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Camuss idea about absurdity

ABSTRACT
This dissertation paper mainly focus on the concept of the absurd in novel The Outsider
and The Plague by Albert Camus. The Outsider is mostly based on the Camuss philosophical
essay The Myth of Sisyphus. In both works Camus pursues the problem of the absurd as the most
fundamental question that could arise in human mind. His development of the philosophy on the
Absurd becomes evident as he leaves Meursault and concentrates on Rieux. This thesis also
traces the links between Camuss own life and the ideas and also these two works contain and
pays particular attention to his philosophical outlook. The discussion of the morality of the
Absurd directs this study towards some metaphysical issues including the relationship between
God and human beings. Camus ultimately arrives at an aesthetic theory in which he equates
beauty with the common dignity of mankind.

Introduction

Absurde and Absurd had originally been used in both the French and English languages
respectively in the following two senses: It was relatively rarely used in a musical context to
mean inharmonious, jarring, or out of tune. More commonly it was used in the sense of being
out of harmony with reason or propriety; incongruous, unreasonable, illogical. The absurd is a
disproportion or conflict between our expectations or ideals and reality. In particular it is the
confrontation between our longing or nostalgia for order, meaning, and clarity on the one hand
with the chaos, confusion, and irrationality of the world on the other hand; between the human
longing for happiness and the evil in the world. The absurd is not in man alone nor in the world
alone, but only in the juxtaposition of the two: The world in itself is not reasonable, that is all
that can be said. But what is absurd is the confrontation of this irrational and the wild longing for
clarity whose call echoes in the human heart.(The Myth of Sisyphus)

Camus shows approach before defining absurdity. His approach distinguishes between the
feeling of absurdity and the notion of absurdity. In reality, there is no fundamental difference
between the two. If there is one, we must look for it on the level of awareness. In the first case,
one's sensitivity perceives a widespread malaise facing the world. In the second case, one's
reason drives one to recognize the absurdity of the world. Man is not only intelligence, he is also
sensitivity. First, sensitivity is aroused by the world. But it experiences a state of contradiction
between itself and the world. It has the impression that the world is absurd. "The feeling of
absurdity can strike any man at any street corner. Life is generally lulled to sleep by daily habits
and chores : but then, one day some apparently trivial fact wakes up one's consciousness from

the lethargy of habit. It can be a trip, a landscape, a person,or any kind of occurrence.These
events can suddenly shake the lives of even those people whose consciousness seems the most
asleep. They might be humble, or even ridiculous, beginnings, but their results can be immense :
they can start a new vision of the world.

Absurdity plays the role of Camus's initial metaphysical position. . What is this absurdity? It is
the state of contradiction that exists between man and the world: there is a disproportion, a
divorce between the two that constitutes a sort of "sin," but without God. "Absurdity, which is
the metaphysical state of conscientious man, does not lead to God. Absurd is the vision and
sensibility that has come to preoccupy the modern mind. Camus defines the absurd as a
confrontation between rational human beings and an indifferent universe.

Camus is deservedly more famous for his novels where many of his philosophical ideas are
worked out in a more subtle and more engaging manner than in his essays. He wrote The
Stranger (also translated as The Outsider) around the same time as The Myth of Sisyphus, and the
two books in many ways parallel one another. The Myth of Sisyphus can be read as an attempt to
clarify and to make explicit the worldview expressed in The Stranger, and The Stranger can be
read as an example of the absurd hero and the absurd fiction described in The Myth of Sisyphus..
In The Stranger, Camus suggests that death makes life absurd. This view has been around since
ancient times. The character of Sisyphus makes it painfully clear that an eternity of futility is
more absurd than a mere lifetime of futility. Sisyphus and Ecclesiastes both suggest the absurdity
that our lives amount to nothing.

This project explores the novels, essays, and journals of Albert Camus. Camus' concern with the
Absurd in the world and man's reactions to it is discussed in each of these chapters. The chapter
on The Myth of Sisyphus (1942) discusses Camus' thorough account of the philosophy of the
Absurd. The following two chapters deal with the major themes of the novels The Stranger
(1942) and The Plague (1947). In Camus' novels, all of his characters are an extension of him
and his views and they do not live independently of one another. Camus develops his views of
the Absurd through his characters as they encounter the Absurd and he uses literary techniques
such as a highly dramatic style, symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing, to demonstrate the
Absurdity within the world. Camus' use of literary techniques enhances specific aspects of his
philosophy. In the novels, the literary techniques enhance the Absurd ideas found in the world
and the Absurd behaviors of characters; they provide a mental view of the Absurd for man. They
demonstrate the human desire for meaning in life and they reveal the characters' motivations to
face the Absurd. The last chapter discusses Camus' personal account, in his journals, of his
discovery and reaction to the Absurd of the world. The unifying subject of this project is the
recognition and demonstration of Camus' continuous struggle and explanation of his philosophy
of the Absurd throughout his published works.

Indeed, the concept of absurdity was one of Camuss most identifiable philosophical
contributions, earning him considerable praise after the publication of TheStranger and The
Myth of Sisyphus. The aim of this chapter is to describe Camuss concept of absurdity and to
establish the significance of this concept for Camuss development of values in the meditative
ascent. For Camus, the absurd was indicative of a specific awareness of the human plight, and
this awareness would guide his philosophical and fictional writing for the rest of his life. The

initial focus of this chapter is the conceptual discussion of the absurd in The Myth of Sisyphus,
the philosophical essay in which Camus established the concept of absurdity. Then, the
discussion turns to the symbolic or aesthetic representation of the absurd in Camuss fiction.Both
the Sisyphus myth and The Stranger provide vivid examples of the individual facing theabsurd,
and these individual representations are key components in the development of an
absurdconsciousness.

The Myth of Sisyphus


Albert Camus's Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical writing based on a Greek Myth of Sisyphus.
In the essay, Camus developed the notion of the absurd to serve as the existential condition of
man. This notion was recognized by existentialist writers whom Camus admired but he thought
the absurd was a broader principle that discusses with existential dilemmas.
Before writing about the concept of the absurd, Camus has described how Sisyphus was a
highwayman to rub people passing by the highway. But Homer says that he was a prudent. Even
there are two causes about his punishment. One myth says that Sisyphus revealed the secret
abduction of Aegina by Zeus so that in anger Zeus punished him to the underworld where he had
to roll up the rock from bottom to the top of the hill. Another Myth says that Sisyphus ordered
his wife to throw his dead body in a public place but not to bury it. After death he was awaken in
the hell, he got angry with his wife and decided to go back to the earth to punish his wife. After
many requests, Pluto gave chance to go to earth and come to hell as soon as possible. Sisyphus
was enchanted by the shining beauty of the earth so he forget everything. Even though Pluto sent
many messengers before sending Mercury who seized him on his throat and brought him back to
hell. In anger, Pluto gave Sisyphus the meaningless punishment of rolling up the rock from the
bottom to the top of the hill.
Camus identifies Sisyphus as the archetypal absurd hero, both for his behavior on earth and for
his punishment in the underworld. He displays scorn for the gods, a hatred of death, and a
passion for life. His punishment is to endure an eternity of hopeless struggle. We are not told
how Sisyphus endures his punishment in the underworld that much is left to our imagination.
What fascinates Camus is Sisyphus's state of mind in that moment after the rock rolls away from

him at the top of the mountain. As he heads down the mountain and briefly free from his labor
then he is conscious and aware of the absurdity of his fate. His fate can only be considered tragic
because he understands it and has no hope for reprieve. At the same time, the lucidity he
achieves with this understanding also places him above his fate.
Camus suggests that Sisyphus might even approach his task with joy. The moments of sorrow or
melancholy come when he looks back at the world he's left behind, or when he hopes or wishes
for happiness. When Sisyphus accepts his fate, however, the sorrow and melancholy of it vanish.
Camus suggests that acknowledging "crushing truths" like the eternity and futility of his fate is
enough to render them less crushing. He refers to Oedipus, who, having suffered so much, is able
to "conclude that all is well."
Camus has argued that the absurd hero sees life as a constant struggle, without hope. Any attempt
to deny or avoid the struggle and the hopelessness that define our lives is an attempt to escape
from this absurd contradiction. Camus's single requirement for the absurd man is that he live
with full awareness of the absurdity of his position. While Sisyphus is pushing his rock up the
mountain, there is nothing for him but toil and struggle. But in those moments where Sisyphus
descends the mountain free from his burden, he is aware. He knows that he will struggle forever
and he knows that this struggle will get him nowhere. This awareness is precisely the same
awareness that an absurd man has in this life. So long as Sisyphus is aware, his fate is no
different and no worse than our lot in life.
We react to Sisyphus's fate with horror because we see its futility and hopelessness. Of course,
the central argument of this essay is that life itself is a futile struggle devoid of hope. However,
Camus also suggests that this fate is only horrible if we continue to hope, if we think that there is

something more that is worth aiming for. Our fate only seems horrible when we place it in
contrast with something that would seem preferable. If we accept that there is no preferable
alternative, then we can accept our fate without horror. Only then, Camus suggests, can we fully
appreciate life, because we are accepting it without reservations. Therefore, Sisyphus is above
his fate precisely because he has accepted it. His punishment is only horrible if he can hope or
dream for something better. If he does not hope, the gods have nothing to punish him with.
To elucidate this concept of the absurd, it is necessary to point out that absurdity itself is a
characteristic of neither the human being nor the world solely, but of their interaction.
Establishing the concept of absurdity as a first principle, Camus wrote, I said that the world is
absurd, but I was too hasty. This world in itself is not reasonable, that is all that can be said. But
what is absurd is the confrontation of this irrational [world] and the wild longing for clarity
whose call echoes in the human heart. The absurd depends as much on man as on the world. For
the moment it is all that links them together. It binds them one to the other as only hatred can
weld two creatures together. This is all I can discern clearly in this measureless universe where
my adventures take place.
Myth of Sisyphus is presented as a meditation on the theme of suicide. "There is but one truly
serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." Camus has brought the concept of absurdity
which is the essence of human existence. The philosophy of absurdity was developed as a branch
of existentialist philosophy which considers life as meaningless useless and fruitless nihilistic
existence. Existentialism suggests that the problematic life has only the solution which is suicide.
But Albert Camus proposes the new concept of absurdism and rejected that suicide is not the
solution but the sin so it is not the solution of problematic life. He suggests that absurd life

should be taken as a challenge and it should be continued. So absurd philosophy avoids that
suicide is not the theme of life and to interpret that idea he has taken the myth of Sisyphus as an
allegory.
At the very first of this essay, Camus begins with the question of whether or not life is worth
living. He believes that except this all other questions about life are secondary. To clear about
this, Camus decides to explore another question what is the meaning of life? Camus proposes
an option before discussing the meaning of life. He guesses that life has no meaning and then
discusses why a man would consider suicide. A man who commit suicide recognizes the
absence of any profound reason for living, the insane character of that daily agitation, and the
useless of suffering. Here he proposes the option of suicide and that is the only reason to discuss
his idea of the absurd. He also gives man an immediate solution to the absurd and that is suicide
because he realizes how bleak and grim the absurd is. Once he proposes suicide an option but he
prepares to prove that it is unacceptable in the absurd world and suicide becomes an acceptance
instead of a denial of the absurdity.

When a man tries to understand the world then he find the clarity or meaning in it and he reduces
the concept of the universe into thoughts he can comprehend. These thoughts such as "I know
this to be true," "I understand this," and "I can feel ... I can touch this" are really less clear than
man realizes. Camus says they are full of contradictions and this causes man to realize that he is
absolutely aware and certain of nothing. In the midst of the Absurd, he finds no truth. Camus
notices that man becomes a stranger to himself and then they begins to recognize that life is a
futile cycle of knowing nothing. Camus insists that the cycle of Absurdity is that man starts with
knowledge and assurance but finishes with hypotheses and a lack of coherence.

When man is faced with the Absurd then he re-evaluates all that he knows to be true. His beliefs,
morals, and even his existence become questionable to him. Camus says that at first man wants
to be able to distinguish between what is true and what is false in the world. Camus asserts that
man will find a world of contradictions and paradoxes in his search. But he will continue and
persevere to find truths in life because "the minds deepest desire, even in its most elaborate
operations, parallels man's unconscious feeling in the face of his universe.

Once man accepts the Absurd, Camus proposes what he should and should not do. In the middle
of the essays Camus explains that he believes that "life will be lived all the better if it has no
meaning". To the man who is determining whether life has meaning or not, and thereby deciding
to commit suicide or not, Camus says that man should forget suicide because Camus believes life
is more fulfilling without any meaning or significance. Camus decides that suicide is an
unacceptable response to the Absurd. As an alternative to suicide, Camus proposes another
option that is revolt. He insists that consciousness and revolt are what man should consider. Man
should live to keep battling with Absurd. The absurd is his extreme tension for he knows that in
that consciousness and in that day to day revolt he gives proof of his truth which is defiance.
Camus understands that in man's journey to revolt against the Absurd, he learns many things
about the human condition. The Absurd teaches man to have an indifference to the future. The
Absurd teaches that all experiences are unimportant and only a great amount of experiences can
give man wisdom. Man learns that beyond the world lies "collapse and nothingness". Camus
explains that for a man to live in the Absurd is for him to live in harmony without a future and

without weaknesses in a world without a god. Man learns always to think clearly and never
sustain any hope.

Much of Camuss writing in The Myth of Sisyphus is dedicated to establishing a conscious


recognition of the absurd but consciousness of the absurd was merely a beginning. The purpose
of The Myth of Sisyphus was to determine whether suicide is a logical reaction to this absurdist
consciousness. Camus concluded that suicide is an illogical reaction for the man who realizes his
absurd fate. Living an experience, a particular fate, is accepting it fully. Now, no one will live
this fate knowing it to be absurd, unless he does everything to keep before him that absurd
brought to light by that consciousness. Negating one of the terms of the opposition on which he
lives amounts to escaping it. The absurdity of life is the inevitability of death; therefore, suicide
amounts to the complete acceptance of the absurd outcome, death. The absurd man can recognize
the factual existence of death through lucidity, but he cannot accept the outcome. In its way,
suicide settles the absurd. It engulfs the absurd in the same death. But I know that in order to
keep alive, the absurd cannot be settled. It escapes suicide to the extent that it is simultaneously
awareness and rejection of death.

Thus, Camus recognized resistance or revolt as the logical outcome of absurdist reasoning. That
revolt is the certainty of a crushing fate, without the resignation that ought to accompany it. In
summary, the existence of the absurd allows three possibilities for the human being. One can
reject the existence of the absurd through a lapse in lucidity or through a leap in reason. Such a
leap is an escape in which the struggle is eluded by imposing some meaning upon reality
that originates outside of the realm of lived experience. Camus insisted that lucidity must inform

man of the limits of reason so that he may avoid leaps and retain his absurdist consciousness.
Second, one may recognize the existence of the absurd and fully accept it. Suicide falls under
this category and it has already been mentioned that this is an illogical reaction to the absurd. It
is indeed paradoxical to think of a situation that is both acceptable and absurd at the same time.
Therefore, the very recognition of the absurd implies that one rejects ones fatealthough one is
aware of it. This relates to the final possibility of resistance. Resistance is the logical reaction to
an absurd situation and for Camus this is the essence of life. He defined the individual
experience as one of permanent revolution. Life itself is a permanent revolution against death
and the appreciation of life as a struggle is a defining attribute of absurdist consciousness.

Camus believes that man recognizes the Absurd when he becomes conscious of his meaningless
existence in the world and of the unimportance of his daily actions. Once a man becomes tired of
all the mental and physical routines in his life then he begins to notice the Absurdities in his
existence. Man also recognizes the Absurd when he feels that the world becomes strange and
inhuman. He cannot find any beauty in nature and he sees the world as strange and incoherent.
Camus acknowledges that the next progressive step that man takes in his quest for the meaning
of life is the acceptance of the Absurd. Camus states that in this unintelligible and limited
universe, man's fate henceforth assumes its meaning and the feeling of the Absurd becomes clear
and definite. Man realizes that he is linked to the world only through the Absurd and always
will be linked because of his irrational and wild longing for clarity that echoes in the human
heart. Camus states that when man is aware of the Absurd then it becomes a passion. He is
forever trying to reconcile the Absurdity of the confrontation of the human nostalgia with the
unreasonable silence of the world. Camus saw the absurd as one of three essential components

that constitute the drama of existence. Absurdity is born out of the confrontation between the
two other components: the human nostalgia for unity or clarity and the unreasonable silence
of the world.Therefore, the concept of the absurd depends upon the qualification of the two
other components. If humans did not possess a nostalgia for unity, the so-called unreasonable
silence of the world would not seem to be absurd. Likewise, if the events of the world did
represent some reasonable unity of purpose, the nostalgic human being would not find existence
to be absurd. Camus reinforced the existence of the absurd by showing that the human nostalgia
for unity and clarity is real and by arguing that the unreasonable world will never satisfy this
nostalgia.

Camus identified reason as the force that drives the human nostalgia for understanding. This
longing for clarity known as reason and that is inevitably directed towards the world in which
one lives in an attempt to find some meaning or purpose. Camus argued that the rational pursuit
of understanding would always take place on a human scale: Understanding the world for a man
is reducing it to the human, stamping it with his seal. Reason demands, not only the existence of
a unified meaning of reality but also that this unified meaning be comprehensible in human
terms. Could there be a unified purpose of events or a deeper meaning of existence? Camuss
argument was not ontological in this respect but epistemological: I dont know whether this
world has any meaning that transcends it. But I know that I do not know that meaning and that it
is impossible for me just now to know it. Rejecting any attempt to attribute meaning to the
world from outside the realm of human experience, Camuss methodical doubt led him to two
certainties appetite for the absolute and for unity and the impossibility of reducing this world to a
rational and reasonable principle. Camus did not presume that reason is infallible, and actually,

the limited nature of human reason contributes to the existence of the absurd. Neither did he
presume that the world is devoid of transcendent meaning but that human beings cannot
understand such a notion and therefore it cannot mitigate the uncertainty that precipitates the
existence of the absurd in the present sense. The epistemological limit of human reason that
Camus recognizes is an essential component of the absurd. The ability to recognize these limits
based on practical experience is called lucidity. Absurdist consciousness requires reason as well
as lucidity. Camus wrote, The absurd is lucid reasoning noticing its limits.

The faculty of lucidity grounds man in his own experience preventing him from abandoning that
experience in the name of false understanding. If there is an absurd, it is in mans universe. The
moment the notion transforms itself into eternitys springboard, it ceases to be linked to human
lucidity. Reason tempts, and lucidity restrains. Only the lucid individual will understand the
limits of reason and recognize the divorce between the desire to understand and the inability to
understand as a fundamental aspect of the absurd. From Camuss description, reason is the
defining quality that sets man apart from the world, which is utterly irrational. This ridiculous
reason is what sets me in opposition to all creation.

The Myth of Sisyphus ends with Camus' interpretation of the Greek myth of Sisyphus. Camus
demonstrates how Sisyphus parallels modern man in his struggle with the Absurd. Camus
describes Sisyphus as one who "teaches the higher fidelity of starting from the bottom and
working to the top without a reward that negates the gods and raises rocks" Sisyphus is bound to
roll a rock up a hill that inevitably returns to the ground. This monotonous cycle is a parallel to
man's struggle for greatness during his life. Like Sisyphus, man makes his own destiny or fate

from day to day, that climb up the hill as he pushes his rock. Man and Sisyphus are content as
they strive to reach the top, but toward the end of the journey both realize that they are not going
to reach their goals. This persistent quest for the meaning in life which always ends without a
reward causes man to feel incomplete and unfulfilled. Camus writes that "the workman of today
works every day in his life at the same tasks and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at
the rare moments when it becomes conscious".
Camus concludes his essay by arguing that happiness and absurd awareness are intimately
connected. We can only be truly happy, he suggests, when we accept our life and our fate as
entirely our ownas the only thing we have and as the only thing we will ever be. The final
sentence reads: "One must imagine Sisyphus happy." But why must we imagine Sisyphus happy?
Camus's wording suggests that we have no choice in the matter. But is there an alternative?
Sisyphus is the absurd hero, the man who loved life so much that he has been condemned to an
eternity of futile and hopeless labor. And yet he is above that fate precisely because he is aware
of it. If Sisyphus is not happy in this awareness, then absurd awareness does not bring happiness.
It would then follow that happiness is only possible if we evade absurd awareness, if we leap into
hope or faith. If the leap into hope or faith represents an attempt to escape from the reality of our
fate, and if happiness is only possible through such a leap, then happiness would essentially be
an escape. Life itself would be inherently unhappy and happiness would be a sham born out of
denial. We must imagine Sisyphus happy if we want to believe in genuine happiness. Though
this is the last sentence of the essay, we might see it as the initial premise that starts Camus's
reasoning. Because Camus essentially believes in the idea that individual human experience is
the only thing that is real, if he wants to show that happiness is real he must show that individual
humans can truly be happy based on their experiences, not on their denial of experience. If

happiness is real, we must be able to find happiness without relying on hope, faith, or anything
else that goes beyond immediate experience. The Myth of Sisyphus is essentially an elaborate
attempt to show that this is possible, and it concludes with its starting premise: if genuine
happiness is possible, then Sisyphus must be happy.

The Outsider or the Stranger

The Absurd emphasizes man's freedom, a freedom where no good or bad choices can be made.
Man's desires conflict with the indifference of the universe. When writing of the Absurd, Camus
deals with chance, death, the truth in nature, the beauty in nature, the desire to revolt, and the
unintelligibility of reality. Everyone of these characteristics is apparent in The stranger and he
published The stranger before publishing The Myth of Sisyphus in order to present to the public
the feeling of the Absurd prior to the facts and explanation of the philosophy as presented in The
Myth. During his lifetime, Camus perfected the philosophy of the Absurd, although he resented
the labeling of it as a philosophy.

The Stranger tells the story of Meursault, who lives for the sensual pleasures of the present
moment, free of any system of values. Rather than behave in accordance with social norms,
Meursault tries to live as honestly as he can, doing what he wants to do and befriending those
whom he likes. He also refuses to simulate feelings that he does not possess, and thus he does not
force himself to cry at his mother's funeral or to mourn her death too deeply. A series of events
leads to the climactic moment when Meursault haphazardly murders an Arab on the beach. The
subsequent trial condemns him not so much for the murder as for his lack of commitment to the
unspoken rules of society. Most of the philosophical content of the novel comes near the end,
where Meursault sits in his cell awaiting his execution, and particularly in a heated exchange
between Meursault and the prison chaplain who tries to convert him to Christianity. Meursault
rejects the chaplain's entreaties, telling him that he has no interest in God or anything

otherworldly. He wants to live with the certainties of this life, even if his only certainty is the
death that awaits him.

From the beginning of the novel, the protagonist uses sporadic and simplistic dialogue, and he
does not reflect on the higher meanings of life. No transcendence occurs; no goals are set or
discussed; the protagonist does not search his soul or contemplate the religious possibilities of
the universe; in other words, Camus presents man with a day by day situation that he can
understand without presenting any emotions, sentiments, or reflections in his protagonist to
which man can relate. Camus abruptly presents the world of the Absurd, and he intends for man
to come to his own conclusion about the existence of the Absurd by the end of the novel.

The stranger depicts a young French Algerian in a populated town. At the beginning of the novel,
Meursault, the young man, experiences the death of his mother. He attends the funeral and meets
Perez who is his mother's best friend in the elderly home. Meursault lives alone in a high-rise,
but daily encounters his strange neighbors, Salamano and Raymond. Over several hot summer
days, Meursault is befriended by Raymond, a neighborhood pimp, who utilizes Meursault to
escape the enmity of the Arab brothers of an Arab prostitute he recently "beat-up." Unknowingly,
Meursault becomes involved in a heated battle between Raymond and the Arabs. While visiting
some of Raymond's friends at their beach house, Meursault is attacked by the hostile Arabs.
Under the influence of the sizzling hot sun, Meursault returns to the site of the ambush and is
mesmerized into shooting the Arab brother, not one, but five times. Meursault claims that the
sun's glint off of the Arab's knife and the pounding pressure of the sweltering sun causes him to
fire the five shots. Meursault undergoes imprisonment after a trial in which Camus parodies the

prosecutor. During the trial Meursault's other friends testify for him: Celeste, the owner of
Meursault's favorite cafe; Marie, Meursault's "girlfriend" of a few weeks; the doorkeeper from
the elderly home; Raymond; Salamano; Perez; and Masson, the beach house owner. The novel
concludes one year after Meursault's imprisonment, where Meursault still awaits his execution decapitation in the public square; nevertheless, Meursault finally realizes what is important to
him right before his death: happiness, the approach of death, and the realization that nothing
exists, not even God, other than the simple pleasures in nature.

In The stranger, Camus uses a highly dramatic style. The specific literary techniques that he uses
throughout the novel relay very precise meanings. He incorporates symbolism, irony, and
foreshadowing to expound on the Absurd. Camus chooses these techniques in order to enhance
the Absurd ideas and behaviors, to provide man a mental image of the Absurd, to demonstrate
how man tries to find meaning in life against the Absurd, and to demonstrate the protagonist's
motivation to face the Absurd.

The stranger is not a diary, but Meursault's use of past tense insinuates that he is reflecting back
in his life. The novel appears to be a retrospective account at times; for example, Meursault
states that "1 even had an impression that the dead body in their midst meant nothing at all to
them. But now 1 suspect that 1 was mistaken about this" (King 59). By having Meursault reflect
on his past, Camus demonstrates how the Absurd in life is always present. Meursault realizes the
Absurdities in his past and present.

Meursault is an absurd hero both on a figurative and on a literal level. On a figurative level,
Meursault, condemned to death and awaiting execution, is a metaphor for the human condition.
On a literal level, Meursault perfectly exemplifies the absurd characteristics of revolt, freedom,
and passion outlined by Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus. Meursault refuses to accord himself
with custom, and asserts his freedom by doing what strikes him as appropriate at any given
moment. This includes smoking and showing indifference at the vigil for his dead mother, going
to the beach and sleeping with a woman the day after his mother's funeral, and forging a letter for
his friend Raymond, who is a thug and a pimp. This exercise of freedom also represents a revolt
against any attempt to place restrictions on his life. His passion is evident in his enthusiastic
pursuit of new pleasures and new experiences: he loves being alive.
Characteristically, as an absurd man, Meursault enjoys what is connected with the sensual and
tangible. He experiences everything through his five senses; that is why his daily life is also
devoid of any abstract ideas. It is narrated that he routinely goes to work, takes a nap in the
afternoons, has his lunch at the same restaurant and when he does not work, spends the whole
afternoon on his balcony, smoking, eating and observing the passers-by. As an outsider, he does
not have much interaction with others and he is a detached observer. Here is a remarkable
example of howMeursault impartially observes others: It was a beautiful afternoon. And yet the
pavements were grimy and the few people that were about were all in a hurryI thought they
must be heading for the cinemas in the town centreAfter that the street gradually became
desertedthe sky clouded over and I thought we were going to have a summer storm. It
gradually cleared again though. But the passing clouds had left a sort of threat of rain hanging
over the street which made it more gloomy. I watched the sky for a long timeAt five oclock
there was a lot of noiseas some trams arrivedThe day advanced a bit morePeople were

gradually returning from their walksThe street lamps suddenly came on just then and they
made the first few stars that were appearing in the night sky lookquite pale (25-28).

Meursaults dispassionate response divulges his absurd outlook on life. For him, nothing matters
as all the ways of life are the same. As Sprintzen says, in Meursaults life no hierarchies of
value is recognized (26). This indifferent attitude of Meursault can again be observed when
Marie asks him whether he loves her or not. His response is narrated in the following way: I
told her it didnt mean anything but that I didnt think so (38). Furthermore, upon Maries
marriage proposal he replies: I explained to her that it really didnt matter and that if she wanted
to, we could get marriedShe then remarked that marriage was a serious matter. I said No.
She just wanted to know if Id have accepted the same proposal if it had come from another
woman with whom I had a similar relationship. I said Naturally. (44-45). It didnt mean
anything and it really didnt matter are the expressions of an absurd man.

Similarly, Meursault finds himself in a strange world the moment the sun which always was a
source of his enjoyment turned against him. In a way it forced him to pull the trigger. In a
rational world, however, ordinary man demands rational explanations for the events happening in
ones life. He believes in causal connections between events and he thinks that his actions are
purposive, that he does something because he has been motivated by a desire to do it, or because
he hopes thereby to achieve something else (Masters 30). Therefore, the absurd condition that
Meursault found himself does not make the murder justifiable. Ultimately, he is arrested; put into
prison, where his actions and choices are questioned. A profound breach between Meursault and

the ordinary man comes to light during Meursaults interrogation. Meursault is indifferent, calm
and direct in his answers; namely, he chooses not to disguise his true feelings and notions.
Meursault also maintains the kind of ironic detachment we would expect from an absurd hero.
He prefers observing events to getting directly involved; one memorable chapter describes
Meursault spending an entire day sitting on his balcony watching passers-by in the street. Even
when he is directly involved in events, he is unable to get too caught up in them. When his lover,
Marie, asks him to marry her, he tells her that he doesn't love her but that it makes no difference
to him if they get married or not. Even when he kills the Arab, there is a sense that he is not
really there, not really doing what he is doing. It seems almost as if he is observing himself
shooting the Arab rather than actually doing the shooting.
In his final outburst to the chaplain in prison, Meursault sums up a great deal of his absurd
worldview, forcefully asserting that nothing really matters, that we all live and we all die, and
what we do before we die is ultimately irrelevant. After the chaplain leaves, Meursault enjoys a
final, revelatory moment: "And I felt ready to live it all again too. As if that blind rage had
washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I
opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myselfso like a
brother, reallyI felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again." Free from hope,
Meursault recognizes himself in a universe without meaning and without hope. At the end of the
novel, he comes to a full acceptance of his absurd position in the universe and cannot but
conclude that he is happy.

According to Meursault, in an absurd world hope does not exist and he cannot delude himself by
hoping for the evasion of death. His denial of hope and acceptance of death can be interpreted as
his revolt, which is another characteristic that makes Meursault an alienated man. As pointed out
in The Myth Of Sisyphus, revolt entails living without hope and religious faith. For the absurd
man, The supernatural seems at best an unsubstantiated hope, at worst a vain delusion. In either
case it is distraction that threatens to rob us the weight, the beauty, the intensity of the present,
until death takes it from us forever (quot. in Sprintzen 20). Therefore, contrary to the
conventional man, who believes in God and the promise of an eternal life, Meursault as an
outsider rejects both abstractions. When the priest asks him how he imagines the other world, he
replies thus: One which would remind me of this life (113). For Meursault, it is inconceivable
that there can be another world better than this one; therefore, he is indifferent to any philosophy
of life promising him another life. However, the priest persistently tries to draw Meursault into
the realm of the believers and convince him of the existence of God.
Not only does Meursault exemplify many of the characteristics of an absurd hero. In writing The
Stranger, moreover, Camus attempts to exemplify what he defines in The Myth of Sisyphus as the
characteristics of the absurd artist. In The Stranger, Camus describes (and does not explain)
ordinary events without getting too caught up in their philosophical implications and without
trying to point to any universal themes. The first part of the novel, in particular, delights in
describing the many humdrum events and quirky characters that fill Meursault's everyday life.
We meet Salamano and his dog, caught in a moving love-hate relationship, and learn about the
joys of sunbathing at the beach. In all of these descriptions, we find a fascination and exuberant
joy at the myriad possible life experiences. Any universal themes we draw from the novel do not

arise from excessive sermonizing or over-heavy symbolism, but from a cohesive and coherent
worldview that is engaging and arresting.

Meursault's purpose is to represent the Absurd and how man deals with the Absurd in daily life.
Meursault rids himself of all hope; he faces the world at the end of his life with honesty and the
desire to "start life all over again" (154). Meursault confronts the "benign indifference of the
world" (Moseley 197). Meursault accepts the inevitability of death and he holds no hope for a
different outcome. He faces himself in prison and decides to be content and happy because he
knows that man cannot change the onset of death. In the novel, he states that "all alike would be
condemned to die one day" (152), and this is why he remains detached not only from other
people (including his girlfriend, Marie) but also from feelings and sentiments. Adele King claims
that Meursault "defends the life he has led, a life with no transcendent value" (47). He is just
narrating what happens exactly as it does without any commentary or sentiment. At times his
honesty is jolting since he is one to relate exactly without "smoothing over" tragic details. He
accepts his life and death and finds a peace with what will come.

Meursault represents the man against the universe, the Absurd universe. Camus uses these
examples to show that the universe is against man, but man can use nature as a source of
pleasure. Meursault is one to avoid speculation, subjectiveness, and abstraction. He feels truth
and appreciates it; however, beyond that he will not commit. For example, he loves Marie's
dresses and her laugh, but he will not consent to a higher notion of affection - love - because it is
too abstract and full of emptiness. He also will not admit to feeling grief at his mother's funeral;
grief also is an abstraction. Meursault is concerned with only the "present situation," and "he

uses his intelligence only in situations that he can find certainty" (King 50). Sartre reiterates that
feelings and sentiments are "merely the abstract unity and the meaning of discontinuous
impressions"

Camus purposefully creates situations that not only give man a mental framework of the Absurd,
but that also allow him to condemn Meursault; for example, Meursault states facts without
comment or analysis. He appears to be an outsider in the community, and he spends time noting
tiny, intricate details of nature, "sensory impressions," instead of dealing with his emotions. As
an example, while in jail and facing execution, Meursault recalls the objects and their exact
positions within his apartment instead of the value of his life and the important, meaningful
events of his life.

In The Myth of Sisyphus Camus insists that the fundamental traits of man are a desire for life
and truth; unfortunately, the universe places restrictions on these needs of Meursault, causing
him to conflict with nature. The universe's hostility manifests itself into the image of the sun in
order to anger Meursault. It is the sun and its heat that "sap" his energy and are responsible for
the murder of the Arab. The sun's blinding and unbearable presence confuses Meursault's senses.
The firing of the shots is his attempt to revolt and to rebel against the overt hostility of the
natural world.

The restriction of jail, which represents the universe's antagonism, gives Meursault a different
view of the world. Meursault's new view of the world becomes symbolic of man's attempt to deal

with the Absurd. Meursault learns to evaluate life without having any of the usual pleasures he
found in the natural world. He must learn to accept the Absurd.

Meursault is presented to man as a lesson, a lesson to face the absurd situations in life with a
perseverance to continue to find the beauty in nature and a perseverance to live day to day
without having the need of hope. Each day is a unit, each moment, each sunrise; therefore, as
each sentence in Camus' novel has an independent beginning and end with no transition to the
next, it represents an example for man's life. Each moment carries its worth in itself. Man must
not search for a transcendent meaning; he must be content to live each day. Like Meursault, man
must reach "a tranquil homeland where death itself is a happy silence"

Meursault, for whom only the earthly existence has worth, continues to declare: I didnt have
much time left. I didnt want to waste it on God (114). This declaration indicates that Meursault
chooses to live only in this world and his choice is the embodiment of revolt, which urges man
not to live best but to live most (Camus 45). As Meursault knows that he has limited time he
wants to use up everything that is given (Camus 44) and enjoy remembering the time he spent
on earth for a little longer. Therefore, when the priest continues to talk relentlessly about God,
Meursault grabs him by the collar and exclaims: He seemed so certain of everything, didnt he?
And yet no one of his certainties was worth one hair of a womans head. He

couldnt even be

sure he was alive because he was living like a dead man. I might seem to be empty-handed. But I
was sure of myself, sure of everything, surer than he was, sure of my life and sure of the death
that was coming to me. Yes, that was all I had. But at least it was a truth which I had hold of just
as it had hold of me (115).

Meursaults atheism shocks the magistrate because he believes that the universe is controlled by
God and life is meaningful only through Gods existence. On the other hand, for Meursault, life
is absurd and there is not any supernatural existence that can help him. He, in a way, depicts a
revolt against the concept of deity and asserts that man can only himself make his life
meaningful and must himself be fully responsible for his destiny. Therefore, he continues to live
the life of indifference and is still concerned with his present existence. In prison, he slowly
learns to live in a world that is devoid of the sea, the sun, the sand and Marie. He gives himself
the task of enumerating the objects that were in his room, reads the story of a Czechoslovakian
man, sleeps, eats and watches the changes of light and darkness. They are all means to make his
restricted life meaningful. In this way, he succeeds in adapting himself to his new life and
asserting his existence. He realizes that if a man lived for only a day, the memories he acquired
would be enough to enable him to live a hundred years in prison without being bored and he
comes to the resolution that there are others unhappier than he is and you ended up getting used
to everything (75). His preoccupation with the physical world prevents him from having any
feelings of guilt about what he has done. Even on the trial day, he behaves as if he were an
innocent man and as if he were one of the witnesses. He reveals his emotions thus: In fact, in a
way it would be interesting to watch a trial. Id never had the chance to see one before.

In The Stranger, Camus presents the absurd in the symbol of a death sentence. In his rejection of
suicide as a viable solution to absurdity, Camus wrote, The contrary of suicide, in fact, is the
man condemned to death. This statement was meant to illustrate the radically different attitude
in these two subjects. The man intending to commit suicide rushes toward death while he is still

able to live; the man condemned to death experiences an extreme passion to live although death
is rushing towards him. In the latter manner, the hero in Camuss novel The Stranger serves as a
magnification of the absurd individual. Meursault, the narrator, is condemned to death for the
crime of killing an Arab. After receiving this sentence, his every impulse is directed towards
escaping. In other words, his death sentence reinvigorates his instinct to live. What really
counted was the possibility of escape, a leap to freedom, out of the implacable ritual, a wild run
for it that would give whatever chance for hope there was.126 Ironically, the closer Meursault
gets to his death, the stronger his desire to live.

However, Meursaults resistance to death is not absolute, and this is an essential feature of his
significance. Camus saw to it that Meursault is sentenced by the jury for reasons other than his
actual crime. He is primarily judged by objective assessments of his character such as his
adulterous affair and the fact that he did not express emotion on the day of his mothers funeral.
Mersault is condemned to death because he appears to be cold-hearted and unremorseful. In fact,
he was merely sleepy on the day of his mothers funeral, and that was the reason for his apparent
indifference. When his attorney beseeches him to lie about his actual feelings on that day, he
refuses. Meursault loves life, but he refuses to lie in order to save his own life. As Camus stated
in the preface, the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game.
Meursault is a rebel, embroiled in the struggle just as all men are, but Meursaults struggle
represents so much more than the resistance to death. Meursaults struggle is against the world in
all of its absurd manifestations. He fights against inauthenticity, judgment, and social conformity
showing that the absurdity of mans condition is quite prolific and not limited to the inevitability
of death.

As Camus represented in his novel, Meursaults life is divided into two parts: Meursault in
society and Meursault in prison. It is obvious that Meursault of the story, in the first book, before
being jailed for the act of murder, is driven by his own feelings, and is indifferent to the
convention of society in a way that it is interpreted as a rebel against societys norms. In
Meursaults unfortunate case, the absurdity of his life leads him to a premature death. Camus did
not cease to grapple with the implications of death even after he had completed TheStranger.
Death, mans final destination, is the most identifiable manifestation of the absurd.

To sum up, The Outsider is a novel of development. Meursault reaches some realizations and
recognitions at the end of the novel that he was not aware of in the beginning. Meursault, in fact,
rebels against the conventions of society. In the first part, he is not aware of his rebellion. He just
lives his life, in a way he likes and enjoys. In the second part, especially in prison, he begins to
think about his life philosophically, and he shifts to being an absurd hero when he becomes
aware, like Sisyphus (Shobeiri: 2011, 101). His trial and his loneliness in the prison ask some
philosophical questions about the proper state of his existence in his mind. In this regard, Philip
Rheins explanations are notable: He rejects the rational definition of men and women that is
proffered by the legal system; he rejects suicide as an escape from lifes irrationality; he affirms
the value of an individual life; and finally, as a consequence of his failure to accept any
philosophic system that seeks to eradicate the finiteness of existence, he recognizes the absurdity
of life. (21)As concluding words, in a world where God does not exist and every man finally
dies, man should not be unhappy. Awareness of the absurd must bring us happiness. This
happiness is neither transcendent nor sensual, but is an affirmation of the dignity and value of

life. In a world where man is conscious and has no hope for another life, then he counts on
nothing except the present, the only given truth. That is why Meursault proclaims at the end, I
laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe. To feel it so like myself, indeed so
brotherly, made me realize that Id been happy, and that I was happy still (The Outsider, 120).
These sentences from Meursault are proof of his developing character. His attitude towards an
indifferent universe is brotherly, which is a sign of the spirituality within him. That is why
Sartre simply posited, The absurd man is a humanist; he knows only the good things of this
world (A Collection of Critical Essays, 116).Therefore, finally, Meursault embraces the world,
though he refused it earlier. Meursaults refusal, like that of Sisyphus, is not a renouncement. He
refuses the world that men have created, not the world of nature.

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