The Absurd in Camus' The Stranger
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The existentialism of Albert Camus is based on his view of life as the Absurd. This sense of the Absurd derives from the realization that man is destined to die, as if being punished for a crime he never committed. There is no reprieve, and this makes life absurd. There is no God in Camus's conception, and those who hope for an afterlife are thus to be disappointed. the fact that there is no God also means that there is no meaning or purpose to life outside of life itself, and that is destined to end. The one saving grace in the world seems to be the fact that while there is no God on which man can depend, man can live as if he can depend on his fellow man, even though he and they will all die. This is another absurdity, but it is based on the fact that the individual has come to understand the absurdity of life and that this realization liberates him. The individual faces death, knowing that he will lose, but acting as if his life ultimately does matter. There is a concern with death and its inevitability in the works of Camus, and The Stranger is one such novel that involves a character faced with an ethical dilemma in the face of his realization that life is absurd and that it has no purpose. The issue of moral responsibility is a difficult one in the universe of the Absurd, since there is no God, no caring or concerned universe, and ultimately no meaning beyond death. For Camus, though, there is a responsibility placed on every individual for making this worl
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ht him to the weekend and really gave him four days off in a row:
But, in the first place, it isn't my fault if they buried Maman yesterday instead of today, and second, I would have had Saturday and Sunday off anyway. Obviously, that still doesn't keep me from understanding my boss's point of view (19).
The key moral dilemma raised in this novel is the killing of the Arab, what it means, and why Meursault undertakes this act. Is the killing an ethical act? Can it be an ethical act? In the universe of the absurd, Meursault does stand as a thoughtful and ethical man. Camus carefully creates the day of the killing to show that Meursault is first in a poor mood, seemingly not at ease, and that later after he has been swimming and has eaten, he is completely at ease and in tune with himself and his surroundings as he has never been before in the novel. What is truly important in analyzing the ethical structure Camus is exploring is that we realize that Meursault is not acting rashly but in a calm and deliberate manner. Meursault examines the issues in his mind and understands the meaning of his act, though perhaps no one else would. The feelings and beliefs of others never concern Meursault very much, though, for he is alw
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Approximate Word count = 1427
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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