Existentialism as a Theme of The Stranger The new approach to the philosophical thinking of humankind being has been developed recently by many trends in the cultural development. A very popular now belief that the meaning of life is meaningless resembles the written works of the last century. Many people argue that the ignorance of socially accepted principles can lead a person to the freedom of his perception and eventually behavior. However, the real life is often far away from that what these philosophies teach us. It happens that the person, who decided to follow the existentialistic way of life, finds himself lost and broken at the end. In his nvel, The Stranger, Albert Camus misleadingly prtrays his existentialistic views f life, death, and the wrld.
Camus prtrays the wrld as absurd r withut purpse, to the author, people do not live, but rather exist. The author uses the characters of the play to deliver his idea to the reader, which in his turn can agree or disagree. Personally, through the examination of two main personages, I will try to show how the idea of meaningless existence ruins the lives of these people. The main character f the bk – Meaursalt – is a reflectin f Camus, a freign and indifferent t his wn life and death. Meaursalt is a puzzling character, wh leaves readers t be uncertain abut Camus views f life. Meaursalt is neither intellectual nr emtinal; when his mther died, he did nt feel r shw any srrw.
He is a character rather distracted by his surrunding, such as peple walking by and nature. He wuld feel much irritatin whenever the sun wuld shine red and bright. n a thughtless walk n the beach, he ends up killing an Arab fr n apparent reasn, but because his [Arabs] blade reflected the sun. Meaursalt is trialed in curt, during which he feels like the spectatr. Meaursalt gets cnvicted f murder and sentenced t death. Befre executin, he feels guilt fr the first time because he wuld miss the simple things in life. Hwever, he is never scared t die, because fr him death cmes eventually.
The Essay on A Well Spent Life Brings A Happy Death
Through rills, hills, ups and downs. Through laughter, smiles, tears and frowns. Day after day, you have survived, Day after day, you continue to strive. The stress was evident through every day, But you managed to conquer it in every way. A year goes by, and youre about to go. Goodbye to us, and to the world HELLO.You only live once, so live it right. Try and work hard with all your might. The 3 ...
Just befre the executin, a chaplain tries t make him believe in Gd, but Meaursalt angrily defends his atheistic views. Meaursalt is an uncmmn character wh prefers simplicity. Some readers culd find him t simple and even cmpletely apathetic f life. He is an atheist; he is nt immral r mral, but amral. There is n gd r evil, because it is meaningless fr Meaursalt. He has a jb, a girlfriend, friends, and the things an average persn has.
But he is withut meaning, which reflects his indifference t emtins, such as the reactin t his mthers death. His thught was that he wuld g back t wrk and that nthing wuld change. When his bss ffers him a psitin in Paris, Meaursalt answers, Peple can never change their lives, that in any case ne life was gd as anther: I wasnt dissatisfied with mine here at all (41).
When his girlfriend Marie suggests marriage, he says, yes, because marriage wuld nt make any difference in his life. Camus prtrays Meaursalt as a persn wh finds n meaning in life and desnt bther t find it either. His actins culd enable readers t perceive Meaursalt as a meaningless persn. When he sits acrss sme elders in a dim rm during his mthers vigil and when he is in trial, bth symblize his judgment.
In bth cases he is indifferent. Camus presents an allegry f an absurd wrld. He attempted t make readers pity Meaursalt. Perhaps thrugh the simply tld life f Meaursalt, Camus suggests that life itself is meaningless. Sme can frgive Meaursalt, an absurd man, but fr sme, Camus ambiguus presentatin f life may nly impse a Meaursalt as a thughtless and self-centered lst man. Perhaps Camus attempted t shw the mst extreme, yet the simplest cnscience f an absurd man. Camus is knwn as prminent mdern existentialist.
Existentialism pssesses many vague meanings, just like Camus ambiguity in the nvel. The basic theme f existentialism is the stress n individual existence and the resulting individual freedm and chice. Existentialists believe that there is n bjective and ratinal basis fr decisins. Camus perhaps is sending a message that decisins shuld be made based n an individuals perceptin f gd and wrng, nt based n what is mral r nt accrding t sciety. Als, he might be sending a message that mrality shuld be based n hw peple actually behave, and nt n an ideal standard hw peple shuld behave (mral relativism).
The Essay on Meaning Of Life
Period 7 The True Meaning of Life What is the meaning of life? Well known Greek philosphers such as Socrates and Plato believed that our purpose in this life was to gain knowledge in preparation for the next life. Other Philosophers such as Epicurus believed that pleasure is the main goal in life. After giving these ideas lots of thought, I have come to my own conclusion that the true meaning of ...
Fr Meaursalt, it culd be that it isnt s bad t murder. He sees the wrld differently and regards human life n mre r less than a dg. Hwever, Meaursalt claims he feels guilt and that he pens up a little.
Thugh it is difficult t even guess whats inside this man. He did try t see the wrld anew. He frces himself t find smething interesting abut the sky and tried t create imaginatins. Yet nthing really changes. I wuld end up telling myself that the mst imprtant thing was nt t hld back at myself (113).
Readers perceptin f Meaursalt really depends n their beliefs in life.
ne culd attempt t create his wn meaning, but as Meaursalts experience shws, the meaning f life cannt be the creatin f man. This nvel was easy t read and I understd Meaursalt, and culd even relate t him smewhat. But I definitely d nt accept his values. Any criticism f a nvel dealing with the search f the meaning f life is dangerus, because it is a sensitive issue. Let alne, this nvel claims that life is meaningless. Fr me, Meaursalt is an absurd man, literally. This nvel is regarded as a very imprtant mdern piece and I culd see why.
Im nt really fnd f the questin, What is the meaning f life? Im nt sure whether t say it is bjective r subjective. The nvel itself is a puzzle t me and Im nt in any pursuit t figure it ut. Im nt refusing to, but I find n pint in ding s. The same way Meaursalt treats life as meaningless, I treat it the same way, but that life is meaningful. We dnt need t g searching t hard that in the prcess we give up n life, as I see Meaursalt as. I think yu culd have a meaningful life withut knwing the meaning.
I cant accept Meaursalts values, because I d believe in a Gd and an afterlife. That is the difference between him and me. I wuld nt recmmend this bk t anybdy wh is in the prcess f sul searching. It is a cnfusing, yet a unique stry t be regarded nly as Camus pint f view f life. Works Cited Camus, Albert. The Stranger.
The Essay on What Life Seems To Be Now
Why is it that people, who are treated with contempt, who get hurt, are the ones who least deserve it? Why is this happening? Is the world that cruel? Doesn't anyone know the meaning of life? Funny how people can search for books with no relation to life, for example Star Wars, Harry Potter, but ignore books hat give us meaning in life, that shows us how to treasure life. How ironic. We search for ...
Montreal: Vintage Books, 1989..
