Absolutism In The Stranger By Albert Camus

In the genre of philosophical literature, Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger examines the life of an ordinary man, whose actions portray the concept of Absurdism. The main character, Meursault, feels like an observer of the world and lacks purpose and strives toward nothing more than having the freedom of personal choice. His choices define his personality when he is forced to face death and murder, to which he reacts in a way that shows his perception and understanding of human mortality. Meursault sees death as the inevitable end of a meaningless existence and struggles to understand why his reaction is never accepted by others throughout the novel. By trying to force their views of death upon him, the other characters achieve the opposite …show more content…
When he is first imprisoned, Meursault perceives it as an exciting experience, even almost a game, “I had read description of scenes like this in books” (64). His mind is not interested in the fact that someone died because of him, but rather again on the present situation. The Absurdist continues talking with the same short sentences and tone as he did before the murder because he does not feel as if something of importance had changed. He uses that tone to answer all of the magistrate’s questions, and it made the situation more heated than ever. Meursault does not find any meaning in the interrogation, so he uses as few words as possible. He even often does not know how to react, “Once again I didn’t know how to respond” (68). The magistrate slowly fills with anger and tries to force his persistent belief in God on Meursault. The main character is not convinced for even a moment and sees how caring so much about death can make you lose your mind, “He was leaning all the way over the table. He was waving his crucifix almost directly over my head”