Albert Camus

In Albert Camus’ The Outsider, the court weighs Meursault’s acte gratuit, or assertion of individual will and freedom, against the outrage of the entire community. Likewise, Franz Kafka’s The Trial also juxtaposes the agency of the individual with the strength of the justice system, and displays how the trial suppresses K.’s psychological freedom and agency. As both novels demonstrate how the law subordinates the individual to the community, justice therefore appeases the public rather than…

The Stranger is a philosophical novel written by Albert Camus during World War II. Having experienced the horror of war, Camus developed a sense of discontentment and skepticism towards the Western ideological beliefs, both secular and religious. Living in fear of the senseless atrocities, Camus developed his philosophy of the absurd based on the belief that humanity’s effort to search for meaning conflicts with the reality of an irrational universe. The protagonist of The Stranger, Meursault,…

The Absurd represents the realization that despite all of one’s efforts and suffering, life amounts to nothing but an insignificant passage of time, regardless of what one might achieve in his life. Once one recognizes the absurdity of life, Camus argues that one cannot simply revert to a life of ignorance and naiveté. Instead, one can either succumb one’s self to the pessimistic perspective of the world or affirm his life in light of the Absurd and rebel against the indifference of the world.…

insensitive murderer who is incapable of feeling remorse even at his mother’s funeral. Also, many of Meursault’s actions and thoughts are viewed as being nihilistic as he constantly mentions that ‘all is meaningless’. In the Afterword, we can see that Camus meant that the character of Meursault is ‘driven by tenacious and therefore profound passion, the passion for absolute and for truth.’ It is also mentioned despite not deserving his fate he ‘is condemned because he doesn’t play the game.’…

life of monotony and indifference to the problems of the people around them, so when they succumb to the wrath of the plague, they realize for the first time that their lives are indifferent to the world and that death may be around the corner. In Albert Camus’s The Plague, each character develops a different way of thinking that helps them to rationalize the plague. Rieux uses what he knows as a doctor as motivation to help the people suffering around him, while Father Paneloux uses his…

Novel Notebook: The Stranger 1. Setting/Matter: The Stranger by Albert Camus, is set in Algeria in the 1940’s. The setting is important to the story, because it sets the stage for….. 2. Plot: The story is about a man named Monsieur Meursault. In the first part of the book, it is revealed that he recently lost his mother. After her funeral, he returns to his normal routine of life, and he even gets a girlfriend, named Marie, and a new friend named Raymond. They all go to a beach one afternoon,…

right or wrong in the actions a person chooses to do. The philosophy of moral ethics will be evaluated in both, Albert Camus’ “The Stranger,” and Dostoevsky’s “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man.” This theme of ethics will be analyzed throughout the evaluation of societal interactions, thoughts, and the author's presentation of the protagonist in each work. In “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, the main protagonist, Meursault, provides a narrative describing the time before and after he commits a…

In Albert Camus’ novel, “The Stranger”, the absurdist themes of the meaninglessness of human life, living in the moment, irrationality, and lack of conformity to the values of society are best exemplified through the relationships that the protagonist, Meursault, has with those around him. Camus’ characterisation of his anti-hero makes us question the way we must fit into other people’s expectations of our own behaviour, thus forcing us to lie in order to find a secure place within society.…

Society does not affect his reaction and motives as he is separated from the rest of the world. Maman and Marie illustrates the lack of familial and emotional connections from Meursault’s perspective, while the robot woman is a parallel to Meursault. Albert Camus displays apathy throughout the novel, The Stranger, using minor characters and ideas…

1. Title and Author: The Stranger by Albert Camus 2. Summary: Meursault receives news that his mother passes away in Marengo. He returns home (Algiers) after the funeral, and goes to the beach where he meets Marie. Later that night, they have a date where they spend the night together. Later, the character Raymond, Meursault’s neighbor, and Meursault have dinner. Raymond talks about the aftermath of when he suspected his mistress to be on him, which involved physical violence. Raymond wants…