Theme of Absurdism in 'The Stranger' By Albert Camus.
ABSTRACT
Absurdisme adalah suatu istilah tentang tidak ditemukannya makna atau
arti dalam hidup. Istilah ini kemudian dikembangkan oleh Albert Camus, seorang
sastrawan Prancis. Kemenangan Jerman dalam Perang Dunia II, memicu Albert
Camus menjadi atheis dengan mencetuskan paham Absurditas. Hal ini yang
melatarbelakangi Camus dalam karyanya yang berwarna atheis. Tokoh dalam
karyanya adalah seseorang yang dapat menentukan pilihannya sendiri,
menanggung resiko dan bertanggung jawab atas pilihannya.
Dalam novel The Stranger ini, tokoh yang bernama Meursault mempunyai
kehidupan yang layak. Dia sering mengeluhkan hidupnya tidak berguna dan
membosankan dan bukannya bersyukur kepada Tuhan. Segala sesuatu yang
terjadi padanya dianggap tidak berarti. Suatu saat dia menembak seseorang
sampai mati, sehingga dia dikirim ke penjara dan divonis hukuman mati, bukan
karena telah membunuh seseorang tetapi karena tindakannya yang tidak
mencerminkan sikap seorang anak terhadap sang ibu pada umumnya. Di akhir
cerita, dia menyadari bahwa kematiannya sangat berarti karena dia merasa
hidupnya tidak berarti.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
4
4
4
4
CHAPTER TWO: THEME OF ABSURDISM IN
ALBERT CAMUS’ THE STRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Stranger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Biography of the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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APPENDICES
SYNOPSIS OF THE STRANGER
In the beginning of the story Meursault is trying to recall his mother’s
death. He can only vaguely remember anything about his mother. He and his
mother previously have a distant emotional state and nothing changes after her
death. He remembers once he visits his mother, speaks to the undertaker, smokes
a cigarette and meets Monsieur Perez, who helps to carry his mother’s coffin to its
burial plot.
The day after the funeral, Meursault takes a bus to the public beach and
meets up with Marie Cardona, a beautiful young secretary from his company.
After spending the day splashing around in the ocean and going to a movie, Marie
returns to Meursault's apartment where they make love. Marie asks Meursault if
he loves her. Meursault likes her and he will marry her if he wants, but he sees
nothing special about her or any woman in general.
Meursault returns to work and his boring life. He passes some time with coworker and friend, Emmanuel. He speaks with his downstairs neighbor,
Salamano, who lives alone with his spaniel dog. Another neighbor, with whom
Meursault become friends is Raymond Sintes, a short and stalk man, who openly
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beats his ex-girlfriend who is an Arab and who he believes to have cheated on
him. Raymond and Meursault discuss their lack of emotions and past relationships
with one another, understanding the apathetic, cold, and indifferent personalities
that they share.
One day, Raymond brings Meursault and Marie to the beach to visit his
friend, Masson. They see a group of Arabs following them. Near a stream at the
edge of the beach, the Arabs fight the three men, and run off. After the three men
return to Masson's cottage, Meursault returns to the beach with Raymond's gun.
He comes across the same Arab and, before much provocation, shoots him once.
After he falls, Meursault shoots him four more times.
Meursault is arrested and put in jail to await trial. He speaks with a
magistrate, several policemen, and his defense attorney. The prosecuting attorney
describes Meursault's indifference towards his mother's death as monstrous and
apathetic. The judges, jury and audience members are convinced when Marie
explains that they begin their relationship immediately after the funeral
proceedings.
Meursault is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to public
execution by guillotine. The prison chaplain urge him to find God and salvation.
Meursault still does not believe in God and finds the man frustrating and
annoying. When the day of his execution arrives, Meursault understands Maman's
actions and feelings prior to her death. He thinks that maybe he could live another
life. Nevertheless, he is excited about the day. He walks out to the guillotine
hoping that everyone cheers loudly for his death.
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Albert Camus was born in Mondovi, Algeria in 1913. His father died one
year later, and Camus' mother raised him alone. His mother was impoverished and
nearly deaf, so the two of them moved to Camus' grandmother's apartment in the
Belcourt section of Algiers, near the Arab Quarter of the city. Camus occupied
himself with school and sports, proving to be an excellent student and an
admirable competitor. He was tutored by an instructor named Louis Germain at
the local school, and in 1923 he passed the lycée entrance exams. He was
accepted to the school of philosophy at the University of Algiers, but had to take
leave due to a bout with tuberculosis. He recommenced his education in 1930, and
working for the Meteorological Institute, selling spare car parts, and private
tutoring. He received his diplôme d'études supérieures in 1936. In 1937 he
published his first book, a collection of essays entitled L'Envers et L'endroit.
From 1934 to their divorce in 1936, Camus maintained a short marriage to
Simone Hié, the daughter of a wealthy ophthalmologist. Camus joined the
Communist Party in 1934. From 1935-39 Camus, founded the Théâtre de
l'Equipe, or the Workers' Theatre. This group wrote a collective play called
Révolte dans les Asturies. In 1938, Camus became a journalist for an anticolonialist newspaper called the Alger-Republicain. Camus left Algiers in 1940
for Paris. This same year the German army invaded France, so he returned to
North Africa. He found a teaching position in Oran, and was married for his
second time to Francine Faure, a mathematics instructor.
In 1943 Camus joined "Combat," a clandestine resistance cell and
newspaper that had been founded in 1942 for underground intelligence and
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sabotage. He became its editor in 1943, and held this position for four years.
During the occupation the paper was printed in Lyon, and it moved to Paris after
the Liberation in the summer of 1944. The first Paris edition editorial was written
by Camus.
During the war, Camus published a number of works which have become
associated with his doctrine of the absurd: his idea it is impossible to make
rational sense of one's experience, and human life is made meaningless by
mortality. The novel, The Stranger (1942; Eng. trans., 1946), has become the
quintessential work of fiction of the 20th century on the theme of the alienated
outsider. The Myth of Sysiphysus (1942; Eng. trans., 1955) is an essay dedicated
to the absurd. He also published two plays consistent with this theme: Cross
Purpose (1944, Eng. trans., 1948) and Caligula (1944, Eng. trans., 1948).
Although Camus is attracted to contemporary nihilism in these works, he became
increasingly more ambivalent in his philosophy towards absurdism. He was not
comfortable with the moral indifference necessarily implied by philosophical
absurdism. He exercised these thoughts in works like Letters to a German Friend
(1945), which is published with a number of other political essays, in Resistance,
Rebellion, and Death (1960).
In 1944 Camus' wife gave birth to twins, Catherine and Jean. In 1949
Camus had a relapse of his tuberculosis, and he locked himself in seclusion to
write. When he recovered in 1951 he published L'Homme Révolté (The Rebel).
He began to write for l'Express daily newspaper in 1955, covering the Algerian
war. He came back into favor with intellectual circles in 1956 with the publication
of his novel The Fall. In 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for
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his essay Réflexions Sur la Guillotine as an influential work on behalf of human
rights.
Throughout his life, Camus continued to work for the theatre, taking on
the various roles of actor, director, playwright and translator. The themes of his
theatrical work primarily wrest with the human desire for understanding and its
conflict with the absurd nature of existence. State of Siege (1948; Eng. trans.,
1958) and The Just Assassins (1950; Eng. trans., 1958) are two of his distinctly
political plays. He also gained acclaim for his stage adaptations of novels such as
William Faulkner's Requiem for a Nun (1956) and Dostoyevsky's The Possessed
(1959).
On January 4, 1960, Camus died in a car accident near Sens, France, while
on his return to Paris with his friend and publisher Michel Gallimard. Found in his
papers was the novel The First Man, a fictionalized account of his family history,
which was published in 1995 (The European Graduate School).
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
I choose the first novel written by Albert Camus, The Stranger, because I
like how the author portrays the character with his unique personalities and
attitudes that are different from common people. Camus is particularly considered
the originator of absurdism, a philosophy related to Existentialism. Absurdism
contends that human beings are basically irrational and human suffering is the
result of vain attempts by individuals to find reason or meaning in the absurd
abyss of existence. “Camus claimed that the only true philosophical question was
that of suicide. That is, should we bother living at all or simply kill ourselves?
Camus argued that historically most people have either believed that life is
meaningless and concluded in favor of suicide, or has created some artificial
meaning like religion to fill their lives. Camus claims that there is a third option:
we can realize that life is meaningless and nevertheless keep living” (Bykova).
I choose The Stranger, which is one of his masterpiece (another one is The
Fall), because I am interested in how Camus explores the basic ideas of his theory
of absurdism; namely, that the world is essentially meaningless and the only way
to arrive at any meaning or purpose is to living in it or committed suicide. Thus it
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is the individual and not the act that gives meaning to any given context. In this
book, he wants to explore what he termed “the nakedness of man faced with the
absurd” (Camus). Nakedness means something that is not hidden or made less
clear; plain to see and perhaps shocking. From his term, one can see people who
live in their own world without any way to find the meaning in life and reason in
the irrational and meaningless world.
I want to analyze the theme of this novel. Theme is “its controlling idea or
its central insight. It is the unifying generalization about life stated or implied by
the story. To derive the theme of the story, we must ask what its central purpose
is: what view of life it supports or what insight into life it reveals” (Perrine 105). I
choose theme in order to connect the meaning of the story and absurdism itself.
There are a lot of theories related to absurdism and how people try to live
in it. I find one of the theories which says that:
Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to
find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail (and, hence, are
absurd) because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to
humanity. Absurdism pertains that, although such meaning may exist,
the pursuit of it is not essential. It is distinguished from nihilism by its
subjective view of humanity, theology and meaning. It is best to think
of it as the ‘agnostic’ stage between existentialism and nihilism.
Søren Kierkegaard wrote extensively on absurdism in the mid 19th
century, but the philosophy is most associated with Albert Camus and
his novels The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus (Top 10 School of
Philosophy).
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The term of absurd means “unreasonable; nonsensical; ridiculous, preposterous;
silly, foolish” (Dictionary & Translations by Babylon).
Most of the people in this world still do not know about the purpose of life
and searching the truth of life which is still a mystery. Basically, people live in the
unreasonable world and by this reality. It forces them to find the purpose and
meaning in this life. The meaning of absurdism itself, “irrationality; philosophy
based on belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless” (Dictionary &
Translations by Babylon).
Camus also said that, “Absurd is the confrontation between the sense of
the irrational and the overwhelming desire for clarity which resounds in the depths
of man. The absurd is a pointless quest for meaning in a universe devoid of
meaning. It defines the beginning of the questioning of existence. Coming to
terms with the Absurd is Camus’s main concern” (Dance of the Mind). Camus
also quoted about finding happiness and meaning in this meaningless world: “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” (Top 10 Schools of
Philosophy – The LIST Universe).
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1. What is the theme of absurdism of the novel?
2. How does the protagonist help reveal the theme of absurdism?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To know the theme of absurdism of the novel.
2. To show how the protagonist help reveal the theme of absurdism.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
The approach that I used is Philosophical Approach, focusing on
Absurdism. This theory explains about the absence of values in character’s life.
I read The Stranger, a novel by Albert Camus. I did library research and
also browsing many internet sites related to the book and the author. I quoted
some of the text and quotations to my thesis. Then I analyzed the novel and
conclude my analysis.
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
This thesis divides into three chapters. The first chapter is Introduction,
which includes Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of
the Study, Method of Research, and The Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two
is the Analysis on The Stranger. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. The thesis ends
with lists of references in the Bibliography and Appendices, which contain
Synopsis of a novel, The Stranger and Biography of the Author, Albert Camus.
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CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I want to conclude that the protagonist as an example of
human being who is explicitly portrayed as a person who live among a big
question in this world. This statement appears with the contribution of the contrast
ideas of life which often happen in people’s thought. It also makes people to think
that life is irrational and meaningless. The absurd itself makes the atmosphere of
life which is still the mystery to human being and also includes the question about
the life after death. The absurd is not a synonym for "ridiculous," but the true state
of existence. Accepting the view that life is absurd is to embrace a "realistic" view
of life: the absence of universal logics. This concept of life is more radical, if
“Nietzsche declared “God is dead”, but Camus does not have to do this because
he presumes the absence of a universal logic of divinity” (Dance of the Mind).
Many people believe Camus see there is no meaning in life; even Camus and
Nietzsche seek "meaning" in life, but not in manners familiar to most. The
meaning is in the human experience. In brief, absurdity is rendered the
meaninglessness of life. People do not search the meaning because they believe
that there is no such meaning exist even they search it. This matter of life is
completely portrayed by Meursault who is the protagonist in this novel.
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The protagonist, Meursault, is the archetype of a middle-class man. He
works as a clerk, rents an apartment, and draws no attention to himself. He lacks
deep convictions and passion. If he is estranged from any aspect of French
society, it is religion -- he does not believe in the symbols and rituals of faith. The
U.S. title, The Stranger, Meursault, is viewed as a "strange" or "odd" person for
some time. Meursault is a stranger even to those who think they know him. Along
with the title, the author takes care in naming the main character. Meursault's
name is symbolic of the Mediterranean. Mer means "sea" and Soliel is French for
"sun." The sea and sun meet at the beach, where Meursault's fateful act occurs.
Meursault’s attitude toward the death of Maman portrays a gap between
him and his mother. Generally, his relationship toward his mother seems not a
relationship between son and mother. Meursault’s relationship toward his mother
represents the author’s past life. In Camus’ history, he has less or no attention
from their parents. His father was dead in the war, one year after he was born. His
mother, a poor, deaf and sullen, cannot do anything to raise Camus and his
brother. So, his mother moves them to her grandma’s apartment. In this novel,
Meursault and his mother is portrayed as a reflection of Camus’ past life. As in
the novel, Meursault does not feel sad when losing his mother and Camus’ past
life also portrays the same way when he does not have any attention from his
mother.
Meursault courtship toward Marie Cardona is also marked as a
coincidence. Meursault meets her only for having sexual intercourses. The
relationship between man and woman in this era often sees no value on marriage.
In reality, human being cannot live without sex and it makes people think sexual
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intercourse is important as a part in the courtship. People often do sexual
intercourse as usual activity and it seems usual to do the intimate intercourse
without realizing any important thing of marriage. For some people, building a
family is only adding problems because there are lot things to do for it. There are
also a lot of people who only wants to have sex to fulfill their desire than to build
a family. It is simply that people do not want to responsible for the risk.
Meursault’s action in this novel also portrays the same perspective about sex.
After World Wars II and other sufferings, many people try to live life
much as Meursault does. They lost the will to do more than exist. There is no
hope and no desire. The only goal for many people is survival, but the survival
seems empty. In this respect, I see how empty Meursault's existence is through his
relationships. He is not close to his mother as he does not cry at her funeral. He
also does not seem close to his girlfriend, Marie Cardona.
In the middle of the novel is the death of a Middle-Easterner. This event in
the novel is set in motion by Meursault's apparent murder of the MiddleEasterner. The Middle-Easterners are traditionally the targets of racism in Algiers.
The "more French" one is, the more important the individual. The culture and
religion of Middle-Easterners is deemed simple and barbaric. This explains why it
is more upsetting to the court that Meursault is not respectful of their societal
norms... killing a Middle-Easterner is a minor offense. Killing an armed MiddleEasterner is an act of superiority. It simply explains that he killing is only to
transfer one’s life to another life or without witnesses, Meursault can create any
tale he wishes and be found innocent of murder. Instead, he accepts what he has
done without remorse.
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Meursault experiences what the existentialist thought about choices,
consequences, and responsibility. He is portrayed as a human being who can live
without the help of higher power. Once he lives, he is never afraid to face the
events in front of him. Meursault chooses not to believe in God. Believing in God
or not does not make any difference. Still, he will be executed. He is truthful to his
atheism and refuses to pretend he has found religion, for he knows he makes his
own destiny; and he, not God, is responsible for his actions and their
consequences. The perspective of one of life is different from each other.
Meursault as an honest atheist is willing to accept his life as it happens. He does
not want to hide anything and face the death with happiness.
The religion hesitation until rejection of God which is represented by
Meursault shows the appearance of higher power cannot help human being to live
life. The existence of God is considered absurd and cannot become a standard of
living by human being. A salvation in doing something is managed by people
themselves. Such Meursault’s salvation that is not be able to be represented as the
help of God. Meursault still be executed if he believes in God or not. Meursault is
saved or not from the execution is by his effort. Even he is responsible for killing
someone and is sentenced to death. He believes that life is in his own hands and
not God who manages his life. In this respect, he determines his own future life
and rejects all the help and salvation from higher power which is represented by
God.
Finally, the theme of absurdism: ‘one may find one’s life absurd for one
has no desire to appreciate the values of one’s life’ helps me to reveal about
meaninglessness of life which can be happened by anyone. In my opinion life is
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full of boredom. If people choose to live in it, they would never find the meaning.
So, all the activities in this universe are marked as monotonous. It is better not to
live in it, because there is no such meaning that exists.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1983.
Internet/Websites
Babylon.com. 2007. Dictionary & Translations by Babylon. 22 Feb. 2008
.
Babylon.com. 2007. Dictionary & Translation by Babylon. 11 June. 2008
.
Bykova, Dr. Marina. “PHI-310:Existentialism.” Camus (2003). 3 March 2008 <
http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/bykova/phi310/Camus.htm>.
Fee, Saas. “The European Graduate School.” Biography of Albert Camus (2008).
10 June 2008 .
Frater, Jamie. “Top 10 Schools of Philosophy – The LIST Universe.” 2008. 21
Feb. 2008 .
Mariowitz, David Zane. “Introducing Camus.” Rev. of Introducing Camus, David
Zane Mariowitz. Dance of the Mind. 29 Dec. 2007. 19 Feb. 2008
.
Primary Text
Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward. New York: Vintage Books,
1989.
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Absurdisme adalah suatu istilah tentang tidak ditemukannya makna atau
arti dalam hidup. Istilah ini kemudian dikembangkan oleh Albert Camus, seorang
sastrawan Prancis. Kemenangan Jerman dalam Perang Dunia II, memicu Albert
Camus menjadi atheis dengan mencetuskan paham Absurditas. Hal ini yang
melatarbelakangi Camus dalam karyanya yang berwarna atheis. Tokoh dalam
karyanya adalah seseorang yang dapat menentukan pilihannya sendiri,
menanggung resiko dan bertanggung jawab atas pilihannya.
Dalam novel The Stranger ini, tokoh yang bernama Meursault mempunyai
kehidupan yang layak. Dia sering mengeluhkan hidupnya tidak berguna dan
membosankan dan bukannya bersyukur kepada Tuhan. Segala sesuatu yang
terjadi padanya dianggap tidak berarti. Suatu saat dia menembak seseorang
sampai mati, sehingga dia dikirim ke penjara dan divonis hukuman mati, bukan
karena telah membunuh seseorang tetapi karena tindakannya yang tidak
mencerminkan sikap seorang anak terhadap sang ibu pada umumnya. Di akhir
cerita, dia menyadari bahwa kematiannya sangat berarti karena dia merasa
hidupnya tidak berarti.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1
4
4
4
4
CHAPTER TWO: THEME OF ABSURDISM IN
ALBERT CAMUS’ THE STRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of The Stranger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Biography of the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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APPENDICES
SYNOPSIS OF THE STRANGER
In the beginning of the story Meursault is trying to recall his mother’s
death. He can only vaguely remember anything about his mother. He and his
mother previously have a distant emotional state and nothing changes after her
death. He remembers once he visits his mother, speaks to the undertaker, smokes
a cigarette and meets Monsieur Perez, who helps to carry his mother’s coffin to its
burial plot.
The day after the funeral, Meursault takes a bus to the public beach and
meets up with Marie Cardona, a beautiful young secretary from his company.
After spending the day splashing around in the ocean and going to a movie, Marie
returns to Meursault's apartment where they make love. Marie asks Meursault if
he loves her. Meursault likes her and he will marry her if he wants, but he sees
nothing special about her or any woman in general.
Meursault returns to work and his boring life. He passes some time with coworker and friend, Emmanuel. He speaks with his downstairs neighbor,
Salamano, who lives alone with his spaniel dog. Another neighbor, with whom
Meursault become friends is Raymond Sintes, a short and stalk man, who openly
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beats his ex-girlfriend who is an Arab and who he believes to have cheated on
him. Raymond and Meursault discuss their lack of emotions and past relationships
with one another, understanding the apathetic, cold, and indifferent personalities
that they share.
One day, Raymond brings Meursault and Marie to the beach to visit his
friend, Masson. They see a group of Arabs following them. Near a stream at the
edge of the beach, the Arabs fight the three men, and run off. After the three men
return to Masson's cottage, Meursault returns to the beach with Raymond's gun.
He comes across the same Arab and, before much provocation, shoots him once.
After he falls, Meursault shoots him four more times.
Meursault is arrested and put in jail to await trial. He speaks with a
magistrate, several policemen, and his defense attorney. The prosecuting attorney
describes Meursault's indifference towards his mother's death as monstrous and
apathetic. The judges, jury and audience members are convinced when Marie
explains that they begin their relationship immediately after the funeral
proceedings.
Meursault is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to public
execution by guillotine. The prison chaplain urge him to find God and salvation.
Meursault still does not believe in God and finds the man frustrating and
annoying. When the day of his execution arrives, Meursault understands Maman's
actions and feelings prior to her death. He thinks that maybe he could live another
life. Nevertheless, he is excited about the day. He walks out to the guillotine
hoping that everyone cheers loudly for his death.
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BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Albert Camus was born in Mondovi, Algeria in 1913. His father died one
year later, and Camus' mother raised him alone. His mother was impoverished and
nearly deaf, so the two of them moved to Camus' grandmother's apartment in the
Belcourt section of Algiers, near the Arab Quarter of the city. Camus occupied
himself with school and sports, proving to be an excellent student and an
admirable competitor. He was tutored by an instructor named Louis Germain at
the local school, and in 1923 he passed the lycée entrance exams. He was
accepted to the school of philosophy at the University of Algiers, but had to take
leave due to a bout with tuberculosis. He recommenced his education in 1930, and
working for the Meteorological Institute, selling spare car parts, and private
tutoring. He received his diplôme d'études supérieures in 1936. In 1937 he
published his first book, a collection of essays entitled L'Envers et L'endroit.
From 1934 to their divorce in 1936, Camus maintained a short marriage to
Simone Hié, the daughter of a wealthy ophthalmologist. Camus joined the
Communist Party in 1934. From 1935-39 Camus, founded the Théâtre de
l'Equipe, or the Workers' Theatre. This group wrote a collective play called
Révolte dans les Asturies. In 1938, Camus became a journalist for an anticolonialist newspaper called the Alger-Republicain. Camus left Algiers in 1940
for Paris. This same year the German army invaded France, so he returned to
North Africa. He found a teaching position in Oran, and was married for his
second time to Francine Faure, a mathematics instructor.
In 1943 Camus joined "Combat," a clandestine resistance cell and
newspaper that had been founded in 1942 for underground intelligence and
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sabotage. He became its editor in 1943, and held this position for four years.
During the occupation the paper was printed in Lyon, and it moved to Paris after
the Liberation in the summer of 1944. The first Paris edition editorial was written
by Camus.
During the war, Camus published a number of works which have become
associated with his doctrine of the absurd: his idea it is impossible to make
rational sense of one's experience, and human life is made meaningless by
mortality. The novel, The Stranger (1942; Eng. trans., 1946), has become the
quintessential work of fiction of the 20th century on the theme of the alienated
outsider. The Myth of Sysiphysus (1942; Eng. trans., 1955) is an essay dedicated
to the absurd. He also published two plays consistent with this theme: Cross
Purpose (1944, Eng. trans., 1948) and Caligula (1944, Eng. trans., 1948).
Although Camus is attracted to contemporary nihilism in these works, he became
increasingly more ambivalent in his philosophy towards absurdism. He was not
comfortable with the moral indifference necessarily implied by philosophical
absurdism. He exercised these thoughts in works like Letters to a German Friend
(1945), which is published with a number of other political essays, in Resistance,
Rebellion, and Death (1960).
In 1944 Camus' wife gave birth to twins, Catherine and Jean. In 1949
Camus had a relapse of his tuberculosis, and he locked himself in seclusion to
write. When he recovered in 1951 he published L'Homme Révolté (The Rebel).
He began to write for l'Express daily newspaper in 1955, covering the Algerian
war. He came back into favor with intellectual circles in 1956 with the publication
of his novel The Fall. In 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for
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his essay Réflexions Sur la Guillotine as an influential work on behalf of human
rights.
Throughout his life, Camus continued to work for the theatre, taking on
the various roles of actor, director, playwright and translator. The themes of his
theatrical work primarily wrest with the human desire for understanding and its
conflict with the absurd nature of existence. State of Siege (1948; Eng. trans.,
1958) and The Just Assassins (1950; Eng. trans., 1958) are two of his distinctly
political plays. He also gained acclaim for his stage adaptations of novels such as
William Faulkner's Requiem for a Nun (1956) and Dostoyevsky's The Possessed
(1959).
On January 4, 1960, Camus died in a car accident near Sens, France, while
on his return to Paris with his friend and publisher Michel Gallimard. Found in his
papers was the novel The First Man, a fictionalized account of his family history,
which was published in 1995 (The European Graduate School).
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
I choose the first novel written by Albert Camus, The Stranger, because I
like how the author portrays the character with his unique personalities and
attitudes that are different from common people. Camus is particularly considered
the originator of absurdism, a philosophy related to Existentialism. Absurdism
contends that human beings are basically irrational and human suffering is the
result of vain attempts by individuals to find reason or meaning in the absurd
abyss of existence. “Camus claimed that the only true philosophical question was
that of suicide. That is, should we bother living at all or simply kill ourselves?
Camus argued that historically most people have either believed that life is
meaningless and concluded in favor of suicide, or has created some artificial
meaning like religion to fill their lives. Camus claims that there is a third option:
we can realize that life is meaningless and nevertheless keep living” (Bykova).
I choose The Stranger, which is one of his masterpiece (another one is The
Fall), because I am interested in how Camus explores the basic ideas of his theory
of absurdism; namely, that the world is essentially meaningless and the only way
to arrive at any meaning or purpose is to living in it or committed suicide. Thus it
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is the individual and not the act that gives meaning to any given context. In this
book, he wants to explore what he termed “the nakedness of man faced with the
absurd” (Camus). Nakedness means something that is not hidden or made less
clear; plain to see and perhaps shocking. From his term, one can see people who
live in their own world without any way to find the meaning in life and reason in
the irrational and meaningless world.
I want to analyze the theme of this novel. Theme is “its controlling idea or
its central insight. It is the unifying generalization about life stated or implied by
the story. To derive the theme of the story, we must ask what its central purpose
is: what view of life it supports or what insight into life it reveals” (Perrine 105). I
choose theme in order to connect the meaning of the story and absurdism itself.
There are a lot of theories related to absurdism and how people try to live
in it. I find one of the theories which says that:
Absurdism is a philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to
find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail (and, hence, are
absurd) because no such meaning exists, at least in relation to
humanity. Absurdism pertains that, although such meaning may exist,
the pursuit of it is not essential. It is distinguished from nihilism by its
subjective view of humanity, theology and meaning. It is best to think
of it as the ‘agnostic’ stage between existentialism and nihilism.
Søren Kierkegaard wrote extensively on absurdism in the mid 19th
century, but the philosophy is most associated with Albert Camus and
his novels The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus (Top 10 School of
Philosophy).
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The term of absurd means “unreasonable; nonsensical; ridiculous, preposterous;
silly, foolish” (Dictionary & Translations by Babylon).
Most of the people in this world still do not know about the purpose of life
and searching the truth of life which is still a mystery. Basically, people live in the
unreasonable world and by this reality. It forces them to find the purpose and
meaning in this life. The meaning of absurdism itself, “irrationality; philosophy
based on belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless” (Dictionary &
Translations by Babylon).
Camus also said that, “Absurd is the confrontation between the sense of
the irrational and the overwhelming desire for clarity which resounds in the depths
of man. The absurd is a pointless quest for meaning in a universe devoid of
meaning. It defines the beginning of the questioning of existence. Coming to
terms with the Absurd is Camus’s main concern” (Dance of the Mind). Camus
also quoted about finding happiness and meaning in this meaningless world: “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” (Top 10 Schools of
Philosophy – The LIST Universe).
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1. What is the theme of absurdism of the novel?
2. How does the protagonist help reveal the theme of absurdism?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To know the theme of absurdism of the novel.
2. To show how the protagonist help reveal the theme of absurdism.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
The approach that I used is Philosophical Approach, focusing on
Absurdism. This theory explains about the absence of values in character’s life.
I read The Stranger, a novel by Albert Camus. I did library research and
also browsing many internet sites related to the book and the author. I quoted
some of the text and quotations to my thesis. Then I analyzed the novel and
conclude my analysis.
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
This thesis divides into three chapters. The first chapter is Introduction,
which includes Background of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Purpose of
the Study, Method of Research, and The Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two
is the Analysis on The Stranger. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. The thesis ends
with lists of references in the Bibliography and Appendices, which contain
Synopsis of a novel, The Stranger and Biography of the Author, Albert Camus.
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CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I want to conclude that the protagonist as an example of
human being who is explicitly portrayed as a person who live among a big
question in this world. This statement appears with the contribution of the contrast
ideas of life which often happen in people’s thought. It also makes people to think
that life is irrational and meaningless. The absurd itself makes the atmosphere of
life which is still the mystery to human being and also includes the question about
the life after death. The absurd is not a synonym for "ridiculous," but the true state
of existence. Accepting the view that life is absurd is to embrace a "realistic" view
of life: the absence of universal logics. This concept of life is more radical, if
“Nietzsche declared “God is dead”, but Camus does not have to do this because
he presumes the absence of a universal logic of divinity” (Dance of the Mind).
Many people believe Camus see there is no meaning in life; even Camus and
Nietzsche seek "meaning" in life, but not in manners familiar to most. The
meaning is in the human experience. In brief, absurdity is rendered the
meaninglessness of life. People do not search the meaning because they believe
that there is no such meaning exist even they search it. This matter of life is
completely portrayed by Meursault who is the protagonist in this novel.
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The protagonist, Meursault, is the archetype of a middle-class man. He
works as a clerk, rents an apartment, and draws no attention to himself. He lacks
deep convictions and passion. If he is estranged from any aspect of French
society, it is religion -- he does not believe in the symbols and rituals of faith. The
U.S. title, The Stranger, Meursault, is viewed as a "strange" or "odd" person for
some time. Meursault is a stranger even to those who think they know him. Along
with the title, the author takes care in naming the main character. Meursault's
name is symbolic of the Mediterranean. Mer means "sea" and Soliel is French for
"sun." The sea and sun meet at the beach, where Meursault's fateful act occurs.
Meursault’s attitude toward the death of Maman portrays a gap between
him and his mother. Generally, his relationship toward his mother seems not a
relationship between son and mother. Meursault’s relationship toward his mother
represents the author’s past life. In Camus’ history, he has less or no attention
from their parents. His father was dead in the war, one year after he was born. His
mother, a poor, deaf and sullen, cannot do anything to raise Camus and his
brother. So, his mother moves them to her grandma’s apartment. In this novel,
Meursault and his mother is portrayed as a reflection of Camus’ past life. As in
the novel, Meursault does not feel sad when losing his mother and Camus’ past
life also portrays the same way when he does not have any attention from his
mother.
Meursault courtship toward Marie Cardona is also marked as a
coincidence. Meursault meets her only for having sexual intercourses. The
relationship between man and woman in this era often sees no value on marriage.
In reality, human being cannot live without sex and it makes people think sexual
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intercourse is important as a part in the courtship. People often do sexual
intercourse as usual activity and it seems usual to do the intimate intercourse
without realizing any important thing of marriage. For some people, building a
family is only adding problems because there are lot things to do for it. There are
also a lot of people who only wants to have sex to fulfill their desire than to build
a family. It is simply that people do not want to responsible for the risk.
Meursault’s action in this novel also portrays the same perspective about sex.
After World Wars II and other sufferings, many people try to live life
much as Meursault does. They lost the will to do more than exist. There is no
hope and no desire. The only goal for many people is survival, but the survival
seems empty. In this respect, I see how empty Meursault's existence is through his
relationships. He is not close to his mother as he does not cry at her funeral. He
also does not seem close to his girlfriend, Marie Cardona.
In the middle of the novel is the death of a Middle-Easterner. This event in
the novel is set in motion by Meursault's apparent murder of the MiddleEasterner. The Middle-Easterners are traditionally the targets of racism in Algiers.
The "more French" one is, the more important the individual. The culture and
religion of Middle-Easterners is deemed simple and barbaric. This explains why it
is more upsetting to the court that Meursault is not respectful of their societal
norms... killing a Middle-Easterner is a minor offense. Killing an armed MiddleEasterner is an act of superiority. It simply explains that he killing is only to
transfer one’s life to another life or without witnesses, Meursault can create any
tale he wishes and be found innocent of murder. Instead, he accepts what he has
done without remorse.
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Meursault experiences what the existentialist thought about choices,
consequences, and responsibility. He is portrayed as a human being who can live
without the help of higher power. Once he lives, he is never afraid to face the
events in front of him. Meursault chooses not to believe in God. Believing in God
or not does not make any difference. Still, he will be executed. He is truthful to his
atheism and refuses to pretend he has found religion, for he knows he makes his
own destiny; and he, not God, is responsible for his actions and their
consequences. The perspective of one of life is different from each other.
Meursault as an honest atheist is willing to accept his life as it happens. He does
not want to hide anything and face the death with happiness.
The religion hesitation until rejection of God which is represented by
Meursault shows the appearance of higher power cannot help human being to live
life. The existence of God is considered absurd and cannot become a standard of
living by human being. A salvation in doing something is managed by people
themselves. Such Meursault’s salvation that is not be able to be represented as the
help of God. Meursault still be executed if he believes in God or not. Meursault is
saved or not from the execution is by his effort. Even he is responsible for killing
someone and is sentenced to death. He believes that life is in his own hands and
not God who manages his life. In this respect, he determines his own future life
and rejects all the help and salvation from higher power which is represented by
God.
Finally, the theme of absurdism: ‘one may find one’s life absurd for one
has no desire to appreciate the values of one’s life’ helps me to reveal about
meaninglessness of life which can be happened by anyone. In my opinion life is
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full of boredom. If people choose to live in it, they would never find the meaning.
So, all the activities in this universe are marked as monotonous. It is better not to
live in it, because there is no such meaning that exists.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1983.
Internet/Websites
Babylon.com. 2007. Dictionary & Translations by Babylon. 22 Feb. 2008
.
Babylon.com. 2007. Dictionary & Translation by Babylon. 11 June. 2008
.
Bykova, Dr. Marina. “PHI-310:Existentialism.” Camus (2003). 3 March 2008 <
http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/bykova/phi310/Camus.htm>.
Fee, Saas. “The European Graduate School.” Biography of Albert Camus (2008).
10 June 2008 .
Frater, Jamie. “Top 10 Schools of Philosophy – The LIST Universe.” 2008. 21
Feb. 2008 .
Mariowitz, David Zane. “Introducing Camus.” Rev. of Introducing Camus, David
Zane Mariowitz. Dance of the Mind. 29 Dec. 2007. 19 Feb. 2008
.
Primary Text
Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward. New York: Vintage Books,
1989.
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