The Stranger by Albert Camus: Life's Grand Absurdity

The Stranger by Albert Camus: Life’s Grand Absurdity

 

Sometimes you read a book that you feel doesn’t entirely resonate with you, but that still holds some form of quality that could make it valuable to others. While the themes and philosophy the author insinuates through his or her words are crafted in an expert manner, sometimes one can read the work without always believing in what is being said. The Reader is not a universal being, but rather multiple people making up a group, thereby making it difficult to interpret if the general consensus will be the same as the author’s presented ideas. This is how I felt reading Albert Camus’ renowned French novel The Stranger. While the ideas presented herein did not resonate with me as much as I’d hoped they would, it felt like a good starting point into the philosophical musings of absurdism and interpretation into the meaning of life.

 

The Stranger tells the story of Meursault, a man who learns at the start of the book that his mother has died, and he must assist in funeral arrangements. This situation, however, lasts only a single chapter, as it is used to establish Meursault’s characterization. Due to an ingrained belief that nothing in life holds much meaning outside of things simply happening, Meursault feels indifferent toward the world and what happens to him. “Going with the flow,” as it were, to the point where even a job promotion and a relationship he has with his co-worker Marie are seen as just parts of his life that make no difference to him if they are there or not. Because of his indifference and willingness to follow any path in life—coupled with his open honesty about the way he feels—he is eventually dragged into a conflict involving his neighbor, Raymond, and his wife’s Arabic family. The conflict continues to escalate as time goes on, resulting in a murder trial that becomes more of a judge of character and what it means to play the game of life.

 

It’s difficult to write about this novel without spoiling much of the content within. This is because the first half of the book mainly focuses on Meursault’s day-to-day life with little bits of setup plot-wise as to what will transpire in the latter half. Because of this, it becomes apparent early on that The Stranger is not a book interested in telling a complex narrative. Rather, the book acts as a character study for Meursault, someone who subscribes to an absurdist view on life. Absurdism, at its fundamental core, is the philosophical belief that humanity exists in a meaningless, discordant world where, at the end of the day, nothing we do truly holds any meaning. In some ways, absurdism is akin to nihilism, a similar philosophical term. However, while nihilism focuses on devaluing moral principles to indicate life’s meaninglessness, absurdism indicates said meaninglessness on the level of human existence itself. The idea of absurdism is one that the author, Camus, helped boost into public perception with the publication of his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. However, it’s clear that he did not just want to impart this philosophy in his thoughts, but also in the fictional work he created.

 

Meursault, in some capacity, then, can be seen as a stand-in for Camus’ philosophical musings. He goes through life without much of an afterthought to what he does, doing what he does just because he can. There are no hints of elation nor depression in reading Meursault’s narration of his own tale, however; instead, it’s simple indifference toward most everything. While there are some eloquent descriptions littered throughout the book, much of the novel takes place with Meursault telling the audience in simple terms what is happening. It can be jarring at first, especially given the lack of description in comparison to the typical novel. But, over time, you get used to the writing and to Meursault’s day-to-day life. The choice to have the novel be narrated by him bolsters the importance of the way it is written. If it were from a third-person perspective, one could accuse Camus of being lazy with his descriptions and the way he writes events. But, by choosing to have the book in the first-person perspective, it feels as if Meursault is truly the one telling the tale.

 

One of the most appreciative aspects of the novel was the fact that Meursault was the central focus and many of the other characters were not developed outside of their respective roles in Meursault’s story. It added greatly to the absurdist viewpoint Meursault has: If he doesn’t care much about the people around him, why should the audience? In that way, the presentation of a character who embraces absurdism becomes more fleshed-out and understandable because we are seeing the world from his perspective. It also makes the events that transpire as the novel reaches its second half and subsequent climax all the more understandable. The buildup to the latter half where conflict ensues is slow, and at times can be monotonous to read. However, it is also necessary so the second half of the book—and by far the stronger half—resonates with the audience.

 

Yet the overarching consequence of The Stranger being a book about a certain type of philosophy is that not everyone is going to be interested in reading something for the sake of a specific philosophical idea. On a personal note—and as I mentioned at the start of this post—I was not able to connect very much to the idea of absurdism nor to Meursault’s character because it simply isn’t a philosophy I ascribe myself to. But the quality of The Stranger cannot be overlooked despite a possible personal inability to invest oneself in the philosophy at hand. While I personally don’t find it to be an attractive philosophy, Camus is still able to craft a welcoming character study that serves as an intriguing introduction to absurdism. If you’re looking for a story with an intriguing narrative, this may not be something you’d want to pick up. But if you’re seeking a character-driven tale with strong ties to a philosophical take on the value of humanity, then this might be the book for you. I’d recommend it, as it’s always interesting to see things from the other side of the coin.