In the first act of Albert Camus The Outsider Meursault strongly resists brevity or

change in any manner, believing it to be meaningless and, and rejects controlling time
to help him create meaning, as he strongly advocates for a deterministic, nihilist,
perspective upon his life. He is also fully acceptant of reality as it is and does not wish
to alter it. Primarily, his relationships to other people are merely defined by actions
taking place in the material world. He goes to the beach and maintains a physical
relationship with Marie, goes out drinking with Raymond, and listens to his neighbors
complaints. When Marie asks Meursault whether he loves her he tells her it didnt
mean anything. He even believes that you could never change your life and as a
result turns down an offer to work in Paris. Meursault wishes to remain an observer. He
describes the physical details of the world around him in far more detail than any
social or emotional aspects. He may watch people from his balcony, taking in
information, but not passing any judgement. Camus does this to convey the idea that
searching for meaning in the outside world is absurd, as none can be found. As an
observer, Meursault affects his surroundings in as little ways as possible. By rejecting
emotions, which are large parts of peoples decision-making, he distances himself from
becoming a being of causality in any form, and through rejecting social aspects, he
sees himself as not needlessly interfering in others lives. Meursault is a believer in
fate, and thus by extension, doesnt see the value in time as a resource: Mother died
today. Or maybe yesterday, I dont know. He lives his life by waking up in the
morning, and going to bed in the evening, preferring to not create or maintain an
order, as the universe dictates all. Meursault begins as a character that opposes
change, and is against finding causality or meaning in the world, preferring to accept
that doing so would be without reason.

In the second act, Meursault, strongly affected by a moment of brevity, ala killing the
Arab, sets into motion the process by which he not only become an existentialist, but
also disowns the concept of time. Once Meursault is in prison, he longer purely
describes his physical surroundings in his usual, hyper-objective style, but becomes
much more introspective and delves into his inner being: In one sense it unsettled
me, in another, it killed time. He deliberates over concepts such as death, and time,
renouncing the latter as being something that does not apply to him: time was the
very thing I didnt have for taking an interest in. Meursault also comes to forcibly
oppose the established social order, and in a rush of anger, denounces both the priest
and religion: That irritated me and I told him that he wasnt my father: he was on the
same side as the others. Furthermore, Meursault stops living in objective reality,
instead preferring to spend time inside of his own imagination, and stops thinking of
time entirely: The words yesterday and tomorrow were the only ones that still meant
something to me. He recognizes there to be no inherently natural meaning or truth in
the natural world, only the one he fashions for himself. He separates himself from
everything he deems to be incompatible with his beliefs, all while accepting the
chaotic subjectivity of the universe. Meursault eventually creates his own order, and
accepts that he is different. From this comes his own truth: I was sure of myself, sure
of everything. By establishing his own independent existence, and rejecting outside
order, Meursault demonstrates the enormous impact of change that a single moment
of brevity can have.
In Camus The Outsider, Meursault challenges authority through his determined
existential beliefs, and his unwillingness to conform to any order but his own. In Act 2,
the court confronts Meursaults apathetic attitude, as it sees it posing a challenge to
judicial, societal, and religious authority through his consistent apathy towards
possessing any will, faith, or emotion. At one point, the prosecution lawyer says that
Meursault has no place in society whos most fundamental rules [he] ignored and
that he knows nothing of the most basic human reactions. Meursault is being tried
not only for his crime, but for how he responded. Numerous time one is reminded of
his insensitivity, not knowing how old his mother was, of his swim the next day with
a girl, of the cinema, and finally of [his] return home to Marie. The court attempts to
manufacture meaning out of Meursaults actions using what is conventionally referred
to as normal behavior, ultimately condemning him to death because he challenges the
image of what is deemed as an acceptable state of mind, despite him being extremely
detached from society. Meursaults utter lack of ultimate direction or feelings towards
his actions or the consequence puzzles the authorities, who attempt to apply their
rules upon the staunch individualist, who thinks meaning and belief are entirely
subjective. According to Meursault, the demand to display of emotion or most
psychological reactions, for that matter, is merely an arbitration constructed by
society, not in fact a given requirement. For example, the reason he shows no regret is
because he is always preoccupied by what was about to happen, today or tomorrow.
He does not understand why the search for truth is regarded as so essential, when it is
in fact completely irrelevant to the physical world at hand. In his mind, the actions and
consequences speak for themselves. Through nonconformity to societal standards,
and emotional detachment, Meursault puts pressure on the judicial body, as his
internal order is incompatible with what is expected of the common man. This
successfully highlights to readers the degree to which the judicial system is reliant
upon working with conventional behavior, how society forms standardized approaches
to human interaction, and hpw people can be viewed as deviant due to their detached
approach to life, despite not affecting others with their morals.

Meursault also confronts religious ideology, questioning its necessity and practices, as
they are both opposed to the manner in which he sees truth to exist. He does this on
two occasions: when he talks to the magistrate before the hearing, and when the
chaplain comes to see him, hours before the execution. After the magistrate states his
belief that all men, consciously or unconsciously, believe in God, he asks Meursault
whether he wishes his life to be meaningless , to which the response is it had
nothing to do with [him]. By showing an unwillingness to recognize faith-based order,
or to comment on another mans perception upon meaning in life, Meursault
challenges authority and shows he believes one ought to create their own meaning.
Furthermore, by not believing in God, Meursault rejects the notion that God would
grant him redemption and forgiveness, going against a fundamental principle of the
Christian faith. In the latter instance, Meursault rejects seeing the chaplain three times
before the final, compulsory meeting, thinking he would be of little to no use. When
the chaplain asks whether he is certain of his disbelief in God, Meursault replies that
asking oneself that question is unnecessary, and it doesnt seem to matter. His
attitude extends to every meaning in life, at least for him: nothing mattered.
Meursault disagrees with the notion that belief in God is essential to finding meaning
in life, not only because it is unhelpful since it does not come from a personal
revelation, but also because in his opinion, there is no final universal truth to be found.
This atheist, existential approach contradicts any teaching that states salvation is
found through religious spirituality. Audiences may find that Meursault has successfully
proven that faith is not a vital component of morality, while questioning the nature of
finding meaning in life. They also are brought to think over what constitutes personal
truth, and how we react to the beliefs of others.

Meursault even goes as far to protest against church customs, telling the chaplain that
he isnt his father as [the chaplain] was on the same side as the others. This
narrowly precedes, Meursaults anger-filled outbreak, showing an emotional force yet
unseen. Though Meursault barely mentions his father in the book, he becomes
incredibly defensive at the mere thought that the cleric is somehow part of his family.
He sees the church as interfering with personal relations. Meursaults irritation might
even come from his belief that religious bodies should not substitute for familiar
bonds. Atheist existentialism teaches that all religion is an artificial, man-made system
designed to provide meaning to an existence that is impossibly enigmatic. Meursault,
as an existentialist, sees the world as being chaotic, and rejects external order that
attempts to impose artificial guidelines, seeking instead to create and follow his own.

In Mrs. Warrens Profession, this idea is able to be seen in the similarities and
oppositions between Vivie and her mother, Mrs. Warren. Both of them value
independence, and both value having to make more money than (they) spend, but
are not alike in the approach they are willing to take.

While Vive is outwardly critical of her Cambridge education, even going as far to say
she would consider not going through it again, it is more than obvious enough that she
is immensely proud of it. It makes her a modern woman, something she finds
absolutely invaluable. She might not currently be wealthy, but doesnt lack the drive
and motivation to continue with her endeavors and continue to increase her wage.
Vivie self-confessedly lives to purely work, rejecting all but the barest minimum of
distractions. She even claims that there is no beauty and no romance in life for me.
She takes no holidays, despises art, and seeks no love. This, in addition to her fierce
desire for independence, as well as her elitist standards, alienates a significant amount
of people around her, including her closest friends and family. Vivie is a clear example
of an educated, tenacious, young modern woman, but her dedication to her work
comes at a large cost. She claims to be happy, but has traded a significant amount of
her life away. It is debatable whether she is truly satisfied with her life, but it can
certainly be said that she is likely accepting a lonesome, one-dimensional life. He
career oriented philosophy is a double edged sword.

Mrs. Warren is less concerned with what is respectable or not, instead focusing on
material worth. Her continuation with her business is not as experience-oriented as
Vivie, but almost purely financial (it means everything you like, everything you want,
and everything you can think of). It is true that both her and her daughter chose their
work based on the amount of personal freedom it gave them, but Mrs. Warren treats it
more of a means to an end. Being rich has opened a new door in Mrs. Warrens life.
Not only is she more than able to provide for herself, but was also able to pay for her
daughters education, giving her the option to eventually achieve the same treasured
independence. With plenty of property, a burgeoning business and no shortage of
suitors, Mrs. Warren has reached the position she wished to be in. However, she will
always continue to be stained by her past, and never be able to escape the
controversial status it gives her. In a conservative, Victorian society, she is not an
esteemed person in the slightest. Because of this, she is constantly under pressure to
hold up a faade and conceal who she truly is, keeping even her own daughter in the
dark. Lastly, Mrs. Warren has forever given up her decency, something she can
never get back. She, just like Vivie, has sacrificed a lot through her choice of
profession, notably her basic morality as well as the opportunity to bring up a real
daughter. Hard work has once again replaced and fractured family.

sentimental vs apathetic

- mother (no article)

- crying vs bother

- seeing her straight away vs not visitng anymore

- still alive vs official aura

- didn't want to see her

- smoking in front of mother

- i understood mother vs detachment

- have you been here long? - asks caretaker

- convo with caretaker

- intervened to say no no, found topic interesting

- Paris

- absence of rationalisations

- direct quote vs i asked

For some reason I thought of mother - crying Salamano

I told him how much i liked his house

For the first time perhaps, I really thought I'd get married

Doesn't notice Raymond calls him by his first name. Sintes changes to Raymond after
smoking

his cigarettes

hyphen in girl-friend

Mersault does a double take on other's reactions and what is socially appropriate

anomie