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The Strangerby

Albert Camus

“Ah, mon cher, for anyone who is alone,

without God and without a master, the

weight of days is dreadful.”

Albert Camus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persistence_of_Memory

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ALGERIA

“All I could feel were the cymbals of sunlight crashing on my forehead…” (Meursault, 59).

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PART 1: DEATH

HatesDiscomfort

Spontaneous

IndifferentGood Sun

Vs.Bad Sun

Honesty vs.

Expectation

PhysicalVs.

Introspective

Lives for the

moment

Meursault

“and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at the same time,is where it all started,” (Meursault, 59).

Regarding Sundays, Meursault, “gets through the day.”

“I couldn’t see any reason to change my life,” (Meursault, 41).

“I could help him out and then we’d be pals,” (Meursault, 29).

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Part II: The AwakeningAlienation?

Absurdity of life?Angst?

FreedomVs.

ConfinementReligion Meursault’s

Relationships

Marie

Raymond

Salamano

Celeste

Monsieur Antichrist

“The hardest thing was that my thoughts were those

of a free man,” (76).

“Only the words yesterdayand tomorrow still had any

meaning to me” (80).

God’s Law

Civil Law

“Whereas, once again, the machine destroyed everything…” (Meursault, 112).

etc.

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What is: Existentialism?• a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but

centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.

="http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/existentialism">existentialism</a>

An Existentialist is concerned with: The freedom and responsibility of the individual The individual’s alienation from society Facing life without the comfort of believing in GOD

An Existentialist believes: Happiness exists only in the present “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes) Nature offers beauty and misery Life is beastly, and then you die Death fulfills nothing

NIHILISM: the belief in nothingTuesday, January 27, 15

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An EXISTENTIALIST:

Lives for the moment. Cares nothing about the past or the future. Is oblivious to correlation of action and

consequence. Believes no caring supreme being exists. Believes the world is chaotic, absurd, and

indifferent. Believes that man is responsible for his decisions. Believes no set moral standards/rules exist.

Stuff Happens...and then You Die.

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Existential THEMES

The SUNIsolation

Death

Societal Expectations

Man as MAchine MEANINGLESSNESS

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The Myth of Sisyphus

In 1942, Camus wrote an essay, “The Myth of Sisyphus,”Condemned by the Gods for disrespect, Sisyphus and his eternal punishment symbolize the human struggle for existence.

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Sisyphus is condemned by the gods to ceaselessly roll a rock to the top of a mountain, where the stone falls back of its own weight. The gods thought that there was no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.

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Sisyphus is AN absurd hero because of his eternal torture. His scorn of the gods, his hatred of death, and his passion for life won him the fate of spending his life accomplishing nothing.

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Camus Quotes• At any street corner the

feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.

• He who despairs of the human condition is a coward, but he who has hope for it is a fool.

• Real nobility is based on scorn, courage, and profound indifference.

• The modern mind is in complete disarray. Knowledge has stretched itself to the point where neither the world nor our intelligence can find any foot-hold. It is a fact that we are suffering from nihilism.

• The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth.

• To be happy we must not be too concerned with others.

• There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.

• Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.

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Man is condemned to be free.• Keeping Things Whole

“It's a world where the dog eats the dogWhere they kill for bones in the streetAnd God in His HeavenHe don't interfere'Cause he's dead as the stiffs at my feetI raise my eyes to see the heavensAnd only the moon looks downThe harvest moon shines down!”(“Dog Eat Dog,” Les Miserables)

• “Nothing changes, nothing ever willEvery year another brat, another mouth to fill.Same old story, what's the use of tears?What's the use of praying if there's nobody who hears?”(“Turning,” Les Miserable)

In a field I am the absence of field. This is always the case. Wherever I am I am what is missing.

When I walk I part the air and always the air moves in to fill the spaces where my body's been.

We all have reasons for moving. I move to keep things whole.

- Mark Strand

“Nothing changes, nothing ever willEvery year another brat, another mouth to fill.Same old story, what's the use of tears?What's the use of praying if there's nobody who hears?”(“Turning,” Les Miserable)

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ATTRIBUTION

-Unless otherwise noted, All pictures/graphics taken from: http://office.microsoft.com/en- us/clipart/default.aspx http://images.google.com/images?hlQuotations from: http://www.literary-quotations.com/c/albert_camus.htmlMark Strand poem, Keeping Things Whole from: http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/453.htmlLes Miserables lyrics from: http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/lesmiserables/dogeatdog.htm

The Stranger PowerPoint (13 slides):Copyright © 2011 Constance D. Casserly All rights reserved by author.Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited.

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