While in Russia, Nihilism became identified with a loosely organized revolutionary movement happened during the time period of 1860-1917, that rejected the authority of the state, church, and family. While nihilism is often discussed in terms of extreme skepticism and relativism, for most of the 20th century it has been associated with the belief that life is meaningless. Existential nihilism begins with the notion that the world is without meaning or purpose. As given this explanation to this type of Nihilism, existence itself--all action, suffering, and feeling--is ultimately senseless and empty. In The Dark Side: Thoughts on the Futility of Life written in 1994 by Alan Pratt demonstrates that existential nihilism, in one …show more content…
Although he argues passionately that individuals could endure its corrosive effects, his most famous works betray the extraordinary difficulty he faced building a convincing case. In The Stranger which he wrote in 1942, for example, Meursault has rejected the existential suppositions on which the uninitiated and weak rely. Just few moments before his execution for an unintentional murder, he discovers and have a sudden realization that life alone is reason enough for living, however, that in context seems scarcely convincing. In Caligula written in 1944, the mad emperor tries to escape the human predicament by dehumanizing himself with acts of senseless violence, afterward he fails, and secretly arranges his own assassination. The Plague written in 1947 shows the futility of doing one's best in an absurd world. And in his last novel, the short and sardonic, The Fall written in 1956, Camus posits that everyone has gory hands because we are all responsible for making a sorry state even more worst by our inane action and inaction alike. Through these works and other works by the several other existentialists, one is often left with the impression that living authentically with the meaninglessness of life is impossible. Camus might have been fully mindful of the pitfalls from claiming characterizing presence without meaning, Also done as much philosophical
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
Albert Camus' The Stranger is a startling novel at worst and a haunting classic at best. Camus presents a thrilling story of a man devoid of emotion, even regarding the most sensitive, personal matters. The main character, Meursault shows no feelings after the death of his mother, during his romantic relationship with Marie, or during his trial for the murder of an Arab. Meursault never shows feelings of love, regret, remorse, or sadness. It takes a great amount of skill to portray such a seemingly inhuman character as someone who is complex and multi-faceted like Meursault is.
From the first few sentences of Albert Camus’ The Outsider, the protagonist, Meursault, is characterized as an amoral man. He is seemingly indifferent to the death of his own mother, despite the fact that societal principles would suggest he be deeply emotionally affected. His thoughts are instead centered upon the sun, which in return dictates his actions. In the novel, the sun is a representation of the societal weight which urges individuals to conform to norms. The presence of the sun indicates the stages of the development of Meursault’s belief in existentialism. As his understanding of existentialism grows and he realises his independence from society, references to the sun’s harsh effects gradually become absent. Furthermore, the sun is used as a metaphor for death to exhibit the inevitable nature of dying, another fundamental component of existentialism. Through such references to the sun, the novel is able to assist the reader in appreciating existentialism by exhibiting the gradual development of Meursault’s philosophy and by evoking emotions which sensitize the reader to feel the beauty of existentialism.
To be able to make sense of his characters, one must understand Camus’ philosophy of the world. As an atheist, Camus took a gloomy view of humankind’s condition. His list of favorite words, “the world, suffering, the earth, the mother, men, the desert, honor, misery, summer, the sea,” are closely tied with his understanding of life and the human condition, and nearly all of them appear in the story of The Guest (Bree 83). Profoundly aware of the “unbearable suffering of the world,” Camus believed every artist should make it her business to voice this through her art (Sprintzen vii). Although he scorned the idea of Christian hope, he wanted to show that people can take control of their own circumstances. The Guest presents Camus’ claim that humans can change their condition through acts and his belief in the power of the individual to create her own meaning in a cruel universe.
Prior to the events of the twentieth century and the emergence of existentialism as a true school of thought, the Enlightenment from 1650 to 1800, brought about the first modern philosophers. Among them, metaphysician Rene Descartes, more than a century before his time, most famously coined his maxim, “Cogito ergo sum”, translated from the original Latin “I think, therefore, I am”, which was the first answer to the first inquiry of human existence and “sums up perfectly the philosophical underpinnings of existentialist thought” (Existentialism). But it was Friedrich Nietzsche's “God is dead” that perfectly summarized the nihilist school of thought. Nietzsche was one of the first modern thinkers to rebel against rationalism and when the Russian Revolution came about, then World War I, the revolution against reason and religion had truly begun. The human condition is defined by nihilists and existentialists as a disillusion of morality by continuously demonstrating that not much in life matters and religion is but a farce.
Though there are many world views present in The Neverending Story, one that tends to be overlooked is Nihilism. Nihilism as it pertains to culture is, “An approach to philosophy that holds that human life is meaningless and that all religions, laws, moral codes, and political systems are thoroughly empty and false” (Nihilism, n.d). In its manifestation, Nihilism is pessimistic. Several of the characters in The Neverending Story show signs of Nihilistic beliefs. These beliefs exhibited by the characters are not constant but show the inner struggle of people when faced with adversity.
In The Stranger, Albert Camus describes the life of the protagonist, Meursault, through life changing events. The passage chosen illustrates Meursault’s view during his time in prison for killing the Arab. In prison, one can see the shifts in Meursault’s character and the acceptance of this new lifestyle. Camus manipulates diction to indicate the changes in Meursault caused by time thinking of memories in prison and realization of his pointless life. Because Camus published this book at the beginning of World War II, people at this time period also questions life and death similar to how Meursault does.
Existentialism is the epitome of the unknown. There is no straightforward explanation of what exactly it is, there is only certain characteristics and behaviors that describe existentialist views. Throughout today’s world, there are examples of it everywhere, it’s found in movies, books, songs, and just people in general. Existentialists are known to think and do for themselves only. They believe that to understand what it means to be human requires understanding of themselves first. Some very well known pieces of entertainment existentialism is found in are: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and The Breakfast Club by John Hughes. The Stranger is a book written about a young man whose mother dies, which soon leads him to becoming acquainted with the feeling of not caring about what his actions do to others or himself. The main character Meursault starts helping his friend Raymond, carry out ways to torment his mistress. Out of nowhere while at the beach, Meursault shoots Raymond’s mistress’s brother. He is thrown into jail and tried, but he seems to not be affected as much as he should about his actions. He first finds it hard to live without cigarettes, women, and nature, but he soon finds out he doesn’t need any of those. After being sentenced to death, he is suggested to turn away from his atheism but later realizes that human existence has no greater meaning. This realization and acceptance is what truly makes him happy (Camus). Next, The Breakfast Club is a very relatable movie about high school students suffering the consequences of their actions in detention. The kids are all of ...
To live existentially, it is sometimes necessary to go against societal standards. Existentialism emphasizes the idea that humans choose how they live their lives. In The Stranger by Albert Camus, Meursault is constantly defiant of social standards. Although Meursault’s blatant ignorance of the expectations of society leads to his relative happiness and ultimately his characterization as an existentialist, this lifestyle often results in consequences that are unforeseen to him.
The first source I referenced was the website: www.nihil.org which is a website fully dedicated to the philosophy of Nihilism. Upon reading the site’s definition of Nihilism it was as if I had opened a door and a blinding light had greeted me on the other side. Nihilists were not people drowning in oceans of their own despair and agony while they bitterly contemplated the nothingness of life. On the contrary, Nihilists are people that believe that life does in fact have meaning but just as my friend said; it was not an objective one. Rather, the Nihilist believes that the meaning of life is one that the self creates through t...
Meursault is condemned to die by guillotine and Sisyphus is given the burden of having to do an eternity of hard labor, yet in both of these tragic situations they both live without illusions. Thus both men come to light with the realities and truths of their lives and can now be truly happy. 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. Camus reveals this idea in “The Myth of Sisyphus” when Sisyphus rolls that rock up the hill, at the top of the hill
In Albert Camus' existentialist novel “The Stranger,”the alienation of Meursault from society conveys to the reader the theme of the novel: In light of the lack of a higher deity, all promise of value rests in life itself. To express this theme, Camus develops Meursault’s persona, satirizes many institutions, alludes to religion, and creates many moral and ethical questions.
There are over seven billion people in the world, all different, yet all the same, each living their life in unique ways, yet all heading to the same place. Each day hundreds of thousands of people are born and hundreds of thousands of people die, every birth a meaningless miracle and each death an insignificant tragedy. Humans are the most influential species in the universe that we know of, and yet we barely impact anything. So what is the meaning of life? Or is life just senseless? In The Stranger, Arthur Camus explores the idea that no matter how an individual lives his or her life, the same fate awaits as that facing any other individual who may have lived life in a completely different manner. Therefore, a person should never try to repress feelings or feign emotions in order to satisfy social constructs such as religion, romance, and friendship. Camus reveals this theme through both Meursault and Raymond’s behaviors. Both men’s actions are products of how they want to live. They never let the expectations of others impact their behavior. This is most evident when Meursault is actually facing his own death.
Albert Camus’ The Stranger follows the ideal set up for the existential hero, Meursault, as he battles the confining realm of his universe in an attempt to conquer normalcy. Led by only physical desires, Mersault’s attitude toward life is described as the crucial moment, “either shoot or not shoot.” (Camus 56). To Meursault, his entire existence is classified as an existential crisis. To him, “none of it really matters” (41), and the complete universe he surrounds himself in, sexual encounters with his lover Marie, watching moviegoers from his apartment, feeling the rays of harsh sunlight beat on his back, is completely physical. Meursault is confined to the physical realm because it is against his character to adhere to a concept, a thought, except perhaps to the idea that there is no meaning. The organized chaos that encompasses the mysterious psyche of Meursault leads him to break free from the restraints of the physical world and attain metaphysical enlightenment via free...
“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.” ― Joseph Campbell That quote relates to one of the biggest question of life. What is the meaning to life? After 3 hours of searching up what is the meaning to life I still couldn’t find the perfect answer that everybody agrees with. So I went with three different groups of people to try to explain it through their eyes so I chose the Theist, Atheist and Myself. I chose to add myself because I believe I am in between the two, I believe in Jesus and God but I don’t because, there is no proof.