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Albert Camus And Existentialism Essay

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Albert Camus was one of the leading thinkers and believers of the Absurd. The philosophical movement shares much of the same traits as Existentialism. For a long time humans have tried to find the meaning to life and have examined the purpose and objective of our existence. Either they have concluded that this life is meaningless, or they have taken comfort in some faith and religious belief such as the existence of God or a higher power. Camus concluded that a life has no purpose. He refused to accept that there is meaning beyond any existence and successfully conveys this belief through Meursault. ‘The Outsider’ is organized into two parts, in which the central event, the shooting of the Arab and trial takes place in between the two parts. …show more content…

His fine eye for detail is frequently shown as he describes every inch of his surrounding in great vividness. From the “smell of petrol”, “the glare of the sky”, and “the rustling sound “to” the taste of the white coffee”. His refined sensory perceptions are metaphorical representations of Camus’ belief that one should live life to the full consciousness of it. Thorough descriptions provide the reader with a photographic image of every event and conversation. He tells only what he is thinking and perceiving, and does not interrupt with commentary. By narrating the story this way, the reader is also drawn into Meursault’s perspective. The audience feels the absurdity of the events. As an outsider he is ignorant, yet so focused on everything around him. For example during the funeral, Meursault is far more affected by the discomfort of the heat than the thought of burying his mother. He is portrayed as emotionless, detached from the basic human experiences of love and affection. His relationship with Marie is another example. Meursault is enjoying the physical company of Marie. He notices that she “looked very beautiful”, which suggests that he is mainly interested in the physical appeal of her. Furthermore, when she asks Meursault if he loved her, he replied that “love didn't mean anything and he probably didn't

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2. Summary: Meursault, a shipping clerk living in Algiers, receives news of his mother's death. After hearing about the death of his mother, he travels to the nursing home that that he put her in after no longer being able to financially provide for the both of them. Unlike the traditional response to death by grieving for the deceased, Meursault continues on with his daily tasks as if his mother had never died. During a trip with Raymond and Marie, Meursault shoots the Arab, the brother of the mistress that cheated on Raymond, and is imprisoned.

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During the beginning of the novel, Meursault goes to his neighbor Raymond’s house. The visit results into a physical fight due to insults made towards Meursault. Relating to aspects on violence, this scene was made to show simple

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One of the most important passages within the novel is when Meursault repeatedly defies the chaplain in the cell. It serves as a pinnacle for the entire story, and grants readers a look into the main characters state of mind. In this passage, Meursault comes to a dramatic realization of who he is through an existential epiphany, and with thorough analysis the overall significance of the passage to the story is revealed. In the passage the chaplain visits Meursault much to Meursault’s displeasure.

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The single effect of suspense that Edgar Allan Poe establishes throughout “The Masque of the Red Death” makes the reader question what will happen to the people in the village. The first paragraph of the story explains what the Red Death is and what makes it suspenseful. “There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution” (Poe “Masque”). To add on to this, once someone contracts this disease, they only have 30 more minutes to live. This allows the readers to wonder what the people will do to avoid death.

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The battle for existence is what drives Meursault to connect more to the physical world. In The Stranger by Albert Camus, there’s a young, detached man named Meursault living in French Algiers. At the beginning of the novel, Meursault receives a telegram, which informs him of his mother’s death. He acts calm during and after the funeral and frolics around with his girlfriend, Marie. While on the beach with his friends, they are suddenly confronted by Arabs and get into a fight.

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The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, It follows the story of our tragic hero, Meursault, shortly after his mother dies through the events that lead to him being sentenced to death. Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions. The Stranger shows how even when a person does not explicitly express emotion they are shown in some way. How emotions are expressed is a window to a person's personality. I will first discuss how Meursault appears emotionless, than how Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions for him and lastly what impact this makes.

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One of the most plaguing blessings of humanity is its ability and necessity to understand the nature of the universe. Despite the best efforts of mankind’s brightest over the course of 7,000 years, the answer to the question, “what is the meaning of life?,” continues to remain a mystery. The debate endlessly evolves from era to era without anyone making great strides toward a real answer. Philosophers who have contemplated this question have only shifted perspectives around possible conclusions by making assertions and adhering to them. Leo Tolstoy and Albert Camus view existence from a religious and secular standpoint, respectively, making their ideologies radically different yet comparable on a relative scale.

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The external conflict in the novel can especially be seen towards the end when Meursault speaks to the Chaplain. The Chaplain suggests to him that he should believe in God and accept the spiritual idea of living and existence. In other words, the Chaplain wants him to look towards God for comfort. Meursault, however, gets angry at the Chaplain 's notions and continues to deny the existence of god. Meursault 's external conflict with society is presented through his nihilist outlooks.

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The mysterious Meursault While reading the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, I immediately noticed the main character Meursault’s and how odd he acted. His lack of emotion and desire towards physical aspects of life caught my attention. I never really heard or read about someone with such a meaningless attitude towards life. I began to think that it was my fault and I wasn’t interpreting the text right, but I wasn’t crazy after all. I understood that Meursault wasn’t your everyday character and I couldn’t quite understand why he was this way.

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As Meursault perceives life contains no meaning, he is a hollow man who can not see the reality of life. He is much ignorant and lives in the present. “whole landscape shimmer with heat, it was inhumane and oppressive”(Camus 15).The sun represents the intimidating power of the natural worlds over human action. The sun is not repeated once, but many times during the funeral, which distracts Meursault’s attention and prevails the emotions, Meursault is unable to deal with himself. The sun is also the driving force, which makes Meursault murder the Arab man at the beach.

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The author uses color imagery to describe the situations Meursault is in, the author also uses color imagery to describe how Meursault is feeling and the places he is in. He uses distinct colors to describe things when Meursault is happy and mad. Color is used by Albert Camus to imitate Meursault's thought process and his sentiments. Meursault observes color when he is immersed in the physical world. “I went in.

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(59) After long passages describing the painful violence of the sun, Camus’s transition into the murder is shockingly abrupt, provoking a sense of bewilderment at the unexpected randomness of the murder, conveying effectively the irrationality of Meursault’s murder of the man. However, during the trial, when Meursault reveals that he murdered the Arab only because of the sun, refusing to allow others impose their logical but false interpretations upon his life, “people laughed” (103) and even his own “lawyer threw up his hand” (103) as they are unable comprehend and accept such an irrational motivation. To protect themselves from this harsh reality of the universe, they can only fabricate and impose their own logical explanation for Meursault’s behavior. The prosecutor, for instance, is convinced Meursault murdered the man in cold blood, certain in the narrative he has constructed out of events completely unrelated to the murder, from Meursault’s “ignorance when asked Maman’s age” (99) to his association with a man of “doubtful morality” (99). In both cases, Meursault’s indifference for societal standards of morality has painted him as a man immoral and cold-hearted enough to premeditate the murder.

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Daniel Choi Ms.Young/ Dr.Hill Brit Lit 2/ Worldviews 4 Dec. 12, 2014 A+ Test Would you believe that you can still get an A+ on your test even if your test was blank? In the world of existentialism, it is possible for someone to leave his or her answers blank and still get an A+ on a test. It is possible because in the world of existentialism there is no such thing as rational meaning or order, so whatever you put on the test you would get A+ no matter what. The word existentialism means that there is no “higher” meaning to the universe or even man’s own existence(Howard). Human lives are not invested with purpose.

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As the French, absurdist philosopher Albert Camus once said, “Being different is not a bad thing. It means you are brave enough to be yourself.” That summed up with our topic, which is absurdity through human existence, a human being should tolerate the absurd condition of human existence. Albert Camus introduces Meursault the protagonist and narrator of the book The Stranger, who is a stranger through society eyes and the title point out his personality in the world of absurdity. Meursault is indifferent and alienates young man to others.

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In his novel The Stranger, Albert Camus creates an emotionally incapable, narcissistic, and, at times, sociopathic character named Meursault to explore and expose his philosophies of Existentialism and Absurdism. Throughout the story Meursault follows a philosophical arc that, while somewhat extreme - from unemotional and passive to detached and reckless to self-reflective - both criticizes the dependent nature of human existence and shows the journey through the absurd that is our world. In the onset of The Stranger, following his mother’s death, Meursault acts with close to utter indifference and detachment. While the rest of “maman’s”(9) loved ones express their overwhelming grief, Meursault remains unphased and, at times, annoyed at their

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