Absurdity: An Essay On The Stranger
analytical Essay
663 words
An Essay on…
The Stranger; The Absurd
"One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all
And in the Darkness bind them"
(Lord of the Rings Volume II, The Council of Elrond)
Within the Stranger, Albert Camus brought up many questions and a few answers. He created an outsider to society and showed us how he lived, Meursault.
Meursault was always indifferent. Meursault accepted death. Why? Meursault saw the purpose of life meaningless. That is “Absurdity”! Absurdity, how does that word sound? Pretty bad, eh? Absurdity when used like “that’s absurd!” gives the feeling of negative judgment and a sense of finality. The idea of the Absurd seems to attach itself with meaningless, pointless and other such words that express a destination but without the means to get there and vice versa means but no destination. So from there I inferred that Camus does not believe in God nor any high law or universal law that are associated with a divinity, which is a path in life (either the means or the destination). So what is Absurd? The Absurd is living, a quest to find the meaning of anything within a reality with no purpose. Reality has no purpose because there is no high law, a universal law nor a God. Therefore this reality must be randomness. I believe that Camus wants us to see this and begin questioning our existence. So he wants he wants us to see the Absurdity and to cope with the Absurdity.
If there is no point to living why do we continue to live? If this reality is absurd why don’t we recognize that and commit suicide? Taking one’s life shows the lack of will or reasons to live and also the needlessness of suffering. So what is living? Living is the Absurd. Living is hopelessness. Living is keeping the absurd alive. To keep the absurd alive you only have to live the absurd. 'Life will be more fully lived in so far as it has no meaning.' is a quote from Camus that shows this. Camus shows that you can “hope” for the best without hope. “Hope” is not the same as hope. “Hope” is optimism. Freedom from hope is freedom to your soul. You can no longer hurt yourself by living. It is hard to believe that being hopeless leads to living but living is an imprisonment. We try to be the best we can be but does not life limit us?
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how albert camus created an outsider to society and showed us how he lived, meursault. he does not believe in god nor any high law or universal law that are associated with a divinity.
- Analyzes how camus' quote shows that one can "hope" for the best without hope. passions and hopes keep us in a box. dying is not true death.
- Explains that meursault is not an existentialist. he sees the absurdity of life, hopes to die, and “hopes” that there are many people.
Related
- analytical
- The Stranger a Novel by Albert Camusanalytical essayThe Stranger is a novel by Albert Camus. Albert Camus, a French, Noble prize winning author, journalist and philosopher, was born on the seventh of November 1913. He died on the fourth of January 1960. He was instrumental in bringing the philosophical views of absurdism to public attention. The Stranger was published in 1942 and is an example of the outlook and themes of Camus’s philosophy of the absurd.
In this essay, the author
- Introduces albert camus' novel the stranger, which is an example of the outlook and themes of his philosophy of absurdism.
- Analyzes how mersault, the narrator and protagonist, is the stranger. he has cut himself off from the world.
- Analyzes how raymond sintes is vindictive, he has beaten up his girlfriend for cheating on him, but wants further satisfaction. he has mersault write a harsh letter to her for him.
- Analyzes how mersault is nonchalant about the murder of the arab. he accepts a court appointed attorney without even thinking of getting one for himself.
- Analyzes how the sun is the barometer of meursault's emotions in the stranger. it makes him sleepy, angry, happy, or resentful.
- Narrates how meursault was about to leave the beach, but the sun was too intense for him. the sun made him move toward the spring where the arab is located.
- Analyzes how the man claims kinship with the world when he is on the trail. he argues that if all living things are made equal by death, then the creature is a creature.
- Analyzes how the courtroom symbolizes society's judgment of meursault when he is on trial for his life. the jurors represent society and are sent to cast judgment upon him.
- Analyzes how meursault rejects the idea of death, which makes one aware of one's life and vital being — that which is impermanent and will one day end.
- Analyzes how meursault's ideas and beliefs point to a time when there is no hope to be had. he accepts the fact that everyone dies and realizes that you can live better.
882 wordsRead More - The Stranger Injustice Analysisanalytical essayAlbert 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
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how albert camus' the stranger offers one man's incite into the justice of society. monsieur meursault believes that morals and the concept of right and wrong possess no importance.
- Analyzes how monsieur meursault offers an apathetic yet simple understanding to the world. he doesn't believe in rationality and morals.
- Analyzes how meursault's passive attitude transfers over to his perspective on justice. he does not follow a justice system.
- Analyzes how meursault displays his unconcern for justice, and it gives no effect on his life. however, upon deciding to kill a man, he quickly learns that his previous unbelief will not diminish the consequences for his deed.
- Analyzes how meursault's abdication of justice even when put to death incites readers to question whether the justice system truly works and whether more people should uphold his ideology.
- Analyzes how meursault's ideology on life does not specifically outline his opinion on justice, but it does encompass what his opinions would be if he possessed one.
1031 wordsRead More - The Stranger Word Lit Essayanalytical essayThe Stranger, published by Albert Camus in 1942, originally was written in French but soon got translated into English. Absurdism is a philosophy closely looked at in the novel and the readers can greatly explore this philosophy through evaluating the actions of the narrator, Meursault. Albert Camus writes in specific focus to this philosophy in The Myth of Sisyphus, which consists of a story about a man named Sisyphus who was sentenced to push a rock uphill again and again only to watch it roll down again. He writes his novel purely subjective to the narrator’s point of view. This is important because we the readers are able to see his reasons for his actions and opinions on situations. In The Stranger, Albert Camus cleverly shapes Meursault’s character so that he portrays the philosophy of the Absurd and also shows how a more rational society might view his choices and actions.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how albert camus' novel, the stranger, was written in french but soon got translated into english. absurdism is a philosophy closely looked at in the novel and the readers can greatly explore this philosophy through evaluating the narrator, meursault.
- Analyzes how meursault embodies the philosophy of absurdism, which states that efforts made to find meaning in life will eventually fail.
- Analyzes how the man refuses god when he meets with the priest before his execution. that'll be the best example.
- Analyzes how meursault's absurd behavior comes into judgement during the trial.
- Analyzes how the jury begins to question marie about meursault's affair with marie, followed by a remark that led to dead silence. the audience didn't listen to what masson and salamano had to say.
- Analyzes how meursault's character baffles many readers. the way he sees the world and his handling situations could be seen as anomalous and absurd.
- Analyzes how meursault's character portrays the philosophy of the absurd and the way he is viewed during his trial shows how the society in the stranger respond to his behavior.
989 wordsRead More - Existentialism In The Strangeranalytical essayThe Connection between Existentialism and Meursault An existentialist represents their choices throughs their actions, opposed to with their words (Corbett). Therefore, someone who expresses the ideals of existentialism may be a threat to society because of their differences in morality compared to others. In The Stranger, by Albert Camus, Meursault was always looking to find meaning in his life because of everything that was happening to him at the time; and that is a key characteristic of someone embracing the ideals of existentialism. Sadly, through Meursault’s search for his inner meaning, he ended up taking the life of another man with very little realization of what he had done.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how albert camus portrays the ideals of existentialism through meursault's freedom of judgement and his unusual acts of will.
- Analyzes how an existentialist views society in a different way than everyone else. meursault's reaction to the cops' gun was an ordinary one.
- Analyzes how meursault portrayed the characteristics of an existentialist because that is how he would think about life as a whole.
- Analyzes how meursault's response to criticisms is that existentialism is disliked and distrusted because of its optimism, in that it confronts man with the possibility of choice.
- Analyzes how meursault was caught in his life by examining others and himself too closely, instead of finding true meaning and love.
1096 wordsRead More - The Meaning Of Life Death And The Universeanalytical essayAlbert Camus is a widely renowned author and existentialist philosopher from the 1950s. He believed in a concept called “The Absurd” which he described as the notion that our universe is completely irrational, yet people continue to try and give order and meaning to it. For most normal human beings, this is an extremely difficult concept to accept, including the main character from the novel “The Stranger”, Meursault. Meursault does not express and ignores his emotions, even though it is evident in the book that he does experience them. However, once Meursault falls into a blind rage with the chaplain, the universe begins to make more sense to him. In order to come to an acceptance of the indifference of the universe, one must have an emotional breakthrough, which Camus shows through differences in sentence structure and elemental imagery between parts one and two.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that albert camus believed in a concept called "the absurd" which he described as the notion that our universe is completely irrational yet people continue to try and give order and meaning to it.
- Analyzes how the sentences in "the stranger" are short, choppy, and nondescriptive. the dramatic change symbolizes meursault's newfound understanding and acceptance of the universe.
- Analyzes how meursault's insurmountable flow of information caused him to focus only on one topic for short periods of time. he was forced to think about the ideas and memories that he had acquired from the past.
- Compares the use of elemental imagery in part one and part two. fire and heat are used as symbols for meursault being uncomfortable or anxious and they often foreshadow death.
- Analyzes how camus uses elemental diction and sentence structure to portray meursault as a character and his acceptance of the universe around him.
1090 wordsRead More - Impending Death inThe Stranger by Albert Camusanalytical essayIn The Stranger by Albert Camus, the main character, Meursault, is an absurdist who lives in the moment and refuses to be distracted by societal norms. He views the world as random and is indifferent to it. But to many French people living in Algeria, religion, social order and character are intertwined and are imperative to human life. Camus uses the crucifix and the courtroom to convey the idea that religion is man’s desperate attempt to create meaning in life where there is none.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how camus uses the crucifix and courtroom to convey the idea that religion is man's desperate attempt to create meaning in life where there is none.
- Analyzes how the courtroom symbolizes society's views towards life and social order. meursault is a cold, calculated monster who lacks morals.
- Analyzes how the crucifix symbolizes christianity, the afterlife, social order, and society's acceptance of a deeper meaning.
- Analyzes how meursault argues that the only thing certain in life is the inevitability of death. the chaplain's insistence that he accept god infuriates him.
- Analyzes how meursault does not display any emotions when his mother dies because death has no underlying meaning to him, which contrasts with the beliefs of society and the teachings of religion.
995 wordsRead More - The Outsider, by Albert Camus and The Assault, by Harry Mulischanalytical essayOpposed to this, Camus uses Meursault as a construct to demonstrate his philosophy of absurdism. Absurdism is the belief that one cannot give rational sense or purpose to life, a belief based on the inevitability of death. Because people have difficulty accepting this notion, they constantly attempt to create rational structure and meaning in their lives. The term ‘absurdity’ describes humanity’s futile attempt to find rational order where none exists. Only at Meursalt’s epiphanic revelation before death does he realize this as his comes to know the absurd world.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how meursault's lack of emotion in the funeral was one of the main reasons why he was sentenced to death.
- Analyzes the irony of the court questioning meursault's absurdity when they themselves seem absurd. the society tries to fabricate or impose rational explanations of his irrational action.
- Analyzes how anton's past is brought back to him in a different way than meursault. mulisch shows aspects of the past will always catch up with the present and it is inescapable.
- Analyzes how camus and mulisch present that the past and present are interrelated through the characters, meursault and anton.
- Analyzes how mulisch foreshadows the relationship between the past and the present through imagery.
1393 wordsRead More - Meursault's Existentialism In The Stranger, By Albert Camusanalytical essayThe Stranger written by Albert Camus was originally published in 1942 and was written in french. The book is separated into two parts, Meursault’s thoughts before and after the murder. It discusses Camus views on existentialism. The main character is Meursault, he is a man who is forth-right with his self expression. He expresses himself with no bother towards other peoples impressions of him. Although he lacks genuine emotion and real connection with other people. Mersault is the un-ideal representation of man according to Camus. He is a metaphor for wasting life. Meursault has no emotion, his actions are consistent. He eats at the same place everyday for lunch and then sits on his porch for dinner. He has no excitement, no difference between
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes camus' the stranger, which is divided into two parts, meursault's thoughts before and after the murder.
- Analyzes how the opening line of the novel represents the emotional connection that mersault lacks. he travels to marengo where his mother lived for her funeral.
228 wordsRead More - Motif of Violence in The Stranger by Albert Camusanalytical essayThe Stranger written by Albert Camus is an absurdist novel revolving around the protagonist, Meursault. A major motif in the novel is violence. There are various places where violence takes place and they lead to the major violent act, which relates directly to the theme of the book. The major violent act of killing an Arab committed by Meursault leads to the complete metamorphosis of his character and he realizes the absurdity of life.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that albert camus' the stranger is an absurdist novel revolving around the protagonist, meursault. the violent act of killing an arab leads to the complete metamorphosis of his character.
- Analyzes how meursault, an unemotional, moral, sensory-orientated character, turns into an emotional, happy man who understands the "meaninglessness" and absurdity of life by the end of the book.
- Analyzes how every character that revolves around meursault seems to be in direct contrast to him. he is an amoral person who doesn't seem to care passionately about anything.
- Narrates how raymond beats up his girlfriend, only to be followed by her arab brother, and takes meursault to masson's beach house, where the two major violent acts lead to his ultimate metamorphosis.
- Analyzes how camus foreshadows violence when raymond gives meursault a gun in case things get worse.
- Analyzes how meursault, a sensualist, shot dead an arab because of extreme heat and bad weather conditions. the imagery provided by camus makes the situation believable.
- Analyzes how camus made meursault's novel a satire of the legal system, which sentences him not because he is non-religious and nonconformist, but because of not crying at his mother'
- Analyzes how the prospect of death metamorphosizes meursault as he realizes that the universe is indifferent to ever single dweller of the world.
- Analyzes how camus writes the stranger in first-person, narrative voice, which makes the character of meursault believable to the reader.
- Analyzes how a series of violent acts lead to the violent act that completely changes meursault's life.
730 wordsRead More - Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): Parallels Withinanalytical essayThe Stranger by Albert Camus is a story of a sequence of events in one man's life that cause him to question the nature of the universe and his position in it. The book is written in two parts and each part seems to reflect in large degree the actions occurring in the other. There are curious parallels throughout the two parts that seem to indicate the emotional state of Meursault, the protagonist, and his view of the world.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how parallels within the stranger by albert camus is a story of events in one man's life that cause him to question the nature of the universe and his position in it.
- Analyzes how meursault is an average individual who is distinctive more in his apathy and passive pessimism than in anything else. he rarely talks because he generally has nothing to say.
- Analyzes how part i of the stranger begins with meursault attending his mother's funeral and ends with him killing a man on the beach at algiers.
- Analyzes how meursault spends the night next to his mother's coffin at a pre-funeral vigil with old people who were friends of her at the home in which she had been living.
- Analyzes how meursault's scene is echoed in part ii, at his own trial, where he has the again unsettling feeling of being judged--only this time for something official. he observes every detail of the jurors with a sort of heightened vision.
- Analyzes how meursault's tiredness combined with the excruciatingly hot weather makes him feel dizzy and not quite sure of what he is doing.
- Analyzes how parallel events in the stranger emphasize meursault's emotions and view of the world. each particular point is a turning point for him.
- Analyzes how meursault doesn't defend himself at the trial until much later because he considers himself innocent.
- Analyzes how meursault loses hope for his acquittal at the trial because he is too dizzy to speak properly. he discovers that when death approaches, all men are equal.
945 wordsRead More