What Does Albert Camus Challenging The Meaning Of Life?

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Questioning the Norm
Albert Camus challenges the ideals of the meaning of life and societal expectations in the literary masterpiece “The Stranger.” This fictional story is written through the eyes of an absurdist named Meursault who seems to emulate Camus’ views on society. “Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913, in Mondavi, French Algeria. His family had little money. Camus's father died in combat during World War I” (Bio.com, 2014) Camus was plagued with sadness and futility his entire life. “A philosophy degree at the University of Algiers” (Bio.com, 2014) allowed him to become educated in the way he viewed social issues. Camus was an educated man who was very well-spoken, so much so that he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his literary …show more content…

“For Camus, life has no rational meaning or order.” (Camus-society.com, 2014) Civilization has certain expectations in which a person should behave, and when these expectations are not met it gives us a sort of uneasy feeling. Society has always had a longing for something more, a sort of pressing need in this life for a purpose. Humanity also assumes that there must be more to the human existence than what is seen in the everyday life. People also tend to believe that everything happens for a reason, and believe that there are reasons and rationale behind the actions that take place. Nothing is due to chance alone. Camus believes just the opposite.
“The Stranger” is a first person narrative, set in Algiers, just before World War II. Describing this period in time, Nicola Chiaramonte describes the setting of the story as very bleak and hopeless. “The world in which we had to live was an absurd world, and there was nothing else, no spare world in which we could take refuge.” (Newrepublic.com, 2014) The story begins with a letter from the nursing home in which he placed his mother. The letter states that his mother had passed and they requested his presence at the home. When Meursault

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