Albert Outler

Albert Camus wrote The Plague using several literary devices to further the novel. It is often said that an author inserts their own character traits and beliefs into the characters of their novels. Camus is no different in this aspect, especially when it comes to his protagonist Dr. Rieux. The event of the plague which is the main focus of the novel is a catalyst that shapes and changes the characters, some for the better and others for the worse. With the rest of this essay Dr. Rieux, Cottard,…

Albert Camus once explained that “Every revolutionary ends up either by becoming an oppressor or a heretic” (“Albert Camus Quote”), and the latter is certainly true for the protagonist, Meursault, of his novel The Stranger. In the novel, Camus uses his protagonist, through characterization and diction, to support his absurdist philosophy. Absurdism is the concept that humanity must survive in a world that is constantly hostile or indifferent towards them (Absurdism). Although Camus is famous for…

As writer-director Tarsem Singh (these days, just "Tarsem") explains it, he first had the idea for The Fall 14 years ago, but was unable to secure funding for a dark, miserablist fantasy shot in more than a dozen countries, based on a Bulgarian drama (1981's Yo Ho Ho), and largely written by the improvisational choices of a 5-year-old girl. And no wonder. The Fall ranks up there with the collected directorial works of Crispin Glover as an impossible-to-sell act of creative love and insane…

Two pieces of art that I chose to compare and contrast would be, “Starry Night”, by Vincent Van Gogh and, “Road to Happiness”, by Victor Figol. These two paintings share characteristics and qualities that are alike and that differ. “Starry Night”, by Vincent Van Gogh, is a post-impressionist oil painting that was finished in 1889. This piece of art displays the beautiful night sky out of a window at an asylum where Vincent Van Gogh spent the last of his later life. He was able to spend…

“Meursault is a body without a soul. His pleasures and discomforts are purely tactile and sensory, with no admixture of emotion or spiritual awareness.” Meursault is the narrator and main character of Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger. Looking into the title of the novel deeper, one can refer to “the stranger” as Meursault. Referring to Meursault as a body without a soul is a very accurate description of him. He does not show any emotion to the people around him and his feelings are very…

autopilot and then had to ask myself how I arrived there, my mind so focused on other things that my driving habits just automatically lead me to my physical location. Another theory of personality is Social-Cognitive Learning Theory, established by Albert Bandura. It states that individuals’ personalities are shaped by other people’s actions plus individuals’ own expectancies about learning. Some parts of the Social Cognitive Perspective are similar to Behaviorism, the Social Cognitive…

Now the dilemma is what should we do with this “Absurd Condition” we find ourselves in? In Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus, he proclaims that accepting the absurd- not denying it or giving into the mechanisms of eluding- and still rising above it to live life to the fullest is the best answer; not philosophical, physical, or logical suicide…

similarities through their existentialist views of life, actions towards others, and wanting of escape from the real world or conscience world. These character similarities suggest similarities in the views of the two authors Fyodor Dostoevsky and Albert Camus. The two authors are trying to convey slightly different, yet almost identical existentialist views to the reader. These views can be seen very much in the characters of Meursault and Risk. Both Raskolnikov and Meursault share…

Albert Bandura, a psychologist and professor at Stanford University, conducted an experiment to explore the effects of modeling on aggression. As the creator of social learning theory, Dr. Bandura explores the effect his theory has on children. He begins the segment by introducing the experiment. Preschool children were exposed to videos of adults performing novel aggressive acts on an inflatable doll, which is referred to as the Bobo doll and is where the experiment derives its name. In the…

Absurdism is defined as “the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any” (Absurdism). Albert Camus’ The Stranger exemplifies the Absurdist point of view, as shown by the main character Meursault and the world he lives in. Meursault, though never voicing these exact words, lives in a chaotic world that is indifferent to human plight, so he decides to do what he wants to do to make himself satisfied. The only insight on…