Albert Camus essays

Albert Camus essays The Stranger represents in many ways, Camus style of Existentialism and his philosophical notion of absurdity. The absurd by Camus definition is what describes humanitys attempts to place rationalization or reasoning to important aspects of the human condition such as the need for government, religion, and a realization of the physical or natural world. All of this is absurd because Camus idea of Existentialism states that there is absolutely no inherent meaning given to any of these fundamentals whereas humanity is found to have the need to place them in a certain order or rationalize the existence of such. Meursault is the character in Camus novel, The Stranger who deals with the world in a way that seems confusing at first, but whose personality becomes clearer as we progress deeper into the realm of Existentialism and Camus notion of absurdity. What is it exactly about Meursaults character that which prevents him from finding meaning given to his life by religion, nature, or government? We see in the novel that Meursault has a different way of looking not only at the world around him, but also how he sees himself in his own mind. This unique view is the key to this novel and the beliefs that Camus is trying to convey. It is apparent from the very beginning of the novel in Part One, that there are small yet significant perceptive differences in the way that Meursault interacts with his environment. He sees the world around him without any kind of rationale or reasoning within it, and his thoughts and emotions reflect this trait as well. Therefore, the news of the death of his mother does not affect him as it would someone who possesses an ability to reason or find meaning in life or death. In the beginning of the second chapter of The Stranger, Meursault first encounters Marie, who is an old co-worker and here, Camu s allows us to see an example of the character&apo...