Existentialism And The Outsider By Camus
The Outsider is Camus's best known novel. It is generally considered to be the best known existentialist book, because it focuses on the absurdity of life and death, as well as of society. My hypothesis is that Camus couldn't help being an existentialist. There are several parallels between the main character of the book and Camus himself which seem to point in that direction.
Existentialism cannot easily be defined. It is not a major philosophy. Its most important points are: existence itself, subjectivity, individual freedom and choice, where actually life itself becomes a choice. Such ideas were not new, even the old Greek tragedies often use the idea of absurdity of human life. But these ideas became recognized by philosophers like Kirkegaard over a hundred years ago, and finally given a name by the French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre.
Camus's novel, The Outsider, was published in 1942. Some people say that the main character's attitude is closer to nihilism than existentialism. Meursault, the main character, seems to have his emotions most of the time switched off, which makes it possible for him to be an observer of his own life, watching it as an "outsider". The book is written in first person, and Meursault describes everything that happens to him in a very detailed way but without any reference to any of his feelings. Because of it, reading the book is like watching a movie. This aspect forces the reader to try and put meaning into Meursault's actions, yet at the same time creating an unsettling effect which is further increased by the reoccurring topic of death.
The book is organized around three deaths. It starts with the mother's death, the climax in the middle produces the Arab man's death, and then it progresses towards Meursault's execution. What makes the book more existentialist than nihilist is that the character develops during the book, he starts expressing emotions by the end. At one...
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