Absurdity in The Stranger essaysThe Stranger contains a strong notion of absurdity; the useless attempt humanity makes to find rational order where none exists. When being questioned by his lawyer, Mersault answers honestly that his mother’s death didn’t do much to dampen his happiness. Mersault may have been condemned for not conforming to society’s standards in mourning his mother, but in his own mind, he has been exonerated from his crime: no one should grieve for his mother, and he expects no one to grieve for him. The Stranger Essay Sample. Taking place in Algeria this man, Meursault, is constantly in a climate of extreme warmth, as are all the inhabitants therein. This essay has been submitted by a student. We will occasionally send you account related emails. At his mother’s funeral, Mersault watches his mother’s friends enter the room and laments that he “saw them more clearly than I had ever seen anyone, and not one detail of their faces or their clothes escaped me. The author wrote about what he felt and his views on the world and society. In the morning light, ten residents of the group home where his mother had lived and died glide soundlessly into the room and take their seats. through a fictional narrative surrounding a young man’s life and murder trial. For Camus, the absurdist philosophy represents the ultimate explanation for, definition of absurdism is the “philosophical theory about the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless, the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe” ( Merriam Webster). Absurdism is the need to look for a meaning to life and their inability to find one I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where I’d been happy. Albert Camus incorporates his point of view on how absurdism is “defined as the painful awareness of the great divide between how one thinks the world should be and how it actually is,” through one of his companion essays published the same year as the The Stranger called, “The Myth of Sisyphus.” In Sollars’ critique about the overall novel and his interpretation from it, he dives deep into the underlying … The theme of absurdism used by Franz Kafka and Albert Camus does full justice to bring out the pathos in both ‘The Outsider’ and ‘The Metamorphosis’ by Albert Camus and Franz Kafka. Absurdism as a belief system was born of the European existentialist movement that ensued, specifically when Camus rejected certain aspects of that philosophical line of thought and published his essay The Myth of Sisyphus. He makes decisions based on the path of least resistance, giving no thought to the past or future. If you fit this description, you can use our free essay samples to generate ideas, get inspired and figure out a title or outline for your paper. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy. Absurdism is the key component in the story, The Stranger, and is the belief that human existence is purposeless and that is evident by the way the protagonist behaves throughout the novel. The idea of existentialism is employed throughout the literary work The Stranger by Albert Camus to expose the true self and frosty nature of human beings, contrary of Camus' original writing design of absurdism showing Mersault's realization of the meaningless of individual life. Believing that any action is equal in its insignificance, Meursault … Or do his reasons run deeper? The first oddity a reader may note in The Fall is the lack of dialogue. Absurd in life before he gave them The Myth of Sisyphus which would later explain The Stranger. The absurdist novelist Albert Camus supported the philosophical belief by saying an individual should embrace the absurd condition of human existence while also defiantly continuing to explore and search for meaning (Albert Camus). Who’s the accused here? This attention to physical sensation continues throughout the novel, rapidly building the impression that physical needs, for Mersault, are given higher priority than emotional needs. was published, writer and philosopher Albert Camus had already firmly established his theory of the absurd. Albert Camus’ novels, The Stranger and The Fall, compare the philosophical theories of nihilism and absurdism, claiming that even though life may lack meaning, morality is still important and… this essay is not unique. The Stranger Absurdism Essay. In "The Stranger" by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is seen to be a very passive and reserved individual. In the essay “the Myth of Sisyphus “and the philosophical fiction novel The Stranger by Albert Camus the existentialist idea is that human life is meant to have futile suffering in it and people should not end their lives because of this abyss of pain; but embrace the life that is given, that once the absurdity is identified it is then that one can be elated and content with their lives. He explains his idea of the Absurd and then continues to thoroughly develop … For a moment I had an absurd impression that they had come to sit in judgment on me. Camus utilizes the protagonists’ character development as a tool to further his plot of the novel. The sub-themes of femininity, individuality, and isolation, Absurdism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus, he novel The Stranger written by The French author Albert Camus was published in 1942. As a result of this outlook, the majority of Mersault’s decisions appear to be based simply on the path of least resistance. He portrays himself as a man living for the moment; one who takes pleasure from the basic bodily functions of food, drink, sleep, and sex. the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. Camus uses family and personal relationships, or the lack of it thereof, to show the isolation that the main character, Meursault, undergoes in the novel and it’s effect on him overall. The relatives, of course, took offense to her abuse and have been haunting Raymond since. If you’d like this or any other sample, we’ll happily email it to you. Despite knowing that forward movement toward the Arab will do nothing to bring him out of “the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead” (59), Mersault still chooses to come a step closer, and it’s this monumental step that causes the Arab to draw the knife whose glare overwhelms Mersault’s vision. In the first page of the novel alone, for example, Mersault informs us that the day is hot; that he ate lunch at Celeste’s, as usual; that he’ll be taking the two o’clock bus to Marengo so as to return in the afternoon, and so forth. While at the beach, Mersault and Raymond run into relatives of Raymond’s ex-girlfriend—the same ex-girlfriend to whom Mersault agreed to write an insulting letter, which provoked the girl to a visit and subsequent beating at Raymond’s hands. Essay On Absurdism In Albert Camus's 'The Stranger' 1020 Words | 5 Pages. Only one who places little to no importance on the sequence of events could be so cavalier about the age or the date of death of a family member. Alternately, it’s possible to view Mersault’s earlier refusal of the relocation to Paris as opposition to change; and if, as he claims, one life is as good as another, than why not go to Paris? Pssst… The main character’s lack of insight into his own habits surfaces when he is joined by a strange woman during a lunch at his favorite restaurant, Celeste’s. The most essential lines, however, come directly after Mersault pulls the trigger for the first time; particular stress should be placed on the opening sentence: “I shook off the sweat and sun. Want us to write one just for you? To use the expression "that's absurd!" Students who find writing to be a difficult task. Regardless of Mersault’s sincere motivations, it’s his stubborn focus on the present that seems to fuel his apparent disconnect with the world around him. Camus portrays this theory in The Stranger Albert Camus contributed to a kind of writing consisting of Absurdism. Philip H. Rhein "believes that Camus asserts that individual lives and human existence in general have no rational meaning or order.& When Mersault’s friend Raymond comes to him for help in writing a threatening letter to an ex-girlfriend, the protagonist asserts that his agreement to aid Raymond is not because he cares a great deal for his friend, but rather because he “didn’t have any reason not to please him” (32). 27 November, 2017 In Albert Camus’ The Stranger, the main character, Mersault, is confronted with life’s absurdity after killing a man at a beach in Algiers. All rights reserved Gradesfixer ™, Absurdity in The Stranger [Internet]. Although his philosophy has its skeptics, an analysis of Camus’ background and historical context reveals why his ideologies hold true in not only the ways people live, but how society as a whole functions. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts. Later still, when Mersault’s girlfriend asks if he wants to marry her, he agrees merely because “it didn’t really matter” (41). The reader knows by now that this foreshadows a tragic turn of events, and it almost seems like the main character is aware of this, too, as Mersault confesses that “it occurred to me that all I had to do was turn around and that would be the end of it. Too Hot For You The sun symbolizes his society, The definition of absurdism is stated on Merriam- Webster dictionary as the “philosophy theory on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe”. Essay on the Stranger In Albert Camus’ “The Stranger” the “story of an ordinary man who gets drawn into a senseless murder” is told. Mersault freely expresses his fascination with the woman’s frantic pace and driven attitude. GradesFixer.com uses cookies. It becomes clear a short time later that the protagonist is not just focused on the corporeal; at certain times, particularly during times of stress, he becomes a slave to it. You can get 100% plagiarism FREE essay in 30sec, Sorry, we cannot unicalize this essay. Absurdism, The Stranger, and life “Absurdism” (coined by Albert Camus) is a philosophy based upon the concept that the life and the world are meaningless, irrational, without sense or reason. It seems possible, then, that Mersault’s earlier aversion to idleness was a result of his evasion of self-reflection. In the book, The stranger, he used characters to demonstrate the absurdness in multiple ways. In addition, just before the moment that alters his world, Mersault reacts in ways not purely related to the physical. He appears to show indifference in situations where others would have shown emotion. The court even manages to turn a good quality into a bad one. These ideas and thoughts are what make this book absurd and very eccentric. The Stranger Analysis Paper English Literature Essay In Albert Camus’s “The Stranger”, the absurdity of life from Camus’s eyes are positioned on display through the primary character Meursa... existentialism albert camus absurdism emotion Free The Stranger Essays and Papers He notes with surprising objectivity that both of the lawyers’ explanations for his crime are plausible: that he could just as easily be a coldhearted killer as a remorseful everyman. They establish … The Stranger by Albert Camus focuses largely on the concept of absurdism. The Stranger Meursault's Absurdism Anonymous 12th Grade In "The Stranger" by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is seen to be a very passive and reserved individual. Albert Camus demonstrated how people who live by the rules of Christianity feel threatened by Meursault, the main character, because he doesn’t conform, in other words, he’s awkward. When the magistrate harangues Mersault to admit that he believes in God, Mersault reveals his decline back into the path of least resistance when he agrees with magistrate only because “whenever I want to get rid of someone I’m not really listening to, I made it appear as if I agreed” (69). Attention! June 17, 2020 by Essay Writer. There is no concept of having control over your actions. At last, the past has achieved significance; the future gets its due recognition when Mersault admits that “Only the words ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’ still had any meaning for me” (80). 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