Irrationality In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

A normal guy just going on about his life finds himself explaining to a jury why he didn't cry at his mother's funeral to explain the reason he took another man's life. His life hangs in the balance as he is tried about whether he belonged in society. The Stranger by Albert Camus centers on the story of Meursault, a man who is psychologically detached from the world regardless of the situation. Camus uses him to challenge moral standards and give an amoral view on daily life in order to ultimately comment on the meaningless and irrationality of human life.
From the beginning of the book the author illustrates morals as just a set of practices and rituals every person has to live by and uses the main character to bring forth his reflections …show more content…
During which he made enlighten conclusion about the world around him, the connexion he had to the universe and his role in deciding his fate. The book contains a strong sense of absurdity, “humanity’s futile attempt to find rational order where none exists”(Sparknotes), within it by making constant assertions about human life being in complete disorder and having no logical meaning. Meursault´s outer and inner self evinces the lack of order in his thoughts and attitudes, which naturally instigates him to have no discernible reason for his actions. Yet this notion proved quite disruptive for those around him, the idea that something is done for no reason did not fit into the mold of the society around him. Nonetheless, during his trial, a rational explanation was imposed over his irrational actions, which later on led to Meursault´s death as he was a threat the society that was trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. Camus portrays Meursault´s trial as an interpretation of how absurdism takes place in society; an instance in which many logical reasonings are given as an attempt to cover the idea that something can have no sense behind it. Which in fact is very frightening to everyone and everything since our mentality is based on a cause and effect realm and the fact that something can just be there for no reason or no purpose at all is …show more content…
While it also causes us great despair as we have to acknowledge the fact that we humans have little to none impact on what surrounds us. When Meursault realized that no matter what, he will never escape death, he gave up his hope and found peace instead. Hope is a burden according to Camus, and once we liberate ourselves from it, we can finally truly enjoy life. For what it is, is what it is and can never turn into something else than the meaningless cycle of life and