The Stranger Response Essay
Response to: The Stranger The essay: “The Myth of Sisyphus” and the novel: The Stranger, both by Albert Camus, are conjoined with the similar theme of exploring existentialism, or finding the meaning/purpose of one’s life. The essay’s relevance to the novel is well established by Camus’ explanation of the concept of “the absurd” and how this philosophy governs the actions of all human action. Camus describes Sisyphus as the “absurd hero” in the essay, however this title seems transcendent to Meursault, the protagonist in The Stranger, as both characters constantly struggle against the philosophy of “the absurd”. The aforementioned relationship between “the absurd” and human action in Camus’ two works are further validated by remarks throughout both. Throughout the essay, Camus refers to the philosophy of “the absurd”; described as the “teach[ing] [of]
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[a] higher fidelity that negates gods and raises rocks.” This “higher fidelity” is a realization that “[t]his universe henceforth without a master seems… neither sterile nor futile.” Thus, Camus asserts that the physical world thrust upon man is all that exists, that there are no gods, and that without their faculty man must find his own happiness and purpose within his struggles. However, Camus also realizes that man’s search for a meaningful existence is fruitless given the purely physical world that man inhabits. The futility of the “absurd man” lends itself to “tragedy”; this tragedy evolves from a man’s complete realization that there is no “hope of succeeding” the torment of endless, meaningless toil. The inescapable philosophy that the universe completely lacks rationality and reason also destroys any discernable explanation for human or societal actions. Thus, this philosophy suggests that a lack of universal rationality provides no basis for inference on the actions of an individual and allows for the acceptance that some actions have no explanation. Throughout The Stranger, the protagonist, Meursault, is struggling against Camus’ philosophy of “the absurd”.
It is clear that Meursault is attempting to glean the meaning of his existence from the physical world around him rather than asking such questions to a “higher being” or “god”; this assertion being upheld by the numerous occasions, in which, Meursault sloughs off others’ faith in “God” as “irrational” and “unnecessary”. After murdering the Arab man, Meursault is sentenced to death and awaited his end in prison. However, while in prison Meursault ultimately finds the truth to his “new existence”; this “new existence” being the acceptance of his court sentenced death. The entirety of Meursault’s beliefs are illustrated when he describes the priest as “living like a dead man” because he believed his purpose in life was to prepare a place for himself for a spiritual “second coming”. Meursault raged against the priest’s “wasted life”, and in this rage Meursault came to an accord with his existence. Meursault realized the “gentle indifference of the world” and saw how that indifference paralleled his
own. Ultimately, the construction of the Camus’ two works closely resembles the choices made by Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand established her philosophy of objectivism in an essay and proceeded to elaborate how humans would live by this philosophy through her novel The Fountainhead and ultimately reached her goal of narrating the human struggle with her magnum opus Atlas Shrugged. This formula of stating a philosophy and then describing hypothetical situations which force mankind to live by the said philosophy was clearly adhered to by Albert Camus in his essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” and the novel The Stranger. Thus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” was essential to the understanding of Camus’ novel The Stranger as the essay outlined the belief in finding meaning through the human struggle.
Bibliography:
Camus, Albert, and Matthew Ward. The Stranger. New York: Vintage International, 1989. Print.
Camus, Albert. "The Myth of Sisyphus." Literature, Criticism and Works of Art on Vahid's Website (http://www.vahidnab.com). 14 Jan. 2005. Web. 14 Aug. 2011. .
[a] higher fidelity that negates gods and raises rocks.” This “higher fidelity” is a realization that “[t]his universe henceforth without a master seems… neither sterile nor futile.” Thus, Camus asserts that the physical world thrust upon man is all that exists, that there are no gods, and that without their faculty man must find his own happiness and purpose within his struggles. However, Camus also realizes that man’s search for a meaningful existence is fruitless given the purely physical world that man inhabits. The futility of the “absurd man” lends itself to “tragedy”; this tragedy evolves from a man’s complete realization that there is no “hope of succeeding” the torment of endless, meaningless toil. The inescapable philosophy that the universe completely lacks rationality and reason also destroys any discernable explanation for human or societal actions. Thus, this philosophy suggests that a lack of universal rationality provides no basis for inference on the actions of an individual and allows for the acceptance that some actions have no explanation. Throughout The Stranger, the protagonist, Meursault, is struggling against Camus’ philosophy of “the absurd”.
It is clear that Meursault is attempting to glean the meaning of his existence from the physical world around him rather than asking such questions to a “higher being” or “god”; this assertion being upheld by the numerous occasions, in which, Meursault sloughs off others’ faith in “God” as “irrational” and “unnecessary”. After murdering the Arab man, Meursault is sentenced to death and awaited his end in prison. However, while in prison Meursault ultimately finds the truth to his “new existence”; this “new existence” being the acceptance of his court sentenced death. The entirety of Meursault’s beliefs are illustrated when he describes the priest as “living like a dead man” because he believed his purpose in life was to prepare a place for himself for a spiritual “second coming”. Meursault raged against the priest’s “wasted life”, and in this rage Meursault came to an accord with his existence. Meursault realized the “gentle indifference of the world” and saw how that indifference paralleled his
own. Ultimately, the construction of the Camus’ two works closely resembles the choices made by Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand established her philosophy of objectivism in an essay and proceeded to elaborate how humans would live by this philosophy through her novel The Fountainhead and ultimately reached her goal of narrating the human struggle with her magnum opus Atlas Shrugged. This formula of stating a philosophy and then describing hypothetical situations which force mankind to live by the said philosophy was clearly adhered to by Albert Camus in his essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” and the novel The Stranger. Thus, “The Myth of Sisyphus” was essential to the understanding of Camus’ novel The Stranger as the essay outlined the belief in finding meaning through the human struggle.
Bibliography:
Camus, Albert, and Matthew Ward. The Stranger. New York: Vintage International, 1989. Print.
Camus, Albert. "The Myth of Sisyphus." Literature, Criticism and Works of Art on Vahid's Website (http://www.vahidnab.com). 14 Jan. 2005. Web. 14 Aug. 2011. .