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Themes of existentialism in the stranger
Characteristics of maître meursault in the outsider by albert camus
Existentialism in the stranger albert camus
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The Word existence comes from the Latin root “ex” out, and sistere from stare, which means to stand (rise up). Existentialism literally means pertaining to existence or in logic, predicating existence. Philosophically existentialism applies to a vision of the condition and existence or lack of one, with God. According to Kierkegaard, Christian existentialism is all meaning and serenity which comes through one’s relationship with God by putting our selves in his hands and finding freedom from tensions and discontent and also praying to him in order to be bless and find peace within our selves. Jean Paul is the hierophant of modern atheistic existentialism and believes that fate is determined by human action, meaning that the individual creates whatever meaning he/she gets. Sartre’s vision of human existence is that we’re born into a kind of mud and it’s our decision weather to remain in this mud or rise out of it and move on. Albert Camus’ philosophy of the absurd is similar to Jean-Paul Sartre’s vision of human existence because he is being punished by the Gods to keep pushing a rock up to the very top of a heel until it falls back down. He had to do it over and over again for the rest of his life and by constantly doing this he became stronger that all the Gods. In the end of the novel, The Stranger, By Albert Camus, Meursault distinguishes himself from Salamano and Sintes by becoming conscious of the struggles he’s going through. He finally accepts that in the end his whole life has come to nothing. While on the other hand Salamano and Sintes remain in the “Mud”.
In chapter three one of Meursault’s neighbors, old Salamano who lives alone with his dog. The dog gets beaten and referred to as “Filthy, Stinking Bastard”. A...
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... what’s the meaning or reason to do things? Values are irrelevant to this worldview, and without them there seems to be no meaning or purpose to anything we do. From this perspective, all our actions, desires, and reasons seem absurd and pointless. The feeling of absurdity is closely connected to the feeling that life is meaningless and is not worth living. Once we have acknowledged the validity of the perspective of a world without values, of a life without meaning or purpose, there is no turning back. We must either remain stuck in the mud forever like Sintes and Salamano or pull ourselves out of the burden.
Bibliography:
Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus
New York: Penguin Books, 1960.
Camus, Albert. The Stranger, Translation: Mathew word.
New York: Random House, 1988.
Cuddan, A.J. The Dictionary of literacy Terms.
New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
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Daru, the schoolteacher in a remote area of Algeria, is torn between duty and what he believes is the right thing to do when he is suddenly forced in the middle of a situation he does not expect. He must escort an Arabic prisoner to the nearest town. It is not that Daru has much sympathy for the man; in fact, he does not, and actually finds himself disliking the Arab for disrupting so many lives. "Daru felt a sudden wrath against the man, against all men with their rotten spite, their tireless hates, their blood lust." Unfortunately, Daru loves his homeland, and cannot bear to think of leaving, despite the chaos that is raging around him between France and the Algerian natives. I believe that Daru makes the right choice in letting the prisoner choose his own fate. Daru has reaso...
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I, Albert Camus, am a famous French author who had written The Stranger in 1942. I was born in Algeria, and my experiences there had deeply influenced my thoughts, my work, and my philosophies. The Stranger strongly represents my philosophy involving the absurd and existentialism. When I was twenty-five, I moved to France and joined the resistance movement during World War II. After the liberation from Nazi Germany, I became a political journalist and a columnist for Combat, a French newspaper. In 1947, I retired from my journalist career and continued to write fiction and playwrights for the theatre (Simpson). Although I primarily consider myself a writer instead of a philosopher and I deny being an existentialist, the philosophy I most agree with is indeed existentialism. As one will find in my novel, The Stranger, the main character Meursault views the world and situations through an outside perspective, extreme detachment, and a lack of empathy. His characters tend to view the world as an outsider because I personally grew up in many groups
When Meursault returns home he decides to take another day off and relax at the beach. On his way out he sees an old man beating his dog and cussing at it ruthlessly. Normally most people would be bothered by the fact of a man beating a small dog, but Muersault watches as if nothing bad were happening. When Meursault is at the beach he meets a girl, named Marie, which he finds very attractive. Meursault and Marie become very close. As the story progresses they begin taking part in sexual activities. Marie tells Muersault that she loves him and asks if he loves her back.
Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will. To Sartre, saying that som...
In Albert Camus’ novel, The Stranger, the protagonist Meursault is a character who has definite values and opinions concerning the society in which he lives. His self-inflicted alienation from society and all its habits and customs is clear throughout the book. The novel itself is an exercise in absurdity that challenges the reader to face the nagging questions concerning the meaning of human existence. Meursault is an existentialist character who views his life in an unemotional and noncommittal manner, which enhances his obvious opinion that in the end life is utterly meaningless.
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 ...
Existentialism is defined as "a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development through acts of the will”. In other words, existentialism it emphasizes individual freedom. Throughout The Stranger, the amount of existentialism views is abundant. The use of Mersault’s experiences covey the idea that human life has no meaning except for simple existence. The idea of existentialism in Albert Camus' The Stranger reflects through Mersault's life experiences with his relationship with Marie, the death of his mother Maman, the murdering of the Arab, and Mersault's trial and execution, all these events show that Mersault’s life of no meaning.
Existentialism is defined as a philosophical movement that human beings are completely free and responsible for their own actions. Existentialists will try not to cause waves and remain completely uninvolved with anyone because they do not want to hurt anybody. There is absolutely no such thing as an existentialist because he would have to be so uninvolved to the point where he would not be able to live at all. Although the two stories: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Stranger by Albert Camus are very different in approach, their endings are similar in that they both support the basics of existentialism.
Camus and Mulisch present that the past and present are interrelated. The authors do this through the two characters, Meursault and Anton. Through Meursault, we see that his past actions affect the outcome of his trial. Through Anton, we see that his present situation constantly brings him back to his past despite him trying to escape it. Thus the authors stylistically link the past and present to demonstrate that they are inevitably related, where certain events are unavoidable or the past is undeniable.