I‭ndian Philosophy Assignment‬

‭ ook Review- The Stranger by Albert Camus‬

‭-‬ ‭Yashika Mittal (23/816)‬

‭ he book that I have undertaken to review is‬‭The Stranger‬‭by Albert Camus, who remains one of the‬
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‭most known and celebrated French Author and Philosopher.‬

‭ hroughout the book, one encounters astute commentary and deep dive into the philosophical‬
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‭enquiries of existentialism and absurdism. These are the very topics that Camus himself deals with‬
‭within various works like‬‭The Myth of Sisyphus, The‬‭Plague‬‭etc.- Trying to construct a meaning and‬
‭establish an order in an absurd, meaningless and chaotic universe. The infamous first line of the book‬
‭by the main character Meursault, “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know.‬‭”‬‭1‬ ‭comes as a‬
‭shock on first read yet that is precisely the effect that the author intends. The protagonist being‬
‭uncertain in remembering the day of his mother’s death showcases the alienation that he experiences‬
‭not only from the society but from his very own self. These concepts are directly observable from his‬
‭outer actions and inner thoughts. We take a peek into the world he surrounds by the descriptions of‬
‭the light breeze of summer evenings, the blue water of the swimming pool and the different dresses‬
‭that his girlfriend wears but even within these observations there is no joy. Meursault’s behaviour and‬
‭emotions are not dictated by any rationality. He remains indifferent throughout the funeral of his‬
‭mother as if he has resigned himself to death, he maintains the same apathetic front when he gets‬
‭tangled in a neighbour’s police scandal. All the people that surround him display emotions that‬
‭meursault himself seem entirely incapable of feeling. His girlfriend, Marie, cares whether he loves her‬
‭or not to which he replies “it doesn’t matter.” His friend Raymond cares about how strong their‬
‭friendship is. When his apartment neighbour, Salamano, loses his dog he fears whether he will find it‬
‭back or not. And at the very centre of all these characters, who feel and react appropriately, is‬
‭Meursault whose detached demeanour sets him apart from all of them. It exemplifies the conflict he‬
‭faces which can also be read as a metaphor for man's search for meaning within the disorderly and‬
‭illogical will of life.‬
‭This estrangement and tension of conflict reaches its climax when Meursualt along with Raymond‬
‭and Marie take a trip to a beach in Algiers. Meursault finally decides to walk to the cool spring where‬
‭he and Raymond had encountered an Arab. There, blinded by his own sweat and struggling in the‬
‭heat, Meursault shoots the Arab five times. There is no rational explanation for this murder. It is‬
‭completely pointless. When he is asked to explain his action during the trial he simply states the‬
‭oppressiveness of the heat on the beach and that he was, “blinded by the light falling from the sky.” to‬
‭try and articulate a reasoned explanation for this murder would defeat the point that camus is arguing‬
‭for. His use of figurative language and objective style observations are employed to portray that‬
‭Meursault’s actions are as absurd as existence. Even other characters try and fail to understand and‬
‭rationalise his behaviour throughout the trial for his murder. The prosecutor points to Meursault’s lack‬
‭of grief at his mother’s funeral as a sign of his soulless character, as if that might explain the murder.‬
‭He is also deemed as the ‘Monsieur Antichrist’. Finally, at the trial’s conclusion, Meursault is‬
‭condemned to execution. His sentence, decapitation, can be argued to be a symbol for his‬

‭1‬
‭The Stranger, Albert Camus (1942); Translated from french by Matthew Ward‬
i‭rrationality. At the very end of the novel comes arguably one of the most interesting conversations‬
‭that occurs between a Chaplain priest and Meursault while he is in the prison trying to come to terms‬
‭with his impending death. This exchange encompasses many main moral, ethical and existentialist‬
‭arguments like god, question of evil, meaning of life, act of death‬‭2‬ ‭and others that highlight Camus’‬
‭own philosophical tenets. The chaplain insists that Meursault give up his atheism and hold the hand‬
‭of God, but Meursault refuses. He cannot give himself to the belief of afterlife and faith. For the first‬
‭time, Meursault truly embraces the idea that human existence holds no greater meaning. He‬
‭abandons all hope for the future and concludes by stating, “I opened myself to the gentle indifference‬
‭of the world. Finding it so much like myself- so like a brother, really- I felt that I had been happy and‬
‭that I was happy again.”‬‭3‬
‭I, personally, believe that this novel best represents Camus’s ideological and philosophical‬
‭contributions. His writing style set within the fictional narrative helps to devise a story that reaches‬
‭deep at the heart of human behaviour and actions and reflects it back to us like a mirror. Through the‬
‭journey of its protagonist Meursault, one gets to understand and reflect on what it is exactly that‬
‭makes us human and what does it actually mean to be alive right here and now.‬

‭2‬
‭In The Myth of Sisyphus(1942) Camus extensively examines the question of suicide which he says is the most primary‬
‭ uestion any man should ask himself before studying any other consideration in life. Whether life is meaningless or not‬
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‭and if former is true then shall one commit suicide, seems to be the question at core within this work. He also deals with‬
‭this inquiry through the help of the Greek myth hero, Sisyphus who is condemned to repeat the task of rolling a boulder up‬
‭a hill for his entire life.‬
‭3‬
‭Same ideology is echoed by Albert Camus in other works where he states that one must accept the meaninglessness of‬
‭one’s existence in order to truly feel content and be at peace. Like in The Myth of Sisyphus, he concludes with the lines-‬
‭“one must imagine sisyphus happy.”‬