Existentialism in The Stranger (The Outsider) :: Camus Stranger Essays

Existentialism in The Stranger Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes a few main points, such as the freedom to choose and the choices you make should be made without the assistance of another person or standard. From the existentialist point of view you must accept the risk and responsibility of your choices and follow the commitment to wherever it leads. Someone that is put in a particular situation understands it far more than someone looking in on that same situation, one commonly used situation that appears often in existentialist writing is that of death. The existentialist should learn to accept death when the time has to come and should know that the most important questions in life are not accessible to reason or science. Acting on your own experiences is essential in arriving at the truth and "man is condemned to be free. (Sartre)" There were two parts in The Stranger that helped me better understand existentialism the most. One part of the novel that helped me to understand existentialism better was when Meursault shot the Arab on the beach and how he handled the situation afterwards. The Arab had drawn his knife and held it up to Meursault, but this wasn't what bothered him, it was the light from the sun that shot off the Arabs knife, and the intense heat along with the salt from his sweat in his eyes that was bothering him. Meursault shot the Arab mainly because he was uncomfortable and not because he felt threatened, but in any case he made the decision to shoot him. In the next chapter Meursault can't understand why he would need an attorney for his case because it's simple to him, he had murdered a man and was now ready to pay the consequences. He had made a choice that might not have been the right one but he accepted it and was ready to go through with his decision to wherever it would lead. The other part in The Stranger that helped me to understand existentialism better was at the end of the novel when Meursault is sentenced to death. I don't think Meursault was an existentialist but I do think that he faced death the way an existentialist would have.