The Stranger By Albert Camus: Literary Analysis

In Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and the current college process that I am engulfed in, existentialism proves itself to be true. Existentialism, as a philosophy, work toward the idea that the universe is indifferent to life, and everyone is alone in a world where no one can help or give answers. All things considered, existentialism is intimidating until an overarching lesson is learned through the choices and responsibilities, passions (or lack thereof), and the isolation of a person, such as the main characters in the books: Marjane Satrapi and Meursault, or myself. On the surface, the three of us are extremely dissimilar, but we all relatively negative experiences that teach us more than we knew before. Marjane

I need to be able to move freely to be able to draw...Why is it that I, as a woman, am expected to feel nothing when watching these men with their clothes sculpted on but they, as men, can get excited by two inches less of my head scarf?” (Satrapi, 300) It is only after having made an important choice like this that she realized how essential it is to have her own opinions, because the universe is indifferent to what happens to individuals. Marjane knew that in order to acquire what she desired, she was required to speak up for her classmates, even though in doing so she had challenged a higher power. Under these same principles, but in a strikingly different scenario, Meursault makes the choice to murder the Arab under the heat of the blazing sun not yet aware of the responsibility he would have to take. In that moment, “everything began to reel before [his] eyes...Every nerve in [his] body was a steel spring, and [his] grip closed on the revolver. The trigger gave.” (Camus, 38-39) The difference between Meursault’s response to killing the Arab and Marjane’s response to sticking up for the women around her is clear: she relies on her ability to make choices and respond

For Marjane, she learns through a series of events that in order to learn a lesson, you have to realize things on your own. She is the only person who can answer her questions because the world, again, is indifferent to the minds of humans. Whether it be love, heartbreak, suicide, self-hate, the use of drugs, or any other act that can either cause damage, Marjane has experienced it. Most notably, before she went off to Austria, her Grandmother reminded her that “there is nothing worse than bitterness and vengeance...always keep your dignity and be true to yourself.” (Satrapi, 154) Within these words, her Grandmother revealed to Marjane that she cannot look for approval from others, and it can only come from within herself. Yet it took her many tries to realize that she can always answer a question about who she is and where she comes from. It took lying to a boy, because she thought being Iranian would be too complicated, for her to finally come out and say “I am Iranian and proud of it.” (Satrapi, 200) Being, or for Marjane, feeling, alone in the world can lead to answering your own questions. Comparable to Marjane, Meursault has a monumental epiphany at the end of The Stranger that finally resolves his life long questions. He spent his whole life living without purpose and not trying to question anything around him. Once he was locked up inside a cell, he registered that there is a