More handpicked essays just for you.
Essay of meursaults development in the stranger
The stranger albert camus symbolism bartleby
A critique on the stranger by albert camus
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essay of meursaults development in the stranger
As a whole humanity goes through life experiencing it day by day. By seeking the importance of life many are able to see that being a part of society can come with great value. With actions being the way we gear our paths, the main character Meursault took a huge step in importance of life as he confronted the chaplain. In “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, Meursault takes on the phenomenological approach to personality through the catharsis of suppressed anger towards the chaplain, an impactful stranger. Upon Camus’ selection of a stranger to display Meursault’s realization to the existentialist concern of revolt, readers cease to believe human interchangeability is possible.
An aspect of existentialism is that life has no inherent meaning, it has to be constructed through the justification of one’s actions. The realization of temporary existence treads on through human evolution. Humans try to gain contact with experiences to be alive and aware. Meursault went through his days absentmindedly, even through the most impactful events such as his mother’s death. The novel continued to have the same pace going about Meursault’s unemotional reactions,
…show more content…
This notion disagrees with the idea of revolt which sees life as hopeless and vain, “Actually, I was sure of myself, sure about everything, far surer than he; sure of my present life and of the death that was coming. That, no doubt, was all I had;” (Camus 74). Meursault realizes that his life meant something despite the uninvolved way he lived it. The hope of human interchangeability is pathetic as Meursault argues in this scene. Having his life planned out for the remainder of his existence made him all the more appreciate and see that it was all he had to look forward to. Arguing that to live for some meaning in some other supposed life is to not live at
Meursault is a fairly average individual who is distinctive more in his apathy and passive pessimism than in anything else. He rarely talks because he generally has nothing to say, and he does what is requested of him because he feels that resisting commands is more of a bother than it is worth. Meursault never did anything notable or distinctive in his life: a fact which makes the events of the book all the more intriguing.
Meursault, an unemotional, a moral, sensory-orientated character at the beginning of the book, turns into an emotional, happy man who understands the "meaninglessness" and absurdity of life by the end of the book. Meursault realizes that the universe is indifferent to man's life and this realization makes him happy. He realizes that there is no God and that the old codes of religious authoritarianism are not enough to suffice man's spiritual needs. One has to create one's won meaning in an absurd, meaningless world.
In the experimental novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, he explores the concept of existentialism and the idea that humans are born into nothing and descend into nothingness after death. The novel takes place in the French colony of Algiers where the French-Algerians working-class colonists live in an urban setting where simple life pleasures are of the upmost importance in the lives of working class people like the protagonist of the novel Meursault. What is fascinating about this novel is that it opens up with a scene of perpetual misfortune for him through the death of his mother although he seems to express otherwise. The reader perceives this nonchalance as a lack of care. Maman’s death and its impact on Meursault appear in both the very beginning and very end of the two-part novel, suggesting a cyclical pattern in the structure. This cyclical pattern suggests not a change in the moral beliefs of Meursault but rather his registering society’s systems and beliefs and craft meaning in his own life despite the fact that he meets his demise in the end. Camus uses Maman’s funeral to characterise both Meursault and the society and customs created by the society Meursault lives in in order to contrast the two while at the same time reveal how while society changes, Meursault does not. Rather, Maman’s funeral becomes of unprecedented importance in Meursault’s life and allows him to find that nothing means anything in his meaningless world at the time of his death. He finds peace in that.
In Albert Camus’s The Stranger, Meursault, the protagonist, could be seen as immoral if he were judged on the basis of his actions alone. However, through Camus’s use of a first person narrative, we begin to understand Meursault as not an immoral man, but simply an indifferent one. Meursault is a symbol of the universe, and so in understanding him we understand that the universe is also not evil, but instead a place of gentle indifference.
In many works of literature, a character conquers great obstacles to achieve a worthy goal. Sometimes the obstacles are personal impediments, at other times it consists of the attitude and beliefs of others. In the book The Stranger by Albert Camus, shows the character Meursault who is an emotionless character that let’s other people show their opinions and emotions into him, giving him a type of feeling even if Meursault doesn’t care. Meursault is a victim of emotional indifference between his friends and social indifference. This essay will be about the character’s struggle that contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
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.
In archetypal literature, light is clarifying. It represents truth, honesty, and enlightenment. Meursault, however, finds light to be “inhuman and oppressive” (15). The constant descriptors of light are stifling and dreary. As he sits in prison waiting for his execution, the sunrise is dreadful; it signals despair, not the freedom and rebirth that a new day usually signifies. This different implementation of technique further emphasizes how Meursault does not fit in with his society. His refusal to play by the rules, especially revealed in his rejection of religion, supports the greater argument of the novel: there is no inherent meaning or higher power in the universe. Meursault does not care whether he moves to Paris or marries Marie for the sole reason that “life isn’t worth living;” a belief that he holds from the beginning of the novel until the night before his execution (114). Established as an unusual, distant protagonist who is difficult to relate to, Meursault attributes no particular meaning to life. He even shows disdain for the emotional and metaphysical values others hold. Nothing extracts feelings of empathy from Meursault, not even Raymond’s anger toward his mistress, his neighbor Salamano’s longing for his dog and late wife, or Marie’s love. Therefore, Meursault’s emotional separation, emphasized by written descriptions of light, connects to his repudiation of
In Albert Camus’ absurdist novel, The Stranger, Meursault’s detachment from society and his killing of the Arab reveal moral and ethical implications for him and his society. As is common in many absurdist novels, Camus discusses the estrangement - and later development - of an individual in a benign and indifferent universe, one in which conformity prevails. Camus not only satirizes the conformity of society, but religion and the legal system as well. By writing in the first person (from the standpoint of Meursault), he draws in the reader, making the evils of society more prevalent.
...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 Outsider recounts the story of the unlikely hero, Meursault, and his struggle of living in a society that considers his actions sacrilegious. Albert Camus, author of the novel, is an existentialist, which is exhibited through his depiction of the absurd world in which Meursault lived in. Society in particular is the root of all absurdity, with Camus depiction exhibiting its hypocrisy and futility in the grand scheme of things. Much like Camus, Meursault is an existentialist, but is persecuted for being very straightforward and honest despite society’s glorification of openness. Meursault is indifferent to society and puts more meaning in what truly gives him joy in life. Meursault’s perspective on life parallels what Camus believes
I, Albert Camus, am a famous French author who had written The Stranger in 1942. I was born in Algeria, and my experiences there had deeply influenced my thoughts, my work, and my philosophies. The Stranger strongly represents my philosophy involving the absurd and existentialism. When I was twenty-five, I moved to France and joined the resistance movement during World War II. After the liberation from Nazi Germany, I became a political journalist and a columnist for Combat, a French newspaper. In 1947, I retired from my journalist career and continued to write fiction and playwrights for the theatre (Simpson). Although I primarily consider myself a writer instead of a philosopher and I deny being an existentialist, the philosophy I most agree with is indeed existentialism. As one will find in my novel, The Stranger, the main character Meursault views the world and situations through an outside perspective, extreme detachment, and a lack of empathy. His characters tend to view the world as an outsider because I personally grew up in many groups
... social institution. When Meursault leaves the constraints of time he is much happier and has time to think about everything he needs to do. And sense he has time to think about what he needs he then leaves society all together. This is the final social institution that there is a commentary on. Without having to follow what is set upon him by society he can do and think what he wants, and because of that he even understands why Moman did what she did at the end of her life. With all of these social commentaries there are many points in the novel when existentialist ideas are shown and also show how import existentialism is in this novel.
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.
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.