AP Muggle Studies: Exploring the Muggle world one book at a time
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The Stranger and Camus' Absurdism
Camus was a self-proclaimed "absurdist." Based on The Stranger and Meursault’s beliefs, 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? As always, use evidence to support your interpretations.
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I don't really know if I agree with Erica. I feel that the whole idea of absurdism isn't so much that one lacks the ability to feel, so much as the failure of seeing any benefit from having those feelings. Meursault obviously possesses some feeling and awareness of how the world perceives him, as displayed by his initial encounter with the director of the home. It says, "Madame Meursault came to us three years ago. You were her sole support." Meursault then attempts to defend himself and justify his actions, but the director cuts him off and says, "You don't have to justify yourself, my dear boy. I've read your mother's file. You weren't able to provide for her properly. She needed someone to look after her. You earn only a modest salary. And the truth of the matter is, she was happier here"(4). (My apologies for the block quote.) By placing his mother in the home, Meursault had shown an awareness of the situation that he was putting his mother through a life that could be better elsewhere, and shows compassion through placing her in the home. As for his reaction to his mother's death, Meursault only declines to see the body, to which the caretaker says, "I understand"(6). I think that the true display of absurdism is the reversal of everyone's attitudes toward Meursault when he is on trial. When he is at the vigil and the funeral, nobody questions him, or takes issue with his withdrawn response to his mother's death, since it is as if he is in denial. They respect his way to mourn as he chooses, and if that is to not linger on the thought of his mother's death, then they seem to accept that at first. But in the courtroom, they all portray Meursault as a heartless fiend, whose withdrawn personality in response to his mother's death makes him capable of being a remorseless monster who "hadn't cried once, and that I [Meursault] had left right after the funeral without paying my last respects at her grave"(89). Finally, the use of Meursault's apathy towards religion to condemn him can be seen as absurd as well. He rejects feelings and all earthly ideas. His rant at the chaplain is the ultimate declaration of his absurdist beliefs. Meursault says, "what did his God or the lives people choose or the fate they think they elect matter to me when we are all elected by the same fate... Everybody was privileged. There were only privileged people. The others would be condemned one day. And he would be condemned too... What did it matter that Raymond was as much my friend as Celeste, who was worth a lot more than him?"(121). By rejecting these feelings, ideas, and relationships that are all "reality" to many, Meursault solidifies himself as an absurdist, not by lacking emotion, but by rejecting it.
ReplyDeleteWe see within the most significant moments that Meursault faces in the text that he fails to respond like a rational, even normal, human being would. This absurdity is present in moments such as his mothers death when he visits her, when he repeatedly shoots a man on the beach and all throughout his trial. His detachment is a large part that plays into his absurdity, when the director asks Meursault, "The undertaker's men arrived a few minutes ago. I'm going to ask them to seal the casket. Before I do, would you like to see your mother one last time?" (13) and he answers no. This is a explicit example of his detachment from the grieving process one should partake in when a loved one dies. Another prime example of the detachment that fuels Meursault's absurdity is the moment after he shoots the Arab for the first time, "Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times at the door of unhappiness." (59). This blunt description of his response to shooting a man four extra times describes not only his literal detachment from reality but his overall attitude of detachment. "knocking four quick times at the door of unhappiness" both the words "quick" and "unhappiness" describe a passiveness that should not be present in the attitude of a man who just killed someone, yet it is present in Meursault further proving his absurdness. Finally, his relationships with others also show his absurd tendencies and perhaps this is best seen at his own trial, especially when the witnesses are called to the stand. Throughout his trial everyone closest to him testifies and he has little to no response to any of them, that is until Celeste speaks and genuinely seems to think Meusault is innocent. Meursault responds to this, "I said nothing; I made no gesture of any kind, but it was the first time in my life I ever wanted to kiss a man." (93) The statement in itself is absurd but the fact that he responds to Celeste's statement this way and not to one's he is closer to such as Marie or Raymond also proves to be strange. Meursault himself could not be much stranger and it is his strange tendencies that lend themselves to define absurdity. Perhaps absurdity is exactly what Meursault is, the exact opposite of what a human being is naturally expected to be.
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ReplyDeleteA major factor of absurdism is the idea that everyone is going to die and one can search for a meaning in life, but there isn't one, death is the end for us all. Here in this instance Meursault is exemplifying this idea perfectly. Throughout the story we have seen his affection toward Marie, and he even agreed to marry her, now he states that he doesn't care is she is dead and death seemed perfectly normal to him. Whereas a normal person would hope not to be forgotten after death Meursault seems to think the exact opposite. He states that he "knows" he will be forgotten when he is dead which once again shows his absurdist beliefs. When the Chaplain came in The most apparent use of absurdism in Stranger to me was at the very end, after Meursault was sentenced to death. Not only does he act very odd about his fate, but he also rejects religion as Alex stated above. One thing that jumped out to me was when Meursault was speaking about Marie and he stated " Marie meant nothing to me. I wasn't interested in her dead. That seemed perfectly normal to me, since I understood very well that people would forget me when I was dead " (Camus 115). A major factor of absurdism is the idea that everyone is going to die and one can search for a meaning in life, but there isn't one, death is the end for us all. Here in this instance Meursault is exemplifying this idea perfectly. Throughout the story we have seen his affection toward Marie, and he even agreed to marry her, now he states that he doesn't care is she is dead and death seemed perfectly normal to him. Whereas a normal person would hope not to be forgotten after death Meursault seems to think the exact opposite. He states that he "knows" he will be forgotten when he is dead which once again shows his absurdist beliefs. When the Chaplain came to visit Meursault in his cell before his sentence was fulfilled he again shows absurdist tendencies. When the Chaplain asked why Meursault refused him his response was he didn't believe in God and it was "unimportant" to him. By saying this and rejecting God Meursault shows that he is a definite absurdist as he see's no real meaning in life or after life.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Erica, Meursault embodies the idea of absurdism through his indifference and detachment to everything that happens around him. The first at most obvious example of this behavior is his indifference to his own mother's death which takes up most of the whole first chapter. The evidence that Erica brought up exemplified the same attitude as he sparked no emotion or reaction to Marie's proposal. Another time when Meursault displays this indifference is when he responds to his boss' job offer in Paris with, "I said that people never change their lives, that in any case one life was as good as another and that I wasn’t dissatisfied with mine here at all". His comment implies that Meursault believes that there is no point in putting in effort to alter lives because exsistence is the same for every individual. Meursault's overall lack of emotion that he feels towards all aspects of his life link to his absurdist belief that life is meaningless and random and there is no use in changing it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like there has been discussion about a few of Meursault’s relationships, but there is one relationship that he finds himself in that I find very important, and that is with his “pal”, Raymond (33). Raymond is already made out to be an undesirable character because he is a pimp who physically abuses his mistress; he is in sharp contrast to Meursault. Raymond is clearly immoral, compared to Mersault, who is amoral. Meursault first meets Raymond out of an act of absurdity; Raymond asks Meursault to join him for dinner, with Meursault only agreeing because “it would save [him] the trouble of having to cook for [himself]” (28). The physical priority of his hunger is above any moral concerns about Raymond, as the absurdist Meursault places no value in ethical meaning. This apathy towards morality is further emphasized when Raymond asks Meursault to write a threatening letter to his mistress; Meursault accepts simply because he “didn’t have any reason not to please him” (32). This involvement with Raymond is what indirectly causes Meursault’s eventual crime. Meursault’s absurd tendencies where he finds no moral meaning allow him to be swept up by those with immoral dispositions like Raymond; his passiveness towards society’s rules and forced rational structure leads to his downfall among humans.
ReplyDeleteMeusault's life is very intriguing in the fact that there isn't much to it. His reactions and decisions show his indifference to the world and highlight on "the absurd." There is no reasoning behind his actions, which kills people in a world of reasoning. Everyone wants to know why, how, when, ect. Meursault doesn't care. He does things just do them, and becomes friends with people "just because." The main conflict of the novel -- the murder of the Arab -- is what essentially defines Camus' theory of the absurd. Meursault kills a man for no apparent reason, and then is taken to court in order to find the reasoning behind it, when, in reality, there is none. The court = society. They need an answer, reason, or explanation. In Meursault's case, there is none.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the novel, Meursault reaches true faith (existentialism) and accepts his life, therefore, accepting his impending death. He is truly himself.