Man is a social creature. He requires attention and adoration from his audience, constant engagement from his peers and wisdom and advice from his betters. Scientists have even discovered that in absolute silence, humans begin to feel a severe sense of discomfort. And perhaps that is why the human subconscious yearns for a raison d’être, an explanation to the events around them, and the hidden meaning to life itself. It even resorts to creating these fantastical stories when it is faced with the simple fact that we exist in a plane where chaos masquerades as order, and if one was to shout into the void asking for meaning all we would be able to discern would the unremitting, oppressive, and stark silence. This was Camus’ message in The Stranger.
