ipl-logo

Essay On Existentialism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

830 Words4 Pages

Albert Camus’ The Stranger embodies 1940s French Algeria as it depicts the result of existentialism within a French Christian society. Literature often highlights the values of a culture or society by using a character who is alienated because of creed. The protagonist, Meursault, is an existentialist judged as a pariah and detached from society due to his beliefs. Existentialists have no real meaning in their life and believe that they are free to make whatever decisions they want. Christians believe in God and that their life has a purpose which contrasts to existentialism. The disparity between Christianity and existentialism often leaves existentialists alienated from a Christian society such as Algiers, Algeria. Algiers’ moral values …show more content…

When Meursault returns from Marengo and his mother’s funeral it is the weekend. He dislikes Sundays because he has nothing to do which makes them boring. Consequently, he just observes people who “were in a hurry” from his balcony (21). At the end of the Sunday, it occurs to Meursault “that Maman was buried now, that [he] was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed” (24). He does not believe in God or go to church and is not really affected by his mother 's death which displays his separation from the people within the Christian society. After Meursault murders the Arab, a curious magistrate examines him about his reasoning. The magistrate tries to convert Meursault to Christianity by showing him a silver crucifix and telling him that God will forgive him if he repents. When the magistrate asks him if he believes in God, Meursault continually says that he does not. The magistrate then tells Meursault that he has “never seen a soul as hardened as [his]” (69). The magistrate cannot understand how Meursault does not believe that God suffered for his sins. This exchange demonstrates the difference between the values of society and

Show More
Related

Meursault Dialectical Journal

395 Words | 2 Pages

A loving elderly man who grew very close and fond of Meursault's mother at the nursing home. Thomas Perez and Madame Meursault's relationship was one of few sincere relationships that the novel illustrates and serves as an opposing view to Meursault's understanding of the world. The Chaplain- A priest who visits Meursault throughout the trial and demands that he take comfort in God.

Read More

The Stranger Rhetorical Analysis

731 Words | 3 Pages

Taylor Smith Mrs. Fowler IB Language Arts 17 May, 2016 The Stranger: The Epiphany The Stranger is a novel written by Albert Camus and was published in 1942. It follows the story of Meursault, an indifferent French Algerian, and his actions leading to his eventual death. Camus, a French philosopher, author, and journalist most notably renowned for his philosophy of absurdism, distributes a recurring theme of existentialism and absurdism throughout the novel, and heavily does so in passages that serve the most significance to the story.

Read More

How Is Meursault A Bad Person

998 Words | 4 Pages

Meursault attempted to alleviate his loneliness in prison by saying, "I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated and for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there would be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they would greet me with cries of hate." Meursault showcases one of his interesting ways of thinking about a situation in this scenario. Rather than fearing the execution, he thinks that the day it happens, he will feel less alone due to being surrounded by people. This shows how he cannot feel lonely in situations where almost anyone would.

Read More

Albert Camus The Stranger

1353 Words | 6 Pages

Those who don’t know their purpose may feel that their daily lives are ridiculous. Camus’ The Stranger, portrays an inexplicably nonsensical character, Meursault, who winds up in a unanticipated situation. Similar to real life struggles, the character perpetually repeats insignificant actions not accordant to any essence.

Read More

Meursault's Emotions In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

724 Words | 3 Pages

Meursault is not an emotional person. Meursault often seems not to react to major events that happen to him. For example when his mom dies, he says, “Really, nothing had changed”(24). There is an obvious emotional disconnect. Either he was not close to his mother or her death had little to no effect on him.

Read More

Diction In The Stranger

932 Words | 4 Pages

What if life contributed to no meaning and the only point which matters is the existence happening during the present? To make things worse, as humans live, they breath, but as they die a salvation is received to their soul, and their existence is over. The Stranger by Albert Camus illustrates that the human soul exists in the world physically, therefore the presence or absence does not contribute to any particular event in life. Through, this thought the novel introduces Meursault, who alienates himself from society. He lacks concern for social conventions and is deprived of the physical bounding from people around him.

Read More

Meursault: Racial, Political, And Economic Tension In France

1724 Words | 7 Pages

During Maman’s vigil, a lot of people who were there showed their sad feelings with desperate, teary-eyed and mourn but, Meursault whose mom was the deceased showed no emotions either before, during or after the funeral. For most of the time it is hard for people who lose their loved ones to let go of them which leads to them grieving for years but, for Meursault it is not like that for him. He goes to the beach a day after his mom’s burial and meets Marie who becomes his girlfriend in some hours and then he ends up having sex with her on the night of the day they meet. Meursault who didn’t believe in God lived in the society where everyone believed on it. When the magistrate asked that did he believe in God, he responded that he did not believe in God.

Read More

Religion In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

251 Words | 2 Pages

In The Stranger, the crucifix appears to represent Christianity, a religion that Monsieur Meursault refuses to believe in or accept. Additionally, it represents rational beliefs that the magistrate attempts to thrust upon Meursault. He wants Meursault to accept God so that his sin will be forgiven. However, Meursault rejects the notion that his life have any significance or rational explanation.

Read More

Manipulation In The Stranger

809 Words | 4 Pages

Albert Camus’ The Stranger takes place in a 1940s Algiers where the sun is always blaring red hot and the French think they’re superior to the Arabs. That, being narcissism, is just one of society’s many psychopathic tendencies another being manipulation. Society often uses manipulation to always prove it’s right in the face of the individual’s indifferent truth. The main character, Meursault, has a unique personality that raises questions about his mental being, however the real psychopath is society. Meursault is a young French Algerian who comes off as an emotionless person.

Read More

Persepolis Existentialism Essay

1744 Words | 7 Pages

In Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and the current college process that I am engulfed in, existentialism proves itself to be true. Existentialism is intimidating until an overarching lesson is learned through the choices and responsibilities, passions (or lack thereof), and the isolation of a person, such as Marjane, Meursault, or myself. On the surface, the three of us are extremely dissimilar, but we all experience relatively negative things that teach us more than we knew before. Marjane Satrapi is a real woman who grew up in Iran, Meursault is a character from North Africa, and I am a real teenage girl from a small seaside town. Nonetheless, when it comes to existentialism, the three of us stand as examples of the legitimacy of its philosophy.

Read More

Social Norms In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

1196 Words | 5 Pages

Existentialism is a philosophy that invites us to find purpose and meaning in life by thinking independently and acting deliberately, without overt influence from social norms. This philosophy manifests in Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger in the strange character of Meursault, who defies many major social norms throughout the novel. He places no faith in justice or authority figures. He does not pretend to grieve for his dead mother.

Read More

The Stranger, By Albert Camus

1155 Words | 5 Pages

This way of living and thinking is known as existentialism. Existentialism was an idea created during the 19th century by a multitude of authors. Later, Albert Camus was inspired by these authors and obviously choose to write The Stranger for the purpose of spreading existentialist thought. This literary work by Albert Camus is an existential work because Meursault is not moral nor immoral, instead, he is amoral and he shows a key topic in existentialism, meaningless of

Read More

The Stranger Character Analysis

1437 Words | 6 Pages

The Stranger by Albert Camus follows the daily life of Meursault, a French-Algerian that embodies Camus’ philosophical views of absurdum. Meursault’s life is a simple one; at first glance, he is like any other working, middle class man. However, through the first person narration, we gain insight into his unconventional thought process. He does not place value on anything, including, possessions, love and ambition. Nevertheless, he is content with his life.

Read More

The Importance Of Existence In The Stranger By Albert Camus

1491 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More

Existentialism And Absurdism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

1021 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More

More about Essay On Existentialism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

Related Topics

Open Document