Albert Camus And Existentialism Essay

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To live existentially, it is sometimes necessary to go against societal standards. Existentialism emphasizes the idea that humans choose how they live their lives. In The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault is constantly defiant of social standards. Although Meursault’s blatant ignorance of the expectations of society leads to his relative happiness and ultimately his characterization as an existentialist, this lifestyle often results in consequences that are unforeseen to him. Through his existential lifestyle Meursault avoids sadness about his mother’s death, something that most would mourn for over the course of months. When Meursault receives news of this mother’s death he is notably unaffected: “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’”(). Meursault clearly does not have a close relationship with his mother, if he cared, he would have found the exact date of her death. Meursault did not drift away from his mother, he chose not to be close to her. By not having a close relationship with his mother, Meursault avoids the pain of coping with the death of a loved one. When visiting his mother’s body, Meursault does smokes and drinks a cup of coffee: “But I wasn’t sure if I should smoke, under the circumstances—in Mother’s presence. I thought it over; really, it didn’t seem to matter, so I offered the keeper a cigarette, and we both smoked”(). Generally, it goes against social standards to smoke in the room of
In Albert Camus’ The Stranger, Meursault defies societal standards through his existential lifestyle and ends up in prison as a result. Society’s expectations and how one responds to them determines things that occur throughout

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