PHILOSOPHY OF ABSURD IN “THE STRANGER”

BY

MAHRUKH SAIF
2948/539963
WORLD LITERATURE
7TH SEMESTER (E)
 INTRODUCTION TO NOVEL:-

• The stranger, first novel by Albert Camus, published in French in 1942. It was published as
The Outsider in England and as The Stranger in the United States.It is philosophical novel.
 WHAT IS ABSURD?
• In philosophy, "the Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to
seek inherent value and meaning in life, and the human inability to find any in a
purposeless, meaningless and irrational universe. The universe and the human mind do not
each separately cause the Absurd, but rather, the Absurd arises by the contradictory nature of
the two existing simultaneously.
 FOUNDER OF ABSURDISM:-

• A particular form of Existentialism, it was strongly evident in some of the works of Søren ,
but was more expressly developed by Albert Camus in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus and his
works of Absurdist fiction repudiating many assumptions found in atheistic nihilism and
theistic existentialism as well as ...
 INTRODUCTION:-

•  Absurdists believed that it is futile to examine the meaning of life because life is random
and looking for it is a waste of time.
• Camus states that in order to obtain freedom in an absurd universe, one must first recognize
absurdity. By realizing this, one can understand that the universe is not absolute and this will
free us from expectations.
 ABSURDISM IN “THE STRANGER”:-

• In 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus, Camus includes his philosophy of the absurd through the
main character Meursault. The main theme of the novel is that the significance of human life is
only understood at the point of death. ...
The first example of absurdism is Meursault's relationship with his mother.
 HOW IS MEURSAULT ABSURD?

•  Meursault is an absurd hero both on a figurative and on a literal level. ... On a literal level,
Meursault perfectly exemplifies the absurd characteristics of revolt, freedom, and passion
outlined by Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus.
 AN ABSURD HERO BY CAMUS:-

•  As a metaphor for the human condition and the absurdity of our experience, Sisyphus is the
epitome of the absurd hero because he is able to recognize the absurdity of the human
condition, abandon hope, find happiness in material reality, and ultimately find meaning in
the struggle itself.