Optimism in Camus' The Stranger (The Outsider)
The novel The Stranger by Albert Camus can be viewed from several different perspectives. Some people see this book as a "slap to the face" or an insult. Others, however, find the views expressed in this novel to be comforting and optimistic. Just as there are many different people in the world, there are many different interpretations and opinions surrounding this novel. I have found The Stranger to be a novel that is uplifting and reassuring and, therefore, wonderful .
This novel is important, not because I subscribe to the views expressed in it, and not because many people do not, but — in my opinion — simply because every person should be exposed to the existentialist idea of living. Most people do not realize that their religion and, thus, many of their beliefs have been laid out for them by circumstance. They were born to Christian or Jewish or Buddhist parents and that is what they became. Simple. Far too simple for my liking. I often wonder how people can accept what they have not been able to discover for themselves. Religion has all the answers for people. If you are sad, look on the pages that deal with sadness. You will feel better. I would not feel better. I would feel like a mindless person, a slave to a way of perceiving life that I had no part in creating. I feel at home with the existentialists as they ask: “Why?".
My question is, why must people refuse to come to their own conclusions? Why is it taboo to not embrace a "God" but embrace your mind instead? Why can we all not realize that we are alone, that we must find meaning in our lives because we are alive, not because someone or something wants us to live a certain way? As Camus puts it: “I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world."
Some people would find themselves naked in the kind of atmosphere that Camus writes about: a life where there is no set guideline and moreover, no reward for following a set guideline. Those are the people who need God in order to get out of bed each morning. Those are the people who might like to burn Camus' The Stranger. I can fully understand why people would hate this book if they were honest, God-fearing men and women.
image of the city after the rainstorm but upon closer look , it actually revels much more about the
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.
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.
...rs that had already been put in place. This meant that the company would have to negotiate with the union as the head of the janitorial workers’ bargaining sector. Therefore, the bargaining order would be the right remedy if the company was found guilty of the charges (BrainMass, 2014).
Singer presents his argument specifically in terms of famine relief and, although it has broader applicability, the discussion mostly falls under this specific topic. Thus, he conforms his argument around aspects relevant to famine and/or poverty when laying out his three core premises.
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.
This concept now embedded in the Federal Rules of Evidence can trace its philosophical underpinnings in prerevolutionary England. Before the 17th century, English courts had very few limitations on what evidence could be admitted into court.3 This court system, which was created in the wake of Norman invasion in 1066, did not ...
Many artists, authors, and composers have put the beauty and warmth of the sun in their work. The Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh created landscapes that expressed his joy with bright sunshine. The American poet Emily Dickinson wrote a poem called "The Sun," in which she described the rising and setting of the sun. The Russian composer Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov included a beautiful song, "Hymn to the Sun," in his opera The Golden Cockerel.
The Motif of the Sun in The Stranger In Camus' novel The Stranger, the predominate motif of the sun has been variously interpreted by many critics as a symbol of Meursault's repressed emotions. This is an interpretation I simply cannot accept, for I have always regarded the sun as symbolic of the superego - the force of society within Meursault. Like the sun, society is generally thought to be a positive thing. People usually regard a good, strong society that instills its members with a strong, unified code of morals as something to be desired. In the same way, people tend to think of a bright, warm, sunny day as something good and positive.
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
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.
McLeod, Saul. "The Milgram Experiment." Milgram Experiment. N.p., 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 15 May 2014.
Albert Camus is a widely renowned author and existentialist philosopher from the 1950s. He believed in a concept called “The Absurd” which he described as the notion that our universe is completely irrational, yet people continue to try and give order and meaning to it. For most normal human beings, this is an extremely difficult concept to accept, including the main character from the novel “The Stranger”, Meursault. Meursault does not express and ignores his emotions, even though it is evident in the book that he does experience them. However, once Meursault falls into a blind rage with the chaplain, the universe begins to make more sense to him. In order to come to an acceptance of the indifference of the universe, one must have an emotional breakthrough, which Camus shows through differences in sentence structure and elemental imagery between parts one and two.
Within the Stranger, Albert Camus brought up many questions and a few answers. He created an outsider to society and showed us how he lived, Meursault.
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.