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A- Camus was a self-proclaimed "absurdist." Based on The Stranger and Meursault’s beliefs in The Stranger, how would you define "the absurd"? What role do concepts like "detachment," "alienation," "acceptance," and "society" play? How is absurdity reflected in (a) the events in Meursault’s life, (b) the relationships Meursault finds himself in, and (c) the attitudes with which Meursault faces, and subsequently rejects, the world?
B- In what sense does Meursault triumph at the end of The Stranger? (This was what Camus intended, but you’re welcome to argue that, in fact, Meursault doesn’t triumph at all.) Does Meursault overcome society’s judgment, and thereby, its shackles? Or is it more important that he rebelled against conformity? And what’s up with him wishing for a large crowd of hating spectators at his execution?
C- In his jail cell, Meursault finds an old newspaper article about a Czechoslovakian man who is murdered by his mother and sister. How does this article relate to Meursault’s own trial for murder? How does this article expand the themes in The Stranger? How does it support Camus’s philosophy of the absurd?
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The way I would define “the absurd” in The Stranger by Albert Camus, is someone that doest not attach themselves to anybody else and they see the world differently than others. Camus wanted to portray that Meursault is the perfect person when it comes to being absurd because he was different than the majority of society. Also, Meursault really does not care about what others think of him. Concepts like detachment, alienation, acceptance, and society play a big role in being absurd in The Stranger because society does not accept Meursault since they have a different meaning of what to think and what society feels what normal is. Also, the detachment goes with being absurd because it seems that Meursault does not have many people in his life that is close and even when Marie had the idea that they should get married, in a way Meursault was saying: If you want to get married lets do it and if you don’t want then I’m ok with it. This is how it went down:
ReplyDelete“Marie came round and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said I didn’t mind and we could if she wanted to. She then wanted to know if I loved her. I replied as I had done once already".
Meursault still continued the relationship all throughout The Stranger without revealing any emotion or affection to anyone even Marie, I believe that if he felt that if he showed emotion to Marie he or Marie were going to get heartbroken since he rather make others happy than himself. We can all agree that alienation dominates the relationship of love in The Stranger and in the “real world” with a “normal” society. Absurdity is reflected in the events in Meursault’s life because he did not feel about showing emotions to others when his mom had passed away and in the relationships Meursault finds himself in. It’s like he cares about making others happy and not himself. Also, another example that would show this would be when he was telling his lawyer the truth about how he felt about killing the Arab that the lawyer was getting mad at him because that was not what the lawyer wanted to hear and he knew that if he used that in court Meursault would go to jail or even worse get the death penalty and we all know what was the sentencing. So, instead of Meursault wanting stay out of jail he just felt bad because of the way he started with the lawyer because it was in a bad way. Also, you can say the he took it as a compliment when he was called an Antichrist by the Magistrate and society finds that absurd because not everyone thinks the same as what he does. He likes to reject the world because they are just as bad as him because they criticize others and he wants to show them how just as bad they but they won’t be able to see it.
Sharissa Wright
ReplyDeleteIn Camus’ “The Stranger” there were many themes that Camus have embedded to help the reader understand the concept of existentialism. Being an “absurdist”, Camus laid the framework of absurdity within the stranger. Alongside absurdity are four main components detachment, alienation, acceptance, and society all in which play a major part in the book. Detachment and alienation are the effect one feels if they are found as absurd. Society in the book set the bar of being accepted which is being an orthodox person who partakes in religion. When something is found absurd, it is often seen as unorthodox, wired, or out of the ordinary based on the actions of the protagonist of “The Stranger” Meursault. We find this in everyday life (especially within schools) when others are questioned and often bullied for being different, just like Meursault. Meursault is seen as absurd for being an existentialist or someone who often lacks emotions and questions the meaning of life.
The events in Meursault’s life all have a significant meaning behind them. Such as the relationships Meursault finds himself in. His “love for Marie in the book is found rather fishy. Also the attitudes with which Meursault faces. Talking with the Chaplin and Magistrate brought him out of his box of existentialism. Also subsequently rejecting the word. Everything about society, he finds all of the sudden questionable. All in which help support the fact that absurdity in The Stranger was reflected through various events in Meursault’s life.
The relationship Meursault finds himself in reflects on how absurdity is perceived in the stranger. The major relationship Meursault has is with Marie. Marie, unlike Meursault, is far from being an existentialist. She loved Meursault so much that she was ready and willing to marry him. He, on the other hand, seemed rather blithe about the matter. He never really said he was happy or unwilling he just said “whatever you want”. This in my opinion is very absurd. A relationship let alone a marriage are a sign of commitment. A man like Meursault doesn’t understand the real meaning of a relationship because it is based on emotions. Alongside the absurdity, Marie still wanted to marry Meursault. During his time in jail, he thought of Marie often. Although toward the end of the book, he said he never cared for her. The absurd thing about that is how do you not care for someone and yet think of them and miss them. Not just in relationships Meursault had this fickle attitude, but also with dealing with attitudes of others.
The attitudes with which Meursault faces is another great example on how Camus displayed absurdity in “The Stranger”. Meursault’s main frustration was with the magistrate and the Chaplin. Both these characters, and society within the book, are strong about religion which to them is the meaning of life. In the beginning of the book, the magistrate referred Meursault to “Monsieur Antichrist” which didn’t affect him at all, yet again. This is absurd because normally religion in many societies are seen as a touchy subject and are often highly opinionated. Meursault not defending or agreeing that he is an Antichrist is seen as rather peculiar… absurd. The constant reminder of religion by these characters wasn’t bothering him until the very end of the book. Toward the end of the book he started to rebel against conformity and question the rules and regulations on society and religion, all leading up to how he rejects the world. Meursault subsequently rejecting the world shows absurdity within “The Stranger”. He rejected the world by not being a part of religion. He said “When we’re all elected by the same fate me and billions of privileged people like him who also called themselves my brothers?” He was acting absurd because he still took on the title of being an existentialist and not having cares of feelings but ended up developing a strong opinion.
Quinn La-
ReplyDeleteBased on what I've read in the "Stranger" I would conclude that the meaning of absurd in connection to existentialism is that if you hold any value or meaning to life or out current state of being, then you are just deluding yourself and the people around you of the one and only truth that nothing we do, wish to do, or have done will have any affect to the grand scheme of life. After we die we become just dust in the wind, with the world smartest man having no more greater effect in life as the world's smartest termite. People may impact each other in their small little world but that tiny ecosystem of people in itself does not matter, this form of micro impacts are just delays to the inevitable tornado of entropy that will be coming for all of us sooner or later.
There are examples of absurdist behavior or occurrences in the stranger in the concepts of detachment, like how Meursault is detached from his mother. After he put his mother in a home he spent little to no time visiting her because it was too much of a “hassle” to spending his whole saturday on visiting his mom spending hours and money just on the transportation. And even after her death he didn't feel much emotion towards her death, but later realize that he did not cry because he felt his mother lead a good life and that it should have been celebrated instead of mourned for. Meursault was also alienated himself from society, never taking the initiative to start a conversation or going out to meet people, he seem to be a very socially awkward individual and he was never forced to overcome this obstacle and so it manifested itself to become a full blown problem or disorder.
There is no real acceptance in Meursault’s there is only complacency, in which he couldn't care one way or another whether he got a promotion or not or whether he was gonna get married. Meursault just floated through life hoping it would turn out for the best. This may be because he just rejects the world and all that it stands for, he would identify the right thing to do and deliberately do the opposite whether he was aware of it or not. And why wouldn't Meursault hate the world, the world has done nothing but shown how ugly it is. Take Salamano and his dog for example, they need each other, rely on each other, “loved” each other. But Salamano and his dog also hate each other, the dog is always barking at Salamano because he always beats him, and Salamano beats his dog because its always barking. They both looked terrible with the dog having mange and Salamano looking like he was going to kill over at any minute. This never ending cycle is only ended when the dog supposedly runs away and Salamano is heartbroken. When Meursault sees love and hate go hand and hand he is confused and doesn't see the logic in being in a relationship if it's only going to cause you pain.
Meursault also reads the story on the Czechoslovakian man who after leaving his poor village became very wealthy with money and family came back only to be murdered by his mother and sister. When someone reads a story as tragic as this one, it is easy to lose hope for humanity and give in to the cold hard cynicism of life. The last nail in the coffin for Meursault is his trial, how the prosecutor took every action and emotion, or lack there of, that Meursault has ever made and examined it under a magnifying lense only to be burned. The trial was more about Meursault's attitude rather his crime, he was judged more harshly because he didn't cry or show remorse and thus received a much harder sentence that a person who would have feigned those emotions and in that he gave up on trying to work with life and decided to leave it with a big smile on his face.
Erika Ballzs
ReplyDeleteHow “absurdity” is shown throughout The Stranger is more of the less, what individuals would say is “normal” when it comes to how we think, act, and react. Meursault is not one who is so bland that he has no feeling what so ever throughout the book, but shows his reactions and feelings differently than others. While going through life he did not approach certain situations as if others would have now a days which made him an existentialist. As for the my opinion we as human beings depict our future based on the obstacles we go through in life and what we take from those obstacles. Going through life with no meaning and not taking anything educational from earth is not normal for one. Nevertheless, for Meursault it is.
He does not give the normal feeling toward certain subjects. The absurd does not give reaction to certain responses such as him showing his true feelings. With being detached from, however; life is just one example of how Meursault reacts in the book such as his detachment from his mother mentally after her passing. His detachment from Marie and her proposal, from the Boss’s job proposal in Paris, even down to when he was getting executed but with this, this was all mental detachment from showing emotion in his life.
Another topic of debate besides detachment would be alienation from life. Meursault alienates himself from life as a whole by bypassing great opportunities that come along in his life. Such as his job offer in Paris of his proposal with Marie but more importantly how Meursault does not make any connection with anything going through his life. While being in the jail cell he alienates himself from other inmates and just his freedom in general. Meursault alienates himself from the fact that he did commit a crime and is in no way shocked or happy that he’s in jail and going to be killed.
His acceptance of his trial was not shocking but more in the sense of disappointing because of him not being eager to want to show his innocence and instead took a faulty punishment.
Absurdity is reflected in Meursault life by the strange connections he has with Marie is not normal neither is his connection with the Chaplain and how he was explaining the meaning of GOD. There are different relatshionship Meursault has with different people throughout the book. Meursault and his mothers relatshionship was normal and unique in his eyes because of the fact that he did state that he loved her and in to him he thinks that is normal. With Marie who still wanted to marry Meursault after him obviously not manning up to being in a long-term faithful relatshionship and to us we know that that would be a very dysfunctional relatshionship and some people are used to that kind of nonsense. As women, she should have left the proposal alone at that exact time.
In time throughout the book, Meursault faces different attitudes towards the people he comes across and the advice they have to offer to him, such as the Magistrate. The magistrate tries to have Meursault see the way of GOD and his meaning in life but Meursault was not really having it.
Chun Chan
ReplyDeleteAccording to The Stranger, I believe being absurd means being weird - weird in a way that is abnormal and unacceptable from everyone else, the society, or the world itself. Meursault was considered as an absurdist because his actions lacked sensitivity that most people should’ve had for that particular event. Absurdity happens all the time in Meursault’s life, until he heard he was going to be executed. He viewed it as the world that is deciding to detach or leave him. For example, when he listened to Raymond’s story of how his girl was cheating and deserved to be beat, Meursault immediately took one side of the story but barely paid attention to the beating. He didn’t even take the time to think or curious about the girl’s side of the story. In Meursault’s relationship with Marie, he doesn’t show attention to her feelings or anything about her; the only thing that reminds him of her is her body. When he was in prison, Meursault constantly had the lust for Marie’s body; but he didn’t really care about the care and love she had to offer him. He also faced the world with absurdity through his attitude in many forms. Instead of mourning for his mother’s death, he showed the world with an apathetic face to make others think he is a strong-willed person. During the investigations on his case, he didn’t answer many questions seriously which he didn’t think it would hurt him too much on court.
Meursault was glad that he still had friends around him before he died; but he rather to be hated than loved because he don’t want people to be unhappy about his leaving. He didn’t overcome society’s judgment because he was too late when he was arrested. If more people hated him, then he would leave fewer things for people to remember him by. Meursault felt more humane and free now that he knows he was a part of the world, although he is going to be apart from the world physically.
The article in the jail cell and Meursault’s murder both involved in a crime that is punishable by society; the one difference is the guilt that the committers have after the murder. The pair who killed the traveler was taken over by greed; but the guilt they felt was so heavy they had to take their own lives. However, Meursault, who killed a man without a proper reason, not only did he not feel guilty about murdering a man; he also blamed the dead ones for playing a joke. “I thought the traveler pretty much deserved what he got and that you should never play games.” Meursault doesn’t realize his mistakes until he was sentenced to death; he then learned that he shouldn’t have taken his case as a joke.
Nicole Pabilona
ReplyDeleteAlbert Camus’ novel, The Stranger he explores the many concepts of existentialism and especially, absurdity. Based off of my own personal interpretation of the novel, I believe that “the absurd” would be defined as the word itself appears: abnormal or strange reflecting on Camus’ goal to portray his central character off of. Meaursault, often throughout the novel, goes about things in a different manner, or has the completely unexpected reaction that society refuses to accept, like how he went about after his mother’s funeral and how he didn’t cry. Because he chooses to react this way, society alienates him for going against their accepted self-proclaimed norms. Meursault also chooses to go about differently when retaining relationships. For example, his partner, Marie. She clearly showed a great amount of affection towards Meursault, but he refuses to truly be attached and even refuses her idea of a marriage because he believes that nothing will truly change. This is also true when connecting with his fellow neighbors and friends, or rather, so-called acquaintances.
Towards the end of the novel it appears that Meursault truly appeared triumphant in the end because he even said so himself, “ I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finidng it so much like myself— So like a brother really— I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate”, this describes his true victory of society. Although he is executed for his actions, his true triumphant lies with him with the fact that he was able (although not fully) to live his life with his own ideals without the influence of others affecting his reasoning of existence. By acting the way he does, he overcame their norms and was able to truly be who he was. The reason why he may have wanted so many spectators and his execution is so that everyone can see that he stayed true to himself the whole time.
The article that he finds in his jail cell about the Czechoslovakian man who was killed relates to Meaursault’s being reflects off of his guilt to his crime. Similar to what Chun had already to stated, the key role of the guilt felt after committing a murder of another human was not present after he had done so, compared to the man’s sister and mother. This concept expands on the idea of absurdity and how although he killed a man, he sees no reason to end his life, nor to save it until he realized it was too late towards the end of his case and in conclusion to his execution.
Brandon Nguyen
ReplyDeleteAccording to The Stranger absurd would be going against the perception of society and acting differently from how society thinks you should act. Acting different would have to be a lifestyle that the actor finds as normal and they aren’t doing it to be a rebel. Most people see Meursault’s acts as detachment and alienation because they think he is very different from society. For example, it was abusrd for him to not feel sorrow at Maman’s funeral, to have no opinion about Marie’s proposal, and his lack of care for any situation he’s in. In the story Meursault says “I would’ve liked to have tried explaining to him cordially, almost affectionately, that I had never been able to truly feel remorse for anything,” when he was being accused of being a menace to society with an abyss for a soul. For an average human being, actions and logic from emotions are normal, so when hearing that Meursault has no response or any type of feeling towards Maman’s death could make him look like a heartless killer, which is absurd in society. The Stranger makes absurdity seem a lot more complex than acting different from the norm, but I believe it’s the little differences that make people really think that others are absurd.
Meursault was able be triumphant at the end of The Stranger by getting over his fear of death after realizing that if he didn’t die today, he could die tomorrow. He doesn’t necessarily escape society’s judgment, but in his own vision, he is free. While the prosecutor was trying to convict Meursault he says, “Especially when the emptiness of a man’s heart becomes, as we find it has in this man, an abyss threatening to swallow up society,” which makes him look more like a monster than a human. Society’s judgment is based more than likely, off of emotion, and hardly ever is logic used to make a judgment call on someone. What is ironic about Meursault’s situation is that he doesn’t want to be alone when he gets executed and he thinks it’s comical that all these people care enough to be at his death. I believe it may have something to do with how he believes that every person should witness a public execution how his father said they should or he wants people to maybe realize that they were killing a human being, not a monster like he is perceived to be. Either way, Meursault has found inner peace and he was actually happy at the end of the novel.
The article that Meursault reads in his cell is similar to his situation because no one is really sure why the killings happen. The mother and sister kill the Czechoslovakian man, but they don’t take any of his things. Meursault kills the Arab, but there doesn’t seem to be any motive and that the action was an impulse action. Meursault felt that the Czechoslovakian man got what he deserved for playing games, but in a way, that’s exactly what Meursault did, except, he also understands why people want to have him persecuted. It supports the philosophy of absurdity because most people would feel sorry for the family that killed the Czechoslovakian because of how ignorant the event was.
Robyn Pulgarin
ReplyDeleteAfter reading and analyzing various themes of The Stranger by Albert Camus, the way that I would characterize and define “the absurd” is someone that separates from the rest of society and avoids relationships with other people, no matter how close they are from them. In the book, Camus made the main character, Meursault; the perfect absurdist in the book in such the way that he portrays the characteristics of a person that isolates themselves, just like Camus himself believed that he was. In order to show the characteristics of an absurdist in the book, Camus used concepts like detachment, alienation, acceptance, and society in order to express the idea in the book. The concept of detachment is used in the way that Meursault doesn’t have anybody that’s close to him as friends, or even relationships. Also in the story, Meursault is always separated from society and always alone and the few people that he spends his time with actually think that he is not normal because of the reaction that he gives from the proposals that are given to him. An example of this is when Marie asked Meursault to get married. He said “I said I didn’t mind and we could if she wanted to. She then wanted to know if I loved her. I replied as I have done once already.”
So basically he didn’t show any emotion when he got the proposal, as he did with the rest of the proposals he got like the job in Paris. After all this throughout the book, he triumphs in the end when he was locked up in the jail cell because he started to reflect on his life and started to care about his life. Although it was too late to fix his errors, he still triumphs because he became part of society. Although he wasn’t part of it physically, he was still part of it emotionally. This was achieved because he started to see that what he had done was wrong. Even though he saw that there was no way out of his execution, he saw that he was proving everybody wrong that you can in fact be free without a governments rules in the society. And the reason he wanted to have a large crowd of hating spectators at his execution was because he wanted everybody to see his triumph and that he succeeded. Also he talked about how his father went to see an execution and he started to throw up. Maybe he wanted to make all the spectators repent from what they are judging him for after he started to reflect on what he had done.
The crime that Meursault committed and the crime from the article both went in relation because both crimes where against societies judgment of what is right or wrong. The difference in both crimes is that Meursault didn’t care of what he had done, while the family from the article repented and took away their lives as a result. The actions that the family took where the exact opposite of what Meursault have done in terms of the guilt. So this expands the idea of absurdity because the belief that the government is wrong about locking Meursault up is there even though they are actually right. The article expands the theme of society and class because they showed that just because you have capital you will get assaulted and killed for no reason, even though it is your family member .
Christine Reyes
ReplyDeleteAfter reading and having a deep analysis of Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”, I would define “the absurd” as living one’s life to his or her own terms without putting much thought about logic, reason, and emotion. It’s a lifestyle in which the person lives life as it goes and with the mentality that nothing matters and matter is nothing. The events that occur in one’s lifetime do not hold any meaning for people living an absurd life. Relationships and reason hold no purpose because existentialists believe that humans are condemned and life is meaningless. It’s as if they’re posing the question “No one gets out alive in the game of life, so why follow the rules?”
True to its title, the main character and narrator of “The Stranger”, Meursault, is middle-class man living in Algiers that is very detached from society and even his own feelings. The novel opens with him declaring that his mother has passed away and he did not even show any signs of remorse or shock. No one can figure him out no matter how much they speak to him because they just simply cannot grasp or refuse to accept his unconventional way of thinking. People around Meursault, no matter how much time they spend with him or how often they see him every day, do not fully know him on a deeper level; therefore, he is a complete stranger. Prime examples of these people are Marie, with whom Meursault has a sexual relationship with, and Celeste who owns the restaurant where Meursault eats his breakfast every day. Because he alienates himself from his feelings may it be in his own volition or subconsciously he is a stranger even to himself. These concepts of detachment, alienation, and acceptance are all essential to the novel because they highlight the fact that our actions actually do affect our surroundings and the people close to us—the idea that Meursault fails to understand and accept.
Because of his mentality, Meursault’s whole life in the novel is absurd. From the way he reacted to his mother’s death, his loveless sexual relationship with Marie, him shooting the Arab for no apparent reason, and his non-belief in God, religion, and salvation, Meursault is a prime example of an existentialist. The day after his mother’s funeral he stated “It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed.”. Typically a son would mourn the loss of their mother but Meursault did not dwell on the event much. He even went to the beach and had sex with Marie the day after the funeral. When Marie ask if he wanted to marry her, he simply answered that “it didn’t mean anything but I didn’t think so.” The idea of a sacred marriage is nothing to Meursault and another woman could’ve for them to get married and he would agree regardless if he loved her or not. Furthermore, Meaursault shot an Arab five times without any concrete reason. The only thing he could honestly say is that it was hot that day of the shooting. He even failed to get a personal attorney because he felt that his case was simple. Prior to his trial and death, multiple attempts by the magistrate and the chaplain to make Meursault believe in God were fruitless as he really believed that there is no God and everyone is condemned. “Since we're all going to die, it's obvious that when and how don't matter,” he explains. In the end, the only thing that Meursault truly believed in is himself and his acceptance of his death by guillotine was the final example of “the absurd”.
In Camus’s story, The Stranger, Meursault expresses triumph for his own execution. He is showing this triumph because he was in a battle with normal society, behaviors, and religion as well. From first appearing in jail to the day of his own execution, he has shown a resisting side of conforming into the society we all know as normal or proper. He felt better in being different and not following manmade guidelines simply because he didn’t believe in them which resulted in the end of his life. He exposed his triumph through his actions and beliefs until the very last moments of his life. As a result, Meursault was the one who felt accomplished and triumphant.
ReplyDeleteBecause Meursault was an existentialist, he didn’t have as much fear as a normal man would of dying. He was not intimidated by any of society’s judgment which just angered and exacerbated the whole situation instead. The more he fought against conformity the better and more comfortable he felt within himself. Meursault’s nonbelief in god or any religion also showed how he wouldn’t conform to any committed oaths or natural beliefs. It became a way of how he displayed his rebellious side to the people that tried to manipulate him into something he didn’t feel comfortable with but rather annoyed. Meursault wasn’t a man of lies or false identity, however, his way of being truthful to normal society frustrated and insulted them which further enforced the ruling of Meursault’s own execution.
In the end of his life he wishes for a crowd or group of a conformed society to attend his execution which would satisfy Meursault even further. He wishes for this group to attend so he can listen to all of the “hate” and chaos he has caused simply through his own behavior and actions. By hearing this frustrated crowd, it shows Meursault that he truly did not fall or give in to what society wanted him to become. Meursault felt more safe and secure by not conforming into society. Knowing that he was going to die, Meursault had rather felt triumphant in rebelling against this virus that was trying to infect him to become normal because where he truly found peace was within himself. In the end, he wanted to show the people his death as an example of what human law is capable and willing to do in situations like these. Not letting a man or woman believe in their own beliefs can be the cause of someone’s own execution. It has become something that they just didn’t tolerate.
Prior to the incident of Meursault killing another individual, he had a girlfriend, a job, and a home just like other people in his country. None of his beliefs or thoughts bothered anyone until put up for trial. This shows what Meursault was trying to prove to everyone which simply was that a person does not have to follow or accept the provided beliefs if they do not believe in it themselves. He was trying to prove the point of how our choices determine who we are and not by law or any other source. This is why Meursault felt triumphant in the end.
Lisa Huerta
ReplyDeleteThrough all the events in "the Stranger" I believe "the absurd" is ones own beliefs in how their life should be lived whether it be in patience or risks. The main character in the Stranger is a man named Meursault that show no emotion or enthusiasm at all. He doesn’t believe in change or even love. He detaches himself from everyone, even his own mother who passes away in the beginning of the book but it doesn’t seem like it has any effect on him. Also he puts himself in alienation but not by the fact that he doesn’t have anyone physically but just in terms of mentality. He produces no real connections with anyone including his "girl friend". The "absurd" is played throughout society by people living their own lives by their own standards; by their god, morals or emotions. Meursault himself is an "absurdist" but what makes him so different is that he doesn’t have a view or reaction on anything. His emotions are not hidden but just not there at all. He’s not the average person, he rejects change, love and family but to what extent does he actually notice? Its not the fact that he refuses the connections but rather then he just doesn’t feel it. When confronted about seeing his mother for one last time and rejecting it was not the normal thing to do, but maybe that’s just his connection. We could be the ones not understanding his connection.
In the end Meursault triumphs through the situation, not because death rescued him but because he knew who he was. He didn’t want people to be sad when he was gone nor dwell on any feelings they had toward him. I believe that he does over come society’s judgment because through it all he didn’t break, he didn’t fall to the name calling or the pointing of fingers. He went out like he knew who he was and even though he did die, he did it being himself rather then what society had made him. Honestly I believe that it was more important that he over came people judgments. Being who you are is one of the hardest things to do in society today and even back then. People judge you because you don’t feel or do things they way they do it. He showed great strength through his struggles even though I would have also been confused about him in general. He showed great strength when asking for a great crowd of spectator, even though it may sound weird to say. To have people staring at you as your about to be executed, you have to believe that you did what you did for a good reason or just be a total monster in general. But I don’t believe that anyone can judge him by his actions
The article the Meursault found connects to his own trial because he really didn’t mean to kill the Arab, it just happened. It wasn’t planned but rather just acted out And with the article it was an accident and was acted out on greed. Meursault really has no reason for doing what he did, but does he really have any reason for anything he does? The connection is deep, but yet is has its differences. They both knew what they were doing and in the end it just ended the wrong way.
Mark Joseph San Juan
ReplyDeleteMeursault is absurd because he sent his Maman to a home. Who does that?
Note: My journal entry went over the maximum of 4,096 characters so I emailed it to you instead.
Jethro Martinez
ReplyDeleteIn the book “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, absurd, in my own words, means a person does not have any interest towards other people and they see themselves into the future further than anyone else in their lives. A person who is absurd can be called autistic but there is a difference between autistic and absurd. Being autistic is a mental disability and absurd is just how a person can be towards society. Meursault is a perfect example of absurdity created by Camus to show the readers how normality differs from absurdity.
Detachment plays as a concept of absurdity for Meursault have always been mentally away from the world he is in and he has his own world. Alienation also plays as a concept of absurdity because Meursault feels that he does not belong around his friends therefore he concludes that he is being alienated. Acceptance may or may not be an idea of absurdity because of the fact that he only wants to be in his own world and there, in his own world, he feels accepted. It is a contradiction of being accepted in his own world and the mentality of not being accepted in reality. And society has a big part in Meursault’s absurdity because in many ways, Meursault’s thoughts are set on him being not part of the society.
Meursault’s life has absurdity in it all throughout the book. First, his mother’s death, he took his mom’s death like it was nothing and he accepted it quickly as if his mom was just a friend or just someone he knows who just died. His relationship with his mother grew apart when his mom was in a home. He lost many days and years with his mom when they were apart and maybe that is just one reason why he took his mother’s death in just a flash.
His relationship with Marie, for Meursault, marriage was just a way to get someone into a commitment and he was ok with him getting married with Marie but he won’t say that he loves Marie. Marie, on the other hand, does not care if Meursault loves her as long as they get married. Another one of his relationship with one of his friends, his friendship with Raymond, was filled with absurdity as well. Raymond and Meursault are friends but Meursault doesn’t really consider Raymond as a friend, he is more like a colleague and nothing more.
With the attitudes Meursault faces in “The Stranger”, Camus showed how absurd Meursault could be. The interrogation by the magistrate and the chaplain is one situation Meursault bursts out his feelings because Meursault was tested of his religion which he doesn’t have because he was an atheist. Meursault’s absurdity got him into more trouble because he doesn’t believe in God. It became absurd for religion is a very complicated topic towards society which people would consider it as a private topic to talk about. Meursault started to rebel against his own tradition. The magistrate made him break off his absurd way of living and that is why he started to change things that could lead him to a better life but it was too late because of his sentence in jail.
Peter Thai
ReplyDeleteAccording to the “The Stranger” it has shown the implication of the word “absurd”. The word absurd define as having no rational or orderly relationship to human life. Being away from society is the main idea of him that would be a detachment from other people the alienation in his own world separating from society. As it has said to me is the letter sent to Meursault that her mother has die and he went to see the funeral and soon he realize he didn’t seem to care about it at first in the beginning. The society plays as his life as his acceptance when people come to invite him. Letting the civilization being out of his way. In taking action in his life with fewer worries he has to think about.
The relationship he has found himself in Marie’s hands with the physical attachment with him. To this what I can give an example to is toward Marie who she met him at some beach or something. Meursault see her and begin to date her later on. As soon, he never gets a chance to see her real inner self. He only sees her on the outside but not the inside. Meaning that he doesn’t seem to like her of course he did go out with her but doesn’t seem to have the passionate to be and enjoyable thing with her. The attitude which Meursault faces was not fact that he was worry in the detachment of the society. He is facing the fact that he is feeling no sense in his existence. With the attitude he would be overcome and see is the fear he had at the end. Absurdity reflects his life as the stories goes on and wonders off. To see what has he been doing that been estrange.
At the end of the book what Meursalt had success at the conclusion of the book is that he realize that he has founded a deeper view of his reality when he was sent into jail and was all alone put upon he saw a small window and nothing he had heard but himself he has begin to realize that the fact his life has finally been figure out. Nothing can really have judged him because society doesn’t go-between him. What he really overcome was the fact that he has found what he has looking for at the end when he realize that his life is beginning to solve out meaning that his life is putting into pieces that he really understand now when he was at the jail. It’s no important about conformity with Meursault killing that Arabs he did it out of nowhere doing it like he just did it for no reason. He think of it as a liberated government that he could do whatever he want and not been any trouble with some sort of the law but ended up he did. As the fact when he was in jail as I told you in the middle he soon to apprehend the truth that his reality as he knows it is going to be an end but without a doubt he knows that he has found he pieces of life and solve it into a one big whole. His unconnected short stories later have become a whole to understand.
Jessica Van Zile
ReplyDeleteThe definition of the word absurd is “having no rational or orderly relationship to human life”. In my opinion this means you detach yourself from your life. Relationships, feelings of others and how your life plays out means nothing to you. Being considered absurd is something that makes people consider you an outcast. Society makes the rules and they determine who is an outcast and who isn’t whether they realize it or not. When society says something is “right” it is expected that you fall into the same path of thoughts as they do. If you do not fall under the same thought process they alienate you and don’t want to accept you for any reason. When they think it is sad that someone died and you don’t feel anything you are looked upon as heartless. When you don’t get excited about marriage or job promotions you are looked upon as unenthusiastic. Society likes you to conform to what they as a whole believe is good. To many it is odd that such a person can exist but there are existentialists everywhere in this world. Although this isn’t real life the book The Stranger is the personification of an existentialist.
Meursault is the main character in the book The Stranger. He embodies the essence of the absurd and goes on without much care about anything going on in his life. Some examples from the book include when his mom dies, his attitude towards his girlfriend and the nonchalant attitude he has towards the murders he committed. Going into more detail, Meursault put his mom in a home for old folks and didn’t care much about her life after that. When he found out she had died, he didn’t even have the decency remember the day she had passed. During the funeral not one tear was shed and the only emotion that came from him was from being physically uncomfortable. This was Meursault detaching himself from his feelings and he got criticized by society because of it.
The second example of Meursaults dethatching himself has to do with his girlfriend. He wasn’t every truly invested in the relationship. All he was in it for was the sex and that’s all he cared about. When Marie, the girlfriend, proposed to him he said he “didn’t care whether they got married or not” and that it was “up to her”. This shows him not caring for anyone but himself. In a way Marie judged him for not getting emotionally attached because it wasn’t what she was used to, what society was used to. Near the end of the book Meursault kills a man that has beef with one of his friends. The Arab that he killed wasn’t killed for the friend, because that would be showing affection. He was killed because Meursault didn’t care what happened. He didn’t think of the consequences and he didn’t care about them either. When he was put in jail he forced himself to find a way to live there, to go through the motions of life, not thinking about the good or bad things.
Going through the motions of life and not caring is exactly how Meursault lived. This is how an existentialist would live as well. Detaching themselves from how they feel gets them through everything including the dislike that the society has for them. Although Meursault is a fictional character existentialism is a real thing. Do you know an existentialist, if so how absurd are they?
River McCaine
ReplyDeleteIn Albert Camus’s “The Stranger,” the concept of the absurd is embedded deeply within the story and the many strange occurrences that the main character Meursault experiences. Before we understand the story, we must first analyze the actual absurdity that Camus tried to show to the readers. One might say the absurd is what the common existentialist would think about. This means that it is the various aspects of life that people attempt to add meaning to in order to self-delude themselves in to becoming “functioning” members of society. The whole idea of absurdity is wrapped the around the fact that no matter what, it is certain that we will die. Therefore, it is unnecessary to worry about the various consequences and accepted rules that society has set up for us. Throughout “The Stranger,” there were many times where you could easily see this idea of absurdity that Camus was trying to show us.
One of the main concepts that come with absurdity is detachment. During the novel, Meursault seems to be emotionally detached from anyone but himself. Specifically, he is extremely detached from his mother because he lacks the true emotion and devastating reaction that the death of a mother would normally evoke. During the final years of his mother’s life he even felt that it was too much of a hassle to visit her because it was so far away. This shows how Meursault’s physical needs often conquered his emotions due to him only thinking about how tired he was during the time of his mother’s death. You could even say that this detachment causes him to be somewhat socially awkward according to accepted social standards.
Absurdity is something that is reflected in many aspects of Meursault’s life. For example, when he was on the beach with the Arab, he decided to shoot him because of the piercing glare that was in his eyes. Then surprisingly, he fires four more bullets into his already dead body. This occurrence showed that he was unafraid of any of the consequences that society has manipulated the masses to fear. You can also see his detachment inside of the many relationships that he gains throughout the novel. Take his girlfriend Marie for example. When he asked to marry, he simply answers that he does not mind and will be willing to do it if she so pleases. The average man would either be extremely excited or terrified at such a bold question.
One of the most profound experiences that Meursault goes through is his talks with the magistrate. When the magistrate mentions and preaches the words of God to him, he becomes quickly perplexed by the fact that Meursault does not believe in a religion. The magistrate trying to push his religion on him correlates the relationship of society trying to push social norms onto the people who reside in it. His rejecting of such a widely accepted idea is also the rejection of the known world. He ends his life accepting his fate and almost happily as he laughs at the rest of the world for adding so much meaning to a world that is so absurd.
Deshanae S
ReplyDeleteBy Reading the end of the stranger I believe that meaursalt did not triumph on the end. He was mentally detached from society not physically. Meursault overcomes society’s judgment because although he has committed a crime and has been imprisoned he doesn’t feel any remorse so therefore the judgment has no effect on him. The punishment didn’t matter to him because there is no real purpose to life. The system is setup to that the criminal learns from the lesson but he doesnt, so the system does shackle and is proven to be ineffective. Even though Meursault communicates with his lawyer, but in his mind he really doesn’t care what the lawyer is saying to him.
If your life has no purpose, and you’re going to be killed I guess your sort of triumph in a way because you didn’t lose anything. In the Stanger he often uses the phrase”it doesn’t really matter” the magistrate couldn’t get Meursault to feel repentant. They couldn’t change his mindset or his thoughts concerning life itself or the consequences of actions. Meursault triumphed in a way because he stood his ground and proved to the court that no matter what they said to him, he still felt the same way about life. Living a life where he was just going through the motions was okay for him. He lived by his own rules and the laws of the country meant nothing to him. Making the rules and living by one’s own standards is the life he chooses to life. Despite the case he still lived by his own rules in jail so he was triumphed mentally
He was happier to feel annoyed by the magistrate then to give in to what a normal person would feel, remorseful. The government often try’s to create fear in the citizens so they don’t commit crimes, but Meursault was without fear, he had nothing to lose. He wished for a large crowd of hating spectators at his execution, because he was gratified with the fact that he caused a lot of drama and craziness with his senseless actions. He was glad the crowd was mad, because he didn’t want them to feel sorry for him.
Meursault made his own decisions and had to deal with them in the end. Just because society says you have to care, you have the option not too. His goal was not to conform to the rules of regulation of society. He felt very an accomplished when he didn’t give in to the judge. Even though he was put in prison physically, mentally he is free and not in bondage. Instead of rejecting death, he accepts it.” As if that blind rage has washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, I that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much life myself - so like a brother, really - I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. “
Rigoberto Navarro
ReplyDeleteThe stranger has many parts that show the act of people questioning and absurd acts the way of life and just playing games with life. Meursault gets put in prison for murdering a Arab just because. At first Meursault didn't really care that he got put in prison but he started realizing what he misses and he wanted to be with Marie. Meursault is in his cell and He find a newspaper about a cezch man that was murdered by his wife and daughter because they didn't know who he was at first and they beat him to death with a hammer. This part of the book relates a lot to meursaults life.
Meursaults trial relates to the murder of the czech man because Meursault and his friends were playing games with a gun and were like fooling around with it like pretending to shoot things. And at the end of the day their games turned into a serious murder of an Arab man and landed him in prison away from Marie. The reason the man got killed by his wife and daughter is because the wife of the czech man owns a hotel and it has been years that he has seen them, he walked into their hotel playing games also by flashing all his money and acting like someone he wasn't, then later that day they killed him. At the end Meursault ended up being murdered by the system.
This expands the meaning of the stranger and the meaning of absurd because when they were playing those games with the gun and the money they weren't thinking about anything they just were careless not thinking about the consequences and that's what being absurd is all about not thinking and just doing things recklessly without thinking what's going to really happend at the end
In the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus he highlights the topics of existentialism using the concepts of absurdism, detachment, alienation, acceptance, and society. The novel's main character Meursault is the representation of existentialism and the events, relationships, and attiudes towards his life and society highlight this.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of absurd using the beliefs of Meursault is anything that strays from the accepted norms of society. Meursault life is viewed as "absurd" by the authorities because he doesn't believe in God. This is my the Magistrate refers to him as the "Antichrist". The only way the magistrate will find his life meaningful was if Meursault suddenly became repentant and believed in Christianity.
Detachment from society is the road to not being understood and accepted. Meursault's detachment from emotions cause people around him to view him as soul less. His general indifference causes people to assume that he is not a functioning part of society because he is not like everyone else. "He asked me if he could say that that day I held back my natural feelings I said, 'No, because it's not true". (65) His inability to feel sadness at that moment is misinterpreted as being soul less.
Alienation from society is a death sentence because it drew Meursault away from seeming normal. Even though Meursault was a functioning part of society, his eccentricity and inability to conform made him alienated and alone. "He said it was impossible, all men believed in God, even those who turn their backs on him. That was his belief, and if he were ever to doubt it, his life would become meaningless. " (69) Meursault was alienated because he did turn his back on God.
Meursault's acceptance of his death clearly embodies existentialism. He does not believe that he could do anything to stop his death or to defend himself in the trial so he simply accepts his sentence without an emotion passing through him. He accepts the idea that he is not at all a part of society.
Society becomes the foundation of government. The foundation of government is set by religion. So the societal norms provide the guidelines for people to life by. Meursault was not able to follow these norms so he was totally shunned by his society. But Meursault doesn't care because he never wanted to be a apart of anything
Nancy Ngo:
ReplyDelete"The Stranger" by Camus exhibits a plethora of themes that all connect to existentialism, which highlights upon the "absurd." In my opinion, the "absurd" is defined as someone who does not deliberately adhere to anyone else or anything else through human emotions. Additionally, I feel that the absurd do not try to rationalize all actions by justifying or demonizing them. Instead, they usually try to see things in a objective vantage point because they may believe that there truly is no purpose for life. These characteristics of the absurd are greatly evident in the murder trial of Meursault and the Czech atricle which he stumbles upon.
Meursault's coincidental finding of a Czech article about a man being murdered by his mother and daughter and his murder trail converge upon the point of events transpiring oddly but truthfully by chance. For instance, it was just by chance that the mother ans the sister in the hotel came across their son/brother (without their knowledge firsthand), from whom they wanted to steal cash and other valuable items. This meant that when they killed and disposed of him, they had no definite rational purpose or doing so. It was mostly fueled by a habitual behavior of greed that they committed this crime. In other words, the action was coincidental. Meursault's murder trial mirrors this concept because it highlights upon the fact, in reality, that him shooting the Arab 5 times was not at all premeditated, even though the prosecutor attempted to refute it otherwise. As an existential character, Meursault just stumbled upon the Arab and committed this "heinous crime" (as seen by society) for no particularly justified or unjustified reason at all.
This Czech article expands upon the themes of detachment and alienation in "The Stranger." Because the man had left his family and village for greater wealth and a wife (which he both achieved) only to return several years later for a surprise reunion, he became so detached from his mother and sister that they didn't even recognize who he was when they killed them. Additionally, being alienated from each other for such a long period of time makes the murder even more absurd because when it came to a greedy motive for killing the rich man, it ultimately became pointless and futile when the mother and daughter found out that the victim was their family.
This Czech article support's Camus's philosophy of the absurd in "The Stranger" because no veritable motive is exhibited and the pointless quest for motive is not viable in this case. At first, the mother and sister committed the crime for money, but after the shocking revelation, they went on to commit suicide due to excruciating guilt. However, in the instance of the actual murder of the man, there was no solid rational basis for doing it at all. It was all just by a odd, tragic, and harrowing coincidence which set all of these events in motion. There was no way that the killers could've recognized their son/brother after such a long detachment from each other.
sorry posted on friday but for some reason, it didn't post officially so had to rewrite again.