Notes From Underground by Dostoevsky and The Stranger by Camus are two very different books discussing existentialism. Camus argued that everything is meaningless, so it did not matter when he died. Dostoevsky argued that there was futility in life, but through God one could find meaning. Both Dostoevsky and Camus discussed the concept of the futility of life, but only Dostoevsky offered a solution to this meaninglessness.
The Stranger told a story about a man named Meursault. The book began with his mother’s funeral. Meursault did not cry at the funeral and continued his daily life the next day. He got involved with some questionable individuals, and murdered a man with a gun. Meursault went to jail, and the court found him guilty. The court sentenced him to death by guillotine.
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He viewed his everyday routine as repetitive and meaningless, and felt no empathy for anyone. This lack of empathy convinced the court of his guilt. Meursault could have defended himself by claiming self defense, but he saw no difference in dying now or dying later. Both Meursault’s story and Camus’ view on life display the depressing views of existentialism.
In comparison, Notes From Underground told a story of an unnamed character who felt that life held no meaning. The first half of the novel consisted of a monologue by the narrator when he was forty years old. In this monologue, he told of the futility of life. He compared himself to a mouse who scorned the humans and lived underground. He explained that these notes were a sort of therapy, a way to reflect on his life. The rest of the book contained his