watches life go on, and does not live the life he has. He is satisfied with only being an observer in life. This relates to Camus’s ideas of absurdism due to the fact that Meursault has no reason to actually live, because there is no purpose to life. While observing others off his balcony, Meursault “turned his chair around and set it down like the tobacconist 's, because [he] found it was more comfortable that way” (22). This action shows he is just going through the motions of life, he simply exists and does not live a life which he finds purpose in. He is not experiencing his own ways to live, but is solely copying the ways of others. At this point in the novel Meursault has done nothing to create himself, and everything he says is simply physical not emotional. While watching the family pass at his window and he sees the man “and his wife, [he] understood why people in the neighborhood said he was distinguished” (22). He observes others on how they behave and then copies. By labeling a man and his actions he now knows how to be distinguished. Camus models absurdism throughout the novel to focus on how people are able to find purpose by living through true faith. One will find their purpose by making one 's own decisions and …show more content…
After his realization, Meursault sees that his mother too began to live in the last of her days. He understands “why at the end of her life she had taken a fiance, why she had played at beginning again” (122). . Meursault wants to go out with a bang just like his mother had. Even in a place where life has no purpose “evening was a wistful respite” (122). The time before death is short period to really live life, finding rest and relief before death comes and wipes it away. Meursault learns a lesson from this and then understands what he must do to give his life purpose. He feels “ready to live it all again too. . .and opened [himself] to the gentle indifference of the world” (122). The essence he used to create himself was everything that went against the beliefs of society. He wants people to “greet [him] with cries of hate” because this validates the fact that he is not like them. Camus uses absurdism to lead Meursault to find himself, not what others want of him, but what he wants. In the actions Meursault took to break free from conformity did he gain true
He, however, seemed question his presence because the death of his mom or even from the absence of his father—the fairly dynamic that every child should have (both parents present). In chapter two Meursault found himself alone in his apartment as Marie had left for work earlier that morning. In this section he explains that, “After lunch I was a little bored and I wandered around the apartment” (21). In this quote, Meursault demonstrates just how meaningless is life is. To have nothing more to do with his time than walk around his apartment shows that Meursault is questioning his place in this world. He is a man with virtually only two friends—Raymond and Marie—and a neighbor that he associates with on occasion about his dog. As he wanders the apartment he explains that he lives, “in just one room now” (21), one that he literally put his dining table in so that he could eat in his room. This quote symbolizes his loneliness as a person. Not only is the apartment too big for him, the world is too, and his is basically alone in both. For some reason—maybe a tragedy or trauma that he faced in earlier years—Meursault has closed himself off from the world and does not express love for anyone or anything. In fact, Meursault made a statement about the death of his mother saying that, “at one time or another, all normal people have wished their loved ones were dead" (65). At this point in the story, I think that Meursault may not have had the best family dynamic. He does not speak of anyone else but Maman, and mentions a father that he does not know. So, he may not feel like he belongs or does not know how to. He also explains that, “it was one of Maman’s ideas, and she often repeated it, that after a while you could get used to anything” (77). This quote could explain the fact that Meursault is closed off—he has gotten so used to not having anyone around that truly cares for him (his
The Stranger by Albert Camus is a story of a sequence of events in one man's life that cause him to question the nature of the universe and his position in it. The book is written in two parts and each part seems to reflect in large degree the actions occurring in the other. There are curious parallels throughout the two parts that seem to indicate the emotional state of Meursault, the protagonist, and his view of the world.
In Part One of The Stranger, Albert Camus avoids religious confrontations with Meursault in order to subconsciously place blame on Christ for his criminal actions. Camus restricts Meursault’s relationships to further distance him from his mother. Meursault then alienates himself from the typical spiritual ceremonies and actions to demonstrate his distrust of religion. Simultaneously, Camus uses diction of clear and bright elements to characterize people in the novel, excluding Meursault. Camus associates dark colors with Meursault to depict a sadistic persona. To conclude, Camus places Meursault in recurring situations which result in him being distracted by “the light”. Camus uses these literary techniques in The Stranger to demonstrate man’s condemnation of God.
Albert Camus’ The Stranger offers one man’s incite into the justice of society. Monsieur Meursault, the main protagonist in the novel, believes that morals and the concept of right and wrong possess no importance. This idea influences him to act distinctively in situations that require emotion and just decision, including feeling sadness over his mother’s death, the abuse of a woman, and his killing of an innocent man. In these situations Meursault apathetically devoids himself of all emotion and abstains from dealing with the reality in front of him. When confronted by the court over his murder, he reiterates his habitual motto on life that nothing matters anyways, so why care? His uncaring response inflames the people working within the
The emotionless anti-hero, Monsieur Meursault, embarks on a distinct philosophical journey through The Stranger. Confident in his ideas about the world, Meursault is an unemotional protagonist who survives without expectations or even aspirations. Because of his constant indifference and lack of opinions about the world, it can be denoted that he undergoes a psychological detachment from the world and society. It is through these characteristics that exist in Meursault that Camus expresses the absurd. Starting from the very first sentence of the book, “Maman died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” (Camus 1) The indifferent tone from these short sentences convey a rather apathetic attitude from Meursault’s part. Not only does he not feel any sorrow, he also “felt like having a smoke.” (Camus 4) Communicating perfectly Meursault’s disinterest, “[he] hesitate, [he] didn’t know if [he] could do it with Maman right there. [He] thought it over; it really didn’t matter.” (Camus 4) The death of his mother prompts an absurdist philosophy in which he experiences a psychological awakening and begins to place no real emphasis on emotions, but rather on the physical aspect of life.
Meursault doesn’t conform to society such as understanding what we would call normal human emotions such as the emotions of love or death. The reason Meursault may seem disconnected from the felling of love is shown when his girlfriend ask about marriage. Meursault answers without caring by saying “it doesn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to” (Camus, 156). Meursault also show the disconnection of normal human emotions after his mother’s death. “… Maman’s death, but that was one of those things that was bound to happen sooner or later” (Camus, 123).
Meursault (the narrator) in The Stranger only sees and only wants to see the absolute truth in society. The readers first encounter with him...
“But from the moment he knows, his tragedy begins.” Meursault is not unlike Sisyphus. In the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, we watch this character change from a carefree man who loves being alive and free to a man who is imprisoned for a meaningless murder he commits but who eventually finds happiness in his fate.
The novel The Stranger was written by Albert Camus in 1942. The story is an example of how Camus perceives the world with his views. Camus’s views are that moral actions do not have any justification. Camus is considered an existentialist which means that he didn’t believe life had a specific meaning. Many of his beliefs are seen in this novel, as well as his other works. His beliefs began to form during his experience of World War II and after the terrors of the war; many other people believed that the human existence had no meaning. The Stranger could be classified as an existentialist novel because the protagonist of the story, Meursault, also seems to have existentialist beliefs. Meursault is a character that is very out of touch with the world. His attitude and morals were not accepted by the people of the society in the story, which leads to his death sentence.
In The Stranger, Albert Camus describes the life of the protagonist, Meursault, through life changing events. The passage chosen illustrates Meursault’s view during his time in prison for killing the Arab. In prison, one can see the shifts in Meursault’s character and the acceptance of this new lifestyle. Camus manipulates diction to indicate the changes in Meursault caused by time thinking of memories in prison and realization of his pointless life. Because Camus published this book at the beginning of World War II, people at this time period also questions life and death similar to how Meursault does.
In Albert Camus’ novel, The Stranger, the protagonist Meursault is a character who has definite values and opinions concerning the society in which he lives. His self-inflicted alienation from society and all its habits and customs is clear throughout the book. The novel itself is an exercise in absurdity that challenges the reader to face the nagging questions concerning the meaning of human existence. Meursault is an existentialist character who views his life in an unemotional and noncommittal manner, which enhances his obvious opinion that in the end life is utterly meaningless.
The Stranger written by Albert Camus is an absurdist novel revolving around the protagonist, Meursault. A major motif in the novel is violence. There are various places where violence takes place and they lead to the major violent act, which relates directly to the theme of the book. The major violent act of killing an Arab committed by Meursault leads to the complete metamorphosis of his character and he realizes the absurdity of life.
...everyone is surrounded by death. Camus explains that life isn’t about what is not envisioned, but it’s about what is evident. Meursault’s feeling of apathy is directly related to his conviction that life lacks necessary order and meaning, “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope…I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world,” as he awaits his impending death, he finally recognizes that life is the most complex entity in the universe and one only has one life to live, so live it wisely (122). In the end, Meursault changed spiritually because he didn’t concentrate as much on the physical world because while he was in prison, he thought about life’s gifts and (although still atheist) realizes that faith in yourself and life is very important. There is also some irony here; he finally realizes the meaning of live just as he awaits his death.
The moment Meursault found out, he said, “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 matter doubtful, it could have been yesterday” (Camus 1). A reaction like this is unlikely to occur in anybody that is put in this situation. Existentialists immediately start to analyze existence instead of embracing it. Another quote is, “What unites the existentialists, besides the problems of meaning and existence with which they all wrestled, is a series of themes and concerns that informed their discussion of these issues” (Panza & Gale 28). By describing the mind of an existentialist, it supports the argument that Meursault portrayed the characteristics of an existentialist because that is how he would think about life as a whole. Also, while Meursault was talking with the chaplain, he said in reply to the chaplain, “I however didn’t want to be helped, and I hadn’t had time to work up interest for something that didn’t interest me” (Camus 72). That is a very weird response to have after you are informed about the wonders of God; but that is how Meursault did due to his existentialism like thoughts. Throughout The Stranger Meursault lost his own meaning in life while trying to examine every little aspect of it. Characteristics like that are often associated with those of an
Albert Camus wrote The Stranger during the Existentialist movement, which explains why the main character in the novel, Meursault, is characterized as detached and emotionless, two of the aspects of existentialism. In Meursault, Camus creates a character he intends his readers to relate to, because he creates characters placed in realistic situations. He wants the reader to form a changing, ambiguous opinion of Meursault. From what Meursault narrates to the reader in the novel, the reader can understand why he attempts to find order and understanding in a confused and mystifying world.