The Stranger, My Understanding Of The Culture And...

Gabriela Meza December 5th, 2016 The Stranger Reflective Statement Through our class discussion on Camus’ The Stranger, my understanding of the culture and absurdist perspective of this book was furthered amplified. During our dialogue we discussed the French existentialist movement occurring in the 1940’s and how this directly influenced both Camus’ The Stranger and his essay on Sisyphus about absurdism. It was important to note the culture and setting in which Camus wrote this novel to further understand the character Meursault’s feelings of physical and emotional detachment to the world and the meaningless of life that this displayed. The philosophical movement of existentialism was a key factor when analyzing the culture of this book because of the controversy that the character Meursault causes in readers. We all agreed Meursault s absurdist attitude towards the world and detachment from everything emphasized the meaningless of life. We talked about how Camus intentionally created a character so true and claiming to his actions to signify this factor. The effect that absurdism had on this reading was tremendous. The fact that this book was written in a time where the absurd meaning of life and the emphasis of individual existence and choice became a movement makes it more clear to understand why Camus created such a detached character in Meursault. Understanding the ideology of how existentialists believe in owning to your own actions and the consequences andShow MoreRelatedThe Stranger By Albert Camus1411 Words   |  6 PagesThe novel The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, encompasses contemporary philosophies of existentialism and absurdism. Existentialist and absurdist philosophies entail principles regarding that one’s identity is not based on nature or culture, but rather by sole existence. The role of minor characters in The Stranger helps to present Camus’s purpose to convey absurdist and existentialist principles. The characters of Salamano and Marie are utilized in orde r to contrast the author’s ideas about contemporary