They believed in an afterlife and a heaven while Meursault did not, since he was an atheist. The Stranger was an unusually good book, which made me think. If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help! For example if a person commits armed robbery his punishment will be prison, as that is the result of the action he chose to perform. Existentialists attempt to direct our attention to ourselves as individuals. Finding Joy in Albert Camus’ The Stranger: A Different Perspective Existentialism is often defined as a philosophical movement that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. This corporal representation of existentialism is what makes The Stranger the unique book it is. This part of the novel shows how Mersault is not only a stranger to his experiences in life, but also to nature. Meursault does this until he looks at a reflection of himself for the first time in prison. He begins to become aware of what he was unaware of. Meursault has become a stranger in his own world, a social outcast punished for crimes which are both ridiculous and yet the norm. Camus’ The Stranger presents the character of Meursault who, after killing an Arab, is sentenced to death. Inc. (Translated by Stuart Gilbert. Meursault’s true undoing comes from his lack of emotion. This cannot be explained, because no one can explain someone else’s sense of meaning or meaninglessness towards life. Andrew Irvine, “Basic Themes of existentialism”, http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/wphil/lectures/wphil_theme20.htm, Crowell, Steven, “Existentialism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Stranger, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Freedom means that whatever happened prior to now do not influence what your next choice in life will be, we are free to make any choice we want. The climax of the book comes during Meursault’s trial for the murder of the Arab and yet another rendition of existentialism is divulged. Certain aspects of existentialism are witnessed in The Stranger. This is only exemplified as he answers the same way when she queries him on his love for her. Likewise, he cannot deal with the intense heat, the light reflected off the Arab’s knife which seems to stab at him. A majority of the book made me feel like the rest of society, which was not accepting Meursault’s behavior. The second half of the book begins after Meursault is put in jail and is awaiting his trial. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! Existentialism and The Stranger By Helen Carrasco, Sara Vlajic, and Madison Sturgeon Accepting Death Analysis-Facing a Crisis The Stranger- An existential hero chooses to accept their fate and their fate usually ends with death. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything. He derives a certain level of pleasure from eating and drinking, smoking cigarettes, sitting on his balcony. Camus utilized The Stranger as a platform to explore absurdity, a concept central to his writings and at the core of his treatment of questions about the meaning of life. Lessons from The Stranger, by Albert Camus. The Stranger:Random House. Meursault is perfectly capable of analyzing the situation, but not of responding to it as society wishes him to. Some things are irrational or absurd, without explanation. As a result of the diversity of positions associated with this term it is impossible to define precisely. 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. hide. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Especially when emptiness of a man’s heart becomes, as we find it has in this man, an abyss threatening to swallow up society;” as if to say that the murder of the Arab was a direct result of the stoic mindset Meursault held at Maman’s funeral. Kids say the darndest things. Meursault wants the remembrance of his life. He no longer had anyone or thing to worry about but himself. Life or death, and anything in between, makes no difference to him. In existentialism, you believe that there are some things that cannot be rationally explained and just happen out of your control. VAT Registration No: 842417633. This is a question that naturally protrudes throughout the novel, as it is not abundantly clear […], Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice […], Existentialism is often defined as a philosophical movement or tendency, emphasizing individual existence, freedom and choice. Meursault’s absurd beliefs are that life is meaningless and without purpose. Society had declared Meursault absurd because of his unrelenting uniqueness and through this, the title of the book may be derived. Another meaning of the title is that he is also a stranger to himself. The discussion of Meursault’s responsibility takes place at the end of the novel. Meursault is the major character in The Stranger. Conforming to society norms is considered bad, it doesn’t allow the individual to progress and reach his own decisions Camus realized, however, that restricting himself from all social conformity was impossible. Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. The first half of the book was filled with action and there were no direct reasons given for certain actions. This conflict portrays the stark contrast between the morals of society and Meursault’s evident lack of them; he is condemned to death, less for the Arab’s murder, than for refusing to conform to society’s standards. Existentialists attempt to direct our attention to ourselves as individuals. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Existentialism is a focus on the individual, a focus on their existence, free will, and death. Question: What are examples of existentialism in The Stranger? Human lives are not invested with purpose. Existentialism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus 1197 Words5 Pages Existentialism is just one of the many philosophies that attempt to determine the meaning of life. Get Help With Your Essay Funeral tomorrow. Meursault is indifferent on the subject as he does not desire more and was not dissatisfied by what he had now. If Meursault goes out there begging for forgiveness he would just become a member of a collectivity. His insensitivity is introduced through the emotions, or lack thereof, that he displays upon news of the death of Maman. Developed between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this ideology influenced literature greatly. 1st Jun 2017 Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? Review for the Mid-book Quiz. Society finds this unacceptable, and by refusing to conform to its face-value standards, Meursault must die. Until the conclusion, he was a stranger to himself as well as to the rest of the world. Several mundane yet life altering events are also taken into account by Meursault in an existential attitude. He realizes that life is meaningless and the world is irrational. Few decisions are without any negative consequences. Meursault was an interesting character to read about. It is shown by Meursault, his acceptance, when he While awaiting his execution, he thinks about how his life has no meaning besides just living and how death does not scare him. I was able to understand what Albert Camus was trying to say with his philosophy. However, Camus did not identify himself as a philosopher. When he thought about his own life and that he was about to die, he accepted it. Throughout Camus’s The Stranger there are references to an event that occurs at the outset of the novel and exhibits ideals inherent to existentialism: the death of Meursault’s mother. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. save. At the beginning of the novel, Meursault sits at his mother’s funeral, quietly analyzing details of the scene. Was 10th grade required reading for me. Philosophy For the first time, the sun and his sensual pleasures begin to act against him, and cause him to lose control. Once in a while he shows a bit of heart, but for the most part, he gives a robotic appearance. While attending his mother’s funeral, Meursault decides to smoke cigarettes, drink a cup of coffee, and he fails to show emotion. The term existentialism is a broad and far-reaching classification that means many different things to many different people, and is often misapplied or overapplied. A key idea in Existentialism is that we are all responsible for our own actions, which is shown in everyday life. The use of existentialism within his work assists in the development of his characters; it determines how they will act and respond to their surroundings. Free resources to assist you with your university studies! Mersault shoots the Arab because of his physical discomfort with his surroundings, but in any case he consciously makes the decision to shoot the Arab. The decisions you make are whom you are, so decide accordingly. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. 89 [ 7 ] Sartre. It is a paragraph that shocks and sets the tone for the rest of the story: “Mother died today. Meursault lives out his individuality. Mersault’s murder of the Arab is another example of existentialism. Existentialism is liberating for those of us who do not rely on fate, God, or chance to guide us through the path of life. This is a very unpredictable event because Meursault is just so happy and content with the sun shining on him, then all of a sudden something unexpected happens and his happiness is gone. Meursault feels he has been happy, and longs to live. Existentialists: a primer to existentialism, http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/exist.html. October 20, 2019 Nathan Wong Leave a comment. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. One aspect that is questionable is our ability to continuously reinvent ourselves through our actions. Existentialists view the human life as having no meaningful value. The Stranger is often referred to as an existential novel, but this description is not necessarily accurate. The chaplain had his empty prayers but Meursault was sure of himself; his life and his death. 53 [ 3 ] Camus. Meursault looking at himself shows his transition from pre-reflective to reflective. In The Things They Carried, as the title indicates author and Vietnam war veteran Tim O’Brien carefully describes all of the necessities of warfare carried by the men with whom […], Most veterans of the Vietnam War will remember a land that was radically different from what they knew and were used to, a country that was hot and humid, full […], Violent movies can transform a calm person’s personality to brutal. The fact that Meursault is not sure exactly when his mother died introduces his differences from society. Camus uses the death of Mersault’s mother to convey his existentialistic philosophy. To sum up, Albert Camus’ first novel The Stranger is devoted to the themes of social alienation, racism and sexism. As a result of the diversity of positions associated with this term it is impossible to define precisely. 154 [ 4 ] Camus. Close. He seems more concerned about the time of death, and not the fact that he just lost a loved one. Life is a series of choices. 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