Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus examines the fate of humanity and the philosophical ideas that can be derived from the concept of absurdity. In the story, Sisyphus defies the gods and is subsequently punished by them. For his punishment, he is forced to roll a rock to the top of a mountain. However, every time he nears the top, the heavy rock falls back down the hill, and he is forced to start again. As such, Sisyphus’ punishment is a relentless, continuous penance that is designed to create a sense of hopelessness and repetitiveness. Sisyphus desperately wants to leave the underworld to return to Earth in order to test the love of his wife. With permission, he returns to Earth and enjoys the amenities on offer. However, he is eventually forced to return to the underworld to engage in the meaningless task of pushing the rock up the hill. …show more content…
He tells the story to highlight how, although Sisyphus’ rebellious nature has caused him to endure a relentless punishment, he still finds hope, even in the midst of torture. Sisyphus is ambitious in determining his own fate, even though it seems as though this has been decided for him by the gods. Even after he returns to the underworld, Sisyphus carries on optimistically, exhibiting the attitude that life is better lived than waiting impatiently to die. In other words, Sisyphus is superior to his fate because he is determined that, even though he is being punished by having to roll the rock up the mountain, he does not believe that this punishment marks the end of his life or the end of what he is able to achieve with his