When writing The Stranger, Albert Camus had other intentions than just giving his audience some story about the life of an indifferent man. The novel itself gives the main character, Meursault, a way of thinking that some would find unimaginable and incomparable to any character that might be seen in another piece of literature. While the book makes an attempt at making sure the reader understands the philosophy of Meursault while progressing through his timeline, the philosophy Meursault possesses is very complex much like Camus and his way of thinking. Camus was known for being an author with a different way of thinking as he had his philosophy of the absurd, which ties into why Meursault is seen as an indifferent thinker. Events during…
The story takes place when Meursault learns of his mother's death. When he goes to her funeral he has no emotions of sadness or grief. He was asked if he wanted to view the body. He said no, and instead, smokes and drinks coffee in front of the coffin. He then encounters Marie, a former employee of his firm. “There is not love of life without despair about life.” “Since we're all going to die, it's obvious that when and how don't matter.” ― Albert Camus, The Stranger ― Albert Camus, The…
Albert Camus’ The Stranger is a brilliantly written novel that shows what it truly means to make one’s own decisions. This existentialistic novel emphasizes the power of choice and what it means to take full responsibility for one’s own actions. The main character Meursault illustrates how one who lives his life day by day by simply understanding the power of choice can be labeled as a true individual. True freedom of choice can challenge a society’s moral expectations. However, for that reason…
Albert Camus once explained that “Every revolutionary ends up either by becoming an oppressor or a heretic” (“Albert Camus Quote”), and the latter is certainly true for the protagonist, Meursault, of his novel The Stranger. In the novel, Camus uses his protagonist, through characterization and diction, to support his absurdist philosophy. Absurdism is the concept that humanity must survive in a world that is constantly hostile or indifferent towards them (Absurdism). Although Camus is famous for…
The Stranger Analysis- The Stranger is a short astounding novel by Albert Camus and was officially published in 1942. This was his first novel! It is both a brilliantly crafted story and an illustration of Camus’s absurdist world view. A title like the stranger normally leaves one to ponder what Albert Camus was really trying to tell his readers. Albert Camus was French, so it was originally wrote in French, and gave it a French title: Estranger. The main character, Meursault, is a French man…
The Stranger by Albert Camus is a book that teaches a philosophical point of view on the meaning of life. The story is about a man referred to as Monsieur Meursault, who believes life is meaningless. Meursault is informed of his mother who had passed away and went to attend her funeral. He gives us details of why he feels life is meaningless by showing no emotion or remorse about the passing of his mother. He isn’t seen sobbing or bawling his eyes out for his mother and even refuses to see his…
Albert Camus wrote both The Stranger and The Guest. The protagonist’s in both stories are similar because they are both isolated from society. Meursault and Daru isolate themselves from society. In the Stranger, Meursault is an absurdist and does not care to conform to the societal norms and because he does not conform to society he becomes isolated and a stranger in his own country. One way Meursault does not conform to society is during his mother’s funeral procession, when Meursault says,…
In Albert Camus’ The Stranger, main characters Raymond Sinters and Meursault possess vastly different personalities and mindsets: one is indifferent to everyone and everything while the other is full of intense emotions. Despite being totally opposite mentally and emotionally, both Raymond and Meursault are guilty of committing heinous crimes. In this essay, I will argue that Meursault’s lack of emotion coupled with his lack of concern over anything make him a more dangerous individual than…
To be asked to choose anyone in the whole world opens a pathway to endless opportunities. At first, I would have said that the obvious choice would be Albert Camus. I love his book, The Stranger, and I generally follow his thoughts that life might not have meaning, but we must continue like there is because struggle is fulfilling in of itself. However, I cannot learn fully if I agree with basically all of what he says. Then, I thought of John Searle, a notable philosopher who argued that…
Albert Camus uses the story, The Guest, to answer how the landscape and setting around civilization can demonstrate human’s absurdity. This absurdity is the ability of man to find a purpose in a world that neither knows nor cares that man exists. The moral dilemma imposed on Daru in the story highlights the essence of the absurd condition of the world and how it forces onto Daru a situation beyond his control, regardless of his moral attitude. In Daru’s land, drought is followed by snow and,…