How do we know the world of The Stranger is irrational? ... Camus demonstrates that the world of The Stranger is irrational by excluding from the text any logical explanation for the events of the novel. Meursault’s murder of the Arab is the most obvious example of an event that occurs for no apparent reason.
What is the main message of The Stranger?
Major themes of The Stranger include alienation, absurdity, and French colonialism . Meursault is the titular stranger, a young shipping clerk living in Algiers in the 1940s, when it was still a French colony. Meursault’s life is dull and empty, and Meursault takes little pleasure in living.
What is the gentle indifference of the world The Stranger?
Gentle Indifference of the world. It is Meursault’s realization of his own individuality, his own power of perception , and the “gentle indifference” to the world that gives him freedom.
How does The Stranger show existentialism?
In The Stranger, Albert Camus uses Mersault and his experiences to convey the philosophy that man is full of anxiety and despair with no meaning in his life except for simple existence. ... As an existentialist, he accepts life as it is without seeking deeper meaning .
How does Meursault view the world?
After his encounter with the chaplain, Meursault concludes that the universe is, like him, totally indifferent to human life . He decides that people’s lives have no grand meaning or importance, and that their actions, their comings and goings, have no effect on the world.
Is Meursault ever happy?
As opposed to earlier in the novel, when Meursault was passively content at best, here Meursault finds that he is actively happy once he opens himself to the reality of human existence. Meursault finds that he is also happy with his position in society. He does not mind being a loathed criminal.
Is Meursault happy at the end?
At the end of The Stranger, Meursault is able to die happy because he (like Ivan Ilyich) is able to come to terms with himself as a constituent part of existence, and so live authentically.
Is Meursault autistic?
It was then found that Camus had based Meursault on his close friend Galindo, and a search was therefore made for evidence of Galindo’s character; this revealed him to be an intelligent but odd person, who exhibited the characteristic impairment of social and personal behavior of Asperger’s syndrome .
What does the sun symbolize in The Stranger?
In The Stranger, the sun represents the indifference of the universe . It is the sun shining in his eyes that allegedly motivates Meursault to murder the Arab man.
What does Meursault realize at the end of The Stranger?
At the end of The Stranger, Meursault realizes that death is inevitable and the universe is indifferent to humanity .
Is Meursault a nihilist or existentialist?
In The Stranger, the main character Meursault is a nihilist who believes that life has no meaning. Instead of searching for meaning, Meursault lives detached from the people around him and does not care about his life, family, or friends.
How does Meursault truly embody an existentialist mentality?
As an existentialist, Meursault believes that life is inherently meaningless , and so all that’s left is for the individual to impose meaning on his or her life through the free choices that they make. By most people’s standards, Meursault makes some incredibly bad choices in life.
What does the last line of The Stranger mean?
The final line of the book is meant to show that Meursault has now fully accepted his outsider status . Throughout the novel, Meursault has been at odds with society. He is indifferent towards just about everything. He does not cry at his mother’s funeral. He does not love his girlfriend.
Why is Meursault angry?
Meursault becomes irritated by the chaplain’s insistence that he spend the rest of his life thinking about God . ... He shouts that nothing matters, and that nothing in the chaplain’s beliefs is as certain as the chaplain thinks. The only certainty Meursault perceives in the whole of human existence is death.
What makes Meursault happy?
In The Stranger, Meursault is made happy through simple sensual pleasures and comforts . By the end of the book, his full acceptance of the absurd also brings him happiness.
Is Meursault a stranger?
The Stranger, by Albert Camus, is a novel about Meursault and how he is a “stranger” to society. ... Meursault is a “ stranger ” and an absurdity to society because he does not show any emotions, he has no meaning for life, and his only certainty and guarantee is death.
