The last two days of discussion seemed to be Mr. Heidkamp vs. the English class. What sparked the heated controversy was the idea of abandoning social constructs in order to live an independent life. Camus argues that rejecting social constructs and accepting life as an inevitable travel towards death is what allows one to be truly free. However, many others asserted that social constructs, such as relationships, memories, etc., are what give meaning to life. To renounce them, one would have to live in isolation or be dead. While Camus's portrayal of Meursault in "The Stranger" may some bleak because he succeeds in living without social constructs, I think that Meursault is the most genuine character of all.
Mersault is a peculiar character, to say the least. He is indifferent to just about everything and seems to take life as it is. He is the epitome of Camus' existentialist, in that he values human experience over the essence of life. While this lifestyle can often make him appear cold or unkind due to his lack of emotional ties, especially in the case of his mother and Marie, compared with the other relationships in the book in my opinion, his life is most real, which is what Camus may be getting at. Raymond beats his mistress, Salamano abuses his dog, and Marie claims to be in love with Meursault at their second encounter. It is interesting to note that in all of these relationships, they end up alone. Raymond's mistress and Salamano's dog run away, and Meursault ends up in jail so Marie cannot see him. The relationships they form, or what Camus may see as their living under a system of social constructs, ultimately lead them to unhappiness.
Meursault, on the other hand, understands that no matter what, life ends in death. Though I agree that this is not the happiest way of living, he has the most control over his life; he has what Camus would call true freedom. In my opinion, this interesting ideology is what makes Camus a compelling writer.
I agree that Meursault is the most genuine character of all. I love him as a character and find it fascinating how he lives his life as existence over essence. Provokes the thought of what it would be like if everyone lived as such... interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the example you used of their relationships. I think that Camus' point is that it yes, relationships do lead to unhappiness, but more importantly they are temporary. The only thing that won't change is the inevitability of death. And I agree that, though this is a bleak outlook on life, it seems to make Mersault the most human because he understands this and lives by it. Now that I am thinking of him and death, his beliefs about the constancy of death might be the reason for his limited reaction when his mom and the Arab died. However, if this is the case, why did shooting the Arab feel like "knocking four times on the door of unhappiness"?
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you were saying about how all Meursault's relationships end up. However, I think it's possible to argue that indifference is the happiest way of living. I'm not saying I neccesarily believe that, but it's interesting to think about. Meursault can maintain his existance no matter what happens to him, whether it's prison or for whatever reason he might end up in a tree trunk. It makes him adaptable, because he is in control separate from anything that's outside his control. I find that I have significantly decreased stress levels whnever I realize how little I care about something silly. He might not have a constant flow of joy radiating throughout his entire body, but he feels no anxiety. And compared to the average human being, he's doing pretty well.
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