Existentialism in The Stranger by Albert Camus

To everyone’s eyes, he seem to be a strange man that doesn’t care for anything and that’s crazy for acting the way he does. Nevertheless, Meursault is an outsider but in a different way. Meursault believes in simplicity; he doesn’t care for money or for people acceptance. He cares for simple things as nature, pleasure, an... ... middle of paper ... ...onfronted to a reality that crashes with his ideals and, worst than all, doesn’t accept them because they do not follow a predetermined order that makes society work. This order is established by rules that represses our individualism and makes us be only one of a whole without a true authenticity.

Camus explains that life isn’t about what is not envisioned, but it’s about what is evident. Meursault’s feeling of apathy is directly related to his conviction that life lacks necessary order and meaning, “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope…I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world,” as he awaits his impending death, he finally recognizes that life is the most complex entity in the universe and one only has one life to live, so live it wisely (122). In the end, Meursault changed spiritually because he didn’t concentrate as much on the physical world because while he was in prison, he thought about life’s gifts and (although still atheist) realizes that faith in yourself and life is very important. There is also some irony here; he finally realizes the meaning of live just as he awaits his death.

People who believe in existentialism tend to have no emotion because life is suffering so there’s no point in feeling. These ideas are expressed in The Stranger through a character named Meursault whom is a prime example of existentialism. His personality fits a lot of the beliefs in existentialism which makes him an odd character and stand out more than the rest. Through Albert Camus novel, The Stranger, Camus states that life is absurd and existence is chaotic and meaningless and an individual creates their own values and determines a meaning to their life. Existentialism is a form of living a certain way but not living at all.

Dimmesdale is very hypocritical in how he handles the subject of his sin. For example, he says "Be not silent from any mistaken pity or tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty he... ... middle of paper ... ...glimpse of human affection and sympathy, a new life, and a true one, in exchange for the heavy doom which he was now expiating." (pg. 184). Hester's offer to him for a new shot at life could not lift the guilt.

The difference that lies between right and wrong continues to be absent from Godfrey’s lifestyle. He shows no right mind in his actions against his friends and colleagues because he benefits from these experiences. “Godfrey Ablewhite […] had […] betrayed the mercenary nature of the motive on his side (against Rachel)” (Collins 288). His amorality persists in his everyday life because in anybody else’s mind, betraying someone clearly goes against the principles of modern society. No event that Godfrey Ablewhite partakes in, in his mentality, shows signs of being wrong as long as he benefits from the matter.

In “Hap”, Hardy stoically accepts chance as a part of life, neither condemning it nor disputing its control. Hardy’s acceptance of chance shows that men are ultimately respon... ... middle of paper ... ...od that is found in accepting the chance happenings of the world and working through them. Gabriel’s eventual marriage to Bathsheba shows that, although it is rare, a man can overcome chance and find bliss in a world overrun with misery. “Hap” articulates Thomas Hardy’s denial of fate and the morality of actions in the face random chance. The lack of appeal or excuse is the true indicator of Hardy’s belief in personal responsibility for ones actions in a world ruled only by chance.

A quote from Kant’s Groundwork: “Someone feels sick of life because of a series of troubles that has grown to the point of despair, but is still so far in possession of his reason that he can ask himself whether it would be contrary to his duty to himself to take his own life.” This quote is probably the main reason people commit suicide, because of a series of troubles, such as financial, personal, or familial these brief examples show that people will become sick of life because of something. Kant’s argument is to show us that he does not think that a series of troubles should lead people to commit atrocity’s such as this. Kant also goes on to speak about maxims in his argument amongst his claim. I will briefly explain the definition of the word maxim. A maxim is a subjective principle of volition, which is in accordance with duty has to produce moral action by necessity.

He is an ageing man who laments the vacuity of his life and lack of intellectual, sexual and spiritual fulfillment. His existential questioning engages us as a modern audience, provoking us to question the integrity of our own

The senseless man has “nothing to prove”. He is blameless for what is acceptable and what is prohibited. Even if he is innocent for every sense, he is considered an ignoramus. This concludes of why Camus uses the title “Stranger” for his novel. Meursalt is considered one of the strangers who “shock a society by not accepting the rules of its game” (78).

He lives his life following the rules of bad faith. He makes decisions that will please others and follows the conforming personality of the people around him. Meursault merely watches life go on, and does not live the life he has. He is satisfied with only being an observer in life. This relates to Camus’s ideas of absurdism due to the fact that Meursault has no reason to actually live, because there is no purpose to life.