“Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe‚ I don’t know.” (Camus‚ 3). These opening lines of The Stranger by Albert Camus gives a feeling for how the rest of the novel will continue to go. The reader’s initial reaction may be shocked. How does someone not know when their mother died and why do they not care? Albert Camus was an existentialist and wrote in such a way. Existentialism is a philosophy that focuses on the ideas of existence and not believing in a God‚ the freedom of choice and responsibility
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Camus’ The Plague‚ the Myth of Sisyphus and the Constitution of the World Health Organization all clarify the relationship between ethics and fiction by focusing on grief and suffering as part of the human experience‚ as well as reiterating that one can achieve happiness once they accept their fate. When comparing Camus’ literary and philosophical pieces‚ this clarification is quite evident with respect to the analysis of happiness in Camus’ Myth of Sisyphus and its application to a specific character
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Meursault’s behavior at his mother’s death substantiated his guilt in the eyes of the law. Siddhartha lives the moment and takes responsibility for his decisions. To what extent are Meursault’s and Siddhartha’s status as existentialists and outsiders defined by their conscious and unconscious actions. Existentialism is a philosophy that explains the journey to discover the true self and the meaning of life by free will‚ choice and personal responsibility. By their conscious or unconscious actions
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Humans are little more than complex organisms reacting to stimuli in their environment. Some would argue that humans are transparent and simple; we have needs and simply seek to fulfill them. There is a specific order to our behavior and that behavior is being driven by a need or desire. Camus challenged this notion with The Stranger. In one sense he upheld the idea that we simply strive to fulfill needs. In another sense‚ Camus forced us to understand that sometimes there is no reason‚ no need being
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Albert Camus’ The Stranger revolves around an ordinary man‚ Mersault‚ living in French Algiers in the 1940s. Narrated in first person point of view through Mersault’s eyes‚ the novel is about his life and his physical and emotional relationships around him. Beginning with the death of Mersault’s mother‚ the novel offers an existential point of view on life and is an exemplar of Camus’ philosophy of the absurd. Mersault’s character is initially nihilist and this novel is a narrative of how Mersault
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Life is like a coconut. While coconuts appear to be a hairy texture‚ they are classified as a fruit. Meursault appears to blend as a normal coconut on the outside‚ but he lacks the quality of the fruit‚ leaving Meursault nothing but a shell. Meursault believes he is the only real individual‚ often disassociating himself from society or the other fruits. His role in The Stranger by Albert Camus proves life is what you make of it‚ for Meursault‚ life is meaningless and religion is hoax‚ but at
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Outline: Background analysis: • Camus and French theatre of early 20th century • Existentialism • Existentialism philosophy • Existentialism and Camus • Expressing the message of existentialism through character • Historical background • Caligula historical and cultural background • Tragedy background • Other famous tragedy characters and their portrayal Preparing the role: • Stanislavsky method for actors • Theory • Practical exercises • Script and language analysis of Caligula
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Discussion Questions for The Stranger (1946); translated by Matthew Ward‚ 1988. Part One Chapter 1. 1. How does Camus set up Meursault’s personality -- how does Meursault respond to others’ conversation‚ to ordinary social situations‚ and to the death of his mother? 2. On page 10‚ Meursault says that at the viewing of his mother‚ he felt as if the elderly people there were judging him. Offer a conjecture about why he might have had that feeling. (It is worth paying attention to such references to
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Vy Tran Mr. Ledesma English Period 2 12/31/2012 The Stranger: The Essay In the philosophical novel “The Stranger”‚ written
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My Personal Search for a Meaningful Existence I am the representative embodiment of my nihilistic culture. I am narcissistic‚ insatiable‚ petty‚ apathetic and I am above all an emotional invalid. Yet‚ up until very recently‚ I was not consciously aware that I was guilty of having any of these wholly pejorative attributes‚ because I had unconsciously suppressed my inherent will to attain a meaningful existence‚ in favor of the comfort and security that complacency and futility provide. There
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