Albert Camus

What messages does Camus have for the readers and why do we think the book was popular with the people of his generation? Albert Camus was a man of many great potential prospects. In his books he captures the absurdity of living and "the idea that human life has no redeeming meaning of its purpose" and that no matter life threats you there is one certainty and that is death. Camus wrote his famous book "the outsider" during the 1940's, it became an instant well-liked book by the teenagers. In this essay I will try to explore Camus' explanation of life and obstacles that one must face before death. Meursaults mother had previously passed away and yet he shows no pain upon this sorrowful occasion, "mama died today or yesterday maybe, I don't know". This indicates to us that Meursault paid little attention to his mothers needs and therefore upon receiving the news of her death he should no heartache. The "I don't know" suggest to me that he didn't care and really couldn't be bothered to receive any more of her news. This was being portrayed even further in the book when he said "that doesn't mean anything, maybe it was yesterday. This gives us the impression that Meursault is in fact a naked man with no emotions what so ever. This was one of the events that lead him to his final destination toward the end of the book. Soon enough Meursault rose from his supposing grief over

  • Word count: 1145
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How the Outsider is Pessimistic.

Ryan Sy English 1-2 Mrs. Ching January 30, 2004 Essay: How the Outsider is Pessimistic The Outsider in itself is an exemplary piece displaying the foremost ideals of existentialism. Meursault is used as an existentialist character in the fact that he makes his own decisions and is not influenced by the standards of the outside world. He believes that life is what he makes of it, but at the same time knows that everything in life is simply pointless and absurd. This can be seen in Meursault's actions and in the way he regards the individuals around him. Meursault's beliefs regarding life and death, other people, and the characterization and techniques used by Camus, further emphasize the pessimistic and depressing nature of "The Outsider". One key aspect of existentialism is the belief that man is "just one object in a world of objects. 50 years in a million. The fulfillment one gains within his life will mean nothing in the long run. One might as well commit suicide." Basically what this means is that life is empty and that any achievements one gains in life will be gone in death. This idea is represented through Meurault's reaction towards his mother's death, and even his own upcoming execution. When interviewed by his lawyer about his feelings when his mother died, Meursault replies, "I probably loved mother quite a lot, but that didn't mean anything."

  • Word count: 779
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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English World Literature Essay

English World Literature Essay: The Outsider and The Metamorphosis Comparisons between the relationships that the protagonists had with their parents and how these defined their characters. In the novels, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Outsider by Albert Camus, there are many important relationships that help define the protagonists. The protagonist in The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, and the protagonist from The Outsider, Meursault, both had significant relationships with people that helped develop and define their character, the most important of these being their relationships with their parents. I will compare the two protagonists in their relationships with their parents and explain how these relations define aspects of their character. Firstly, in the novel, the Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Gregor Samsa is a travelling salesman who hates his job but is forced to keep it in order to support his family and pay off his father's debts. Gregor has only one sister, so their family is quite small. Immediately at the beginning of the book, Gregor is transformed into a giant insect. He never comes to terms with his metamorphosis and struggles with intense feelings of guilt as if his inability to support his family were his own fault. Though he is now free from having to go to work, Gregor is now a liability to his family who keep him locked up in his room. Isolated

  • Word count: 1459
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The stranger commentary

The Stranger Commentary Quote: To get to the visiting room I went down a long corridor, then down some stairs and, finally, another corridor. I walked into a very large room brightened by a huge bay window. The room was divided into three sections by two large grates that ran the length of the room. Between the two grates was a space of eight to ten meters, which separated the visitors from the prisoners. I spotted Marie standing at the opposite end of the room with her striped dress and her sun-tanned face. On my side of the room there were about ten prisoners, most of then Arabs. Marie was surrounded by Moorish women and found herself between two visitors: a little, thin-lipped old woman dressed in black and a fat, bare headed woman who was talking at the top of her voice and making lots of gestures. Because of the distance between the grates, the visitors and the prisoners were forced to speak very loud. When I walked in, the sound of the voices echoing off the room's high, bare walls and the harsh light pouring out of the sky onto the windows and spilling into the room brought on a kind of dizziness. My cell was quieter and darker. It took me a few seconds to adjust. But eventually I could see each face clearly, distinctly in the bright light. I noticed there was a guard sitting at the far end of the passage between the two grates. The lines 73-74 of the book "The

  • Word count: 925
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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A Man On an Island: An expedition for true happiness

World Literature Essay Name: Audrey She-Sum Lai Subject: English A1 Higher Level Title: A Man On an Island: An expedition for true happiness Although the renowned poet John Donne from the Renaissance had pointed out that "no man is an island"1, isolation is a part of the quest for true happiness. It allows us to see how sensual stimuli have diverted our attention from spiritual realization. Human are indeed connected to one another as a whole. Yet, no matter how close we are physically, we are the only ones who are accessible to our own mind. Exploring for the truly happy mind is like a solo on an isolated island. In the novels One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich2by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, The Stranger3 by Albert Camus, and Metamorphosis4 by Franz Kafka, three men's expeditions for their true happiness on their isolated islands are revealed. The nature of their isolation, the process of their realization, and their achievement of happiness are shown in front of our very eyes. First, let's compare the nature of the three protagonists' isolation. All three men were on an "island" isolated from the society, in which sensual stimuli like warmth, cigarettes, food and sex were reduced to the minimum. In ODITLOID, Ivan was a prisoner in a concentration camp in Siberia. Apart from its remoteness from cities, the camp was surrounded by fencing and barricades and

  • Word count: 1698
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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“The outsider” - By Albert Camus

"The outsider" - By Albert Camus From the beginning of time society has developed and redefined the way people ought to live and act, and exercised the power to elevate or banish people as it pleases. Therefore citizens not living by this rigid prescriptive framework are seen as outcasts and are treated with disrespect and zero tolerance Comprehending and accepting are too very different things. We must first understand a situation before truly been able to accept it. Albert Camus mirrors this concept in the novel "The Outsider", by introducing us to a character that we must first understand and then accept. He welcomes us into the world of an Individual's struggle to cope with the callousness of the society in which he lives. Meursault, the main character, believes that all he said and did, throughout his life was rational and thus he was only found guilty, of his actions, after society judged him. When analysing the novel, the believability of Meursault's actions become more credible as the narrative develops. Consequently, by examining society's view of Meursault, his mother's death and in the end his own death, we are able to comprehend his point of view and accept it. The setting is very important when analysing the text's believability, Meursault is a French character who is ostracized by his own society for not complying with its rules. The French society has

  • Word count: 1852
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Franz Kafka and Albert Camus were two writers whose work flourished as part of the existential movement.

Eileen Carey March 27, 2003 Franz Kafka and Albert Camus were two writers whose work flourished as part of the existential movement. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe. It regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. Kafka's literary piece, entitled The Metamorphosis, is the story of a man's transformation into a bug in Prague at the beginning of the 20th century. Camus novel, The Stranger , depicts the life of an aloof human being in Africa during the 1940s. Solitude is the act of distancing oneself from his or her surroundings. Both Gregor, the protagonist in The Metamorphosis, and Meursault, the protagonist in The Stranger, demonstrate their own form of seclusion from society. In The Metamorphosis, the theme of isolation is manifested through the life of Gregor, the protagonist, who becomes a bug. Even before his metamorphosis, Gregor lives a transient life staying for short periods in hotels during many nights due to his work life. While at home, Gregor locks the doors in his room, a habit he claimed to have picked up from staying at so many hotels. Gregor's behavior of locking his bedroom door symbolizes how he isolates himself even from his own family. After

  • Word count: 1296
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Death in The Stranger and Night

Death In The Stranger And Night Fred Hintz 00-1519-045 Delmonico WL 2 Language A1 HL May 2008 ,231 words In the two works, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, and Night, by Elie Wiesel, Death is portrayed differently, and this sheds light on the different attitudes toward death in French and Jewish societies. In order to compare these two works of literature, I will supply evidence of death in these two works of literature, and explain how the authors portray the instances of death in the two works and how the cultural background of each of the novels is reflected through the portrayal of death in the novels. In The Stranger, I will focus on the death of Meursault's mother, the death of the Arab that Meursault kills, and Meursault's own death. In Night, I will focus on the death of Elie's father. In The Stranger, The death of Meursault's mother is one of the events central to the plot of the book. It is the first event mentioned in the book (and I mean the very first), and it is one of the reasons that the end of the book turns out the way that it does. Camus' portrayal of Meursault's mother's, or "Maman's", as she is affectionately entitled in the book, death is as if her death is a serious matter, but only a natural action that had to be done sometime. He does this by referring to Meursault's relatively apathetic reaction to his mother's death. In example, the very

  • Word count: 1280
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Santillan, Yesenia

Santillan, Yesenia September 11, 2006 Per. 1 THE STRANGER BY ALBERT CAMUS ESSAY The Stranger by Albert Camus narrates the story of an alienated man, Meursault, who commits a murder and waits to be executed for it. At the start of the novel, Meursault goes to his mother's funeral, where he does not express any emotions. The novel then continues to document the next few days of his life. He befriends one of his neighbors, Raymond Sintes and aids him in dismissing one of his Arab mistresses. Later, the two confront the woman's brother ("the Arab") on a beach where Raymond gets cut in the resulting knife fight. Meursault afterwards goes back to the beach and shoots the Arab once, in response to the glare of the sun. The Arab is killed, but Mersault fires four more times at the dead body. Meursault is then arrested and at the trial, the prosecution focuses on the inability or unwillingness of Meursault to cry at his mother's funeral instead of the killing. As the novel comes to a close, Meursault meets with a chaplain, and is enraged by his insistence that he turn to God. The novel ends with Meursault recognizing the universe's indifference for humankind. The novel is set primarily in Algiers, after it has been invaded and colonized by the French. The narrative proclaims the dark humor and the pessimism of the younger generation that resents the French presence in Algeria.

  • Word count: 1055
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The Outsider - Oral Report.

The Outsider - Oral Report Mersault's final and most significant revelation occurs at a point in his life where his execution is imminent. This revelation comes in the form of acceptance and understanding. At this point in the novel, he is thinking of his mother, experiencing the natural world around him, and coming to terms with his fate and resigns to it, as he has done during all other struggles he has had to face, trivial as they may have been by comparison. But this time rather than accepting it out of indifference, he accepts it by becoming a part of it. Whilst awaiting his execution, Meursault "for the first time in a very long time" thinks of his mother. Here, he comes to understand that "no one at all had any right to cry over her", because she died at a point where she was ready to live her life again - and Meursault feels the same. Rather than feeling unmoved by his mother's death and indeed her existence, he empathises and finds salvation in being able to relate his final days with hers. This shows how he has moved from being an outsider to feeling connected to his place in the system of humanity. Meursault is strongly affected by the natural world around him, but in the last few passages of the novel he finds union and peace with nature. Throughout the novel, Meursault is constantly being affected by the blinding heat of the sun, or the bitter salt of the

  • Word count: 488
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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