Mersault as an Absurd Hero

Albert Camus, the author of 'The stranger' felt that " You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life ". Existentialism although hard to define, is a collection of ideas that focus on individual existence. Under the larger umbrella of existentialism, Absurdism is a concept that stresses individual freedom, happiness and the essential meaninglessness of the world . The Outsider, by Albert Camus, is such a study of absurdism. Mersault, in his capacity as the absurd hero, serves as a vehicle for Camus' exploration of the absurd.

Mersault's consolidation as a absurd hero comes later on in The Outsider, where after months of solitary confinement and reflection, he is confronted by the Priest to acknowledge god. He is angered because the priest, with his reflection on life after death, challenges the very core of absurdism, the inherent meaninglessness of the world. Everything that is hinted in the book takes form and becomes a definite idea. The the concept of the absurd, that we live life and we struggle but in the end, it all amounts to nothing and all that is left is to slowly fade away from memory, is reiterated by Mersault in this retaliation. But the point that Camus tries to bring across in Mersault's final few dialogues is that even though life is essentially meaningless, it does not mean that one cannot be happy whilst living or that life has to be austere and without passion. The fact that he will be forgotten does not worry Mersault because everything and everyone will be forgotten soon. In the end the only thing that matters was that he was and is happy, and if the simple pleasures of his life (and the memory of these simple pleasures, in jail) can give him happiness, then it is enough for Mersault. As C...

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... is evil; he is simply "free from any system of values" . Again in a way saying that he does not adhere to any other school of thought but his own.

In the end though, Mersault is a victor in his own right because of his recognition of the absurdity of his own fate. He understands that his death is futile and that he was of no importance to the world. There is no room for cumbersome feelings such as hope and ambition. His worldview is the philosophy of the absurd, he is convinced of the essential absurdity and futility of human existence. Finally, because he accepts this and has achieved the peace and the freedom that comes with this acceptance, Mersault is an absurd hero. Even in his most unhappy time, when he knows that death is at his door or because he knows that death is near, living in an "eternal present", Mersault has found peace, Mersault has won.