Albert Camus Essay: Meursault's Death

Absurd hero: one who recognizes that life is meaningless and retains joy by creating a purpose in an otherwise meaningless life. The verdict of Meursault’s trial is Meursault must be punished with the death penalty. He sits in his jail cell, and reflects on his life. It is determined that Meursault’s fate is set in stone: he will suffer the death penalty, on a certain day, at a certain time. Meursault is an absurd hero because after being condemned to death, he accepts life to be meaningless.
Meursault comes to accept his fate through his awaiting of his execution in his empty jail cell. In the beginning of chapter five, Meursault cannot fully accept the certainty of his fate. He is still holding on to the idea of an appeal. He says, “All day long there was the thought of my appeal. I think I got everything out of it that I could,” implying he still has hope in his appeal and therefore, not accepting his death is certain. However, by the end of the chapter, Meursault comes to a full acknowledgement that he cannot escape his fate of death. He spends his days passing time, and he recognizes that life is living without any meaning and waiting for death to come. To this revelation, Meursault accepts his fate of death and
Because Meursault does not conform to social norms, the audience can relate because they, too, do not want to conform to some of society’s norms, but do not see themselves reflected in Meursault’s action, for many people care too much about societal etiquette. Camus makes the audience ponder about a society with people who are existentialist like Meursault, who do not conform to society’s norms and do as they please. Would society be functional because everyone has one’s own selfish purpose in life? Or would society be similar to society now because all outsiders would be the same and are no longer considered strangers rather just