The Stranger

The Stranger, written by French Author Albert Camus, presents a self-narrated story of the main character Meursault, a person spiritually detached from the rest of the world, whose mind is full of absurdism. Camus illustrates the conflicts which Meursault experiences while living in a world that urges him to explore the purpose of human life. At the same time, the novel also displays the irony underlying the nature of mankind by portraying events that go utterly the way incongruent to…...

This essay is based on the enigmatic novel written by Albert Camus. There are multiple reviews of this book, but it was originally published in French, in 1942,'The Outsider in England and ‘The Stranger’ in the US. The novel is narrated by Meursault, a character, who is an atheist and nihilist. His reviews of the society are different, and his feelings are not that of the normal people living in the society. This is demonstrated and explained in the book’s…...

Reflective Statement By exploring Algerian history and culture in the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, I have come to understand how the history of Algeria plays a crucial role in the thematic elements of the novel. For example, I discovered how the French colonized Algeria from 1830 to 1962. Since the novel was published in 1942, it makes sense that there are tensions between the native Algerians in the novel and the French. I also learned a lot about…...

The Stranger or The Outsider as it is alternatively known is – interesting to say the least. The conflict of the book made you contemplate meaning of life and society. The conflict can be interpreted in a bunch of ways, really, but what is/are the main conflict(s)? After reading the book followed by spending numerous hours in the shower contemplating the meaning of life, I officially came to the conclusion of man versus self as well as man vs society.…...

In Albert Camus's famous novel The Stranger there are many out of the ordinary occurrences, the theory of absurdity is thought of quite frequently throughout. The main character Meursault, gets himself into a predicament that develops Camus's philosophy of the absurd. His philosophy is that humans tend to impose a rational order on the world in the face of evidence that the world is absurd. According to Webster's Dictionary the word "absurd means clearly unreasonable" (Webster 4). This means that…...

"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life" - Albert Camus Throughout his life Albert believed the world is absurd, without purpose, and leading only onto death. Sunday through Saturday people go through the same motions, repeating the same lives until one day the question of why overcomes us. This causes many in the world to search for an explanation of…...

The novel begins with Meursault, a shipping clerk living in French Algiers in the 1940s, reading a message announcing the passing of his mom. While at the funeral the guests are surprised at his strange calm behavior. He goes on a date with a girl he just met, helps a pimp, and goes to a beach outside of town with both. Meursault and his friend, Raymond, are confronted by Arabs. A fight breaks out, with Meursault ultimately shooting an Arab.…...

The novel begins with Meursault, a shipping clerk living in French Algiers in the 1940s, reading a message announcing the passing of his mom. While at the funeral the guests are surprised at his strange calm behavior. He goes on a date with a girl he just met, helps a pimp, and goes to a beach outside of town with both. Meursault and his friend, Raymond, are confronted by Arabs. A fight breaks out, with Meursault ultimately shooting an Arab.…...

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus' The Outsider, both feature protagonists in situations out of which arise existentialist values. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. In The Metamorphosis the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, realizes his existentialism towards the end of the novella. In contrast, Monsieur Meursault, the protagonist…...

In the novel, The Stranger, author Albert Camus confronts some important issues of the time, and uses the singular viewpoint of the narrator Meursault to develop his philosophy and effectively weave together themes of absurdity, colonialism, and free will. Through the progressive disruption of Meursault’s life and his characterization, Camus presents the absurdity of the human condition along with the understanding that a person can actually be happy in the face of the absurd. Camus also intentionally sets the story…...

American author Raymond Chandler once stated, "The most durable thing in writing is style, and style is the most valuable investment a writer can make with his time." The writing style that an author uses is many times, in a sense, what characterizes a book or novel. When an author is writing a piece of literature, he or she always takes into consideration the type of writing style that will be used in the work. Writing style is a literary…...

In Albert Camus’ existential novel The Stranger, the pointlessness of life and existence is exposed and expounded upon in such a manner that the entire foundation of spirituality is shaken. The concept that drives this novel is one coined by Albert Camus himself, the “absurd”. Under the absurd, life is pointless and holds no meaning. One lives merely to fulfill the obligation of living. Also, every possible action conceivable is governed by the static tools of chance and coincidence. The…...

In Albert Camus’s “The Stranger”, the absurdity of life from Camus’s eyes are put on display through the main character Meursault. The sense that the meaning of life is in the human experiences and that things shouldn’t be questioned is the basis of who Meursault truly is as a person. These personality traits reveal that Meursault is a perfect example of an existentialist. From Meursault’s strictly physical way of describing the events he comes into contact with, to his lack…...

The role of the “strange little woman” in the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus plays relates to a larger theme at play in the text. This woman intrigues Meursault as he is having dinner at Celeste’s and she asks him if she can join him at his table. This little robot-like woman provides a bold contrast to Meursault’s own character, and it is very prevalent to the reader. “While she was waiting for her first course, she opened her…...

Existentialism is often defined as a philosophical movement or tendency, emphasizing individual existence, freedom and choice. As a result of the diversity of positions associated with this term it is impossible to define precisely. There are, however, basic themes common in existentialist beliefs. As is evident through the root of the word, exist, there is a stress on definite individual existence and freedom of choice. Developed between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this ideology influenced literature greatly. A prime example…...

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. This philosophy is essentially the crux of the novel The Stranger and not only serves as one of the themes but probably the main reason Albert Camus wrote the book altogether. Presented in first person narration through the eyes of Meursault, the…...

Is there truly any justice in the novel The Stranger, written by Albert Camus? This is a question that naturally protrudes throughout the novel, as it is not abundantly clear what Meursault, the protagonist, was, in fact, put on trial for. At the beginning of the second part of the narrative, it is understood that he is put on trial for the murder of an Arab; however, it later comes to our attention that the murder was not the primary…...

"An Astrologer's Day" by R.K Narayan has to do with an astrologer who practices Vedic astrology also known as "the science of light." Which suggests the author primarily includes foreshadowing to develop thriller and interest. Therefore the three main examples are, his eyes sparkled with sharp abnormal gleam which was actually a result of his own, the astrologist had left his village without any previous idea or strategy, likewise the astrologist shivered in his grip, and his voice shook and…...

During the interactive oral, we discussed the main theme of the meaninglessness of human life that is present in The Stranger by Albert Camus. We emphasized mainly on Meursault’s detached and unemotional characteristics, especially when the jury uses this against him at his trial: “He stated that I had no place in a society whose most fundamental rules I ignored” (102). Meursault is very isolated from his society, and during his trial all the odds are not in his favor…...

Have you even been in a situation when you have gone from total innocence to experience in a short period of time? In the short story “The Blue Bouquet” written by Octavio Paz, the main character starts off by waking up from a nap and going on a walk even after being warned not to by the owner of the boardinghouse. Whilst out the protagonist gets stopped in the middle of the night by another man with a knife who…...

Freedom is a word that we use so often, but what does it truly mean? Everyone has a different definition of what freedom is. Some believe that freedom is saying whatever you want without consequences or doing what you want without consequences, while others believe that freedom is about equality. However, author Ambrose Flack presents a new and refreshing viewpoint. In his short story, The Strangers That Came to Town, Ambrose Flack is showing that true freedom is about being…...

The passage taken from “The Comfort of Strangers “by Ian McEwan essentially describes the want of two sisters Eva and Maria to look beautiful and furthermore the denial of their parents towards the girls’ desires. It is written in the third person i.e. the omniscient. The passage conveys few symbols: Beauty through the want of the sisters to look gorgeous ie. lipsticks, mascaras make up etc. , The truth and honesty through the confession of the boy. Owing to the…...

Are We Morally Obligated to Help Strangers in Need? Barbara T. Montgomery PHI 208: Ethics and Moral Reasoning Professor David Smith November 4, 2019 Part 1: Ethical Discussion Do we have a moral obligation to help a stranger in need? Part 2: Introduction "When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself." These…...