When a philosopher writes a book, it's a safe bet to expect that they will include their philosophical ideas in it, and The Stranger by Albert Camus is no exception. Camus's ideals are represented throughout the book by his main character, Meursault. While reading The Stranger, I began to ask myself about Meursault's idea that after a while, we can get used to anything.
So, can we actually get used to anything? I approached this idea by thinking up hypothetical scenarios. First, I started with Meursault's predicament - his imprisonment. I fully believe that anyone can get used to prison. Meursault is a perfect model of how someone can learn to tolerate prison, and to argue that one cannot get used to prison after reading The Stranger would be very difficult. I believe that we can accept most other kinds of suffering as well. Similar to Meursault being confined in prison, my fellow students and I are confined in school everyday. Almost none of us get a healthy amount of sleep, our extracurriculars combined with our homework load can produce severe stress, and we are forced to sit for most of the day, often through boring lectures. But we are used to it, and it isn't so bad. I accept it for what it is, and I almost don't mind it at all. If people can get used to school and prison, they can probably get used to almost any other aspect of life as well.
However, there is a place where a line can be drawn. In my opinion, people can never get used to anything that oppresses their humanity. Take slavery, for example. The slaves in America had countless years to get used to slavery, and yet they never did. I believe this is not due to the harsh nature of their work, seeing as how many people who do physical work get used to its intensity and don't mind after a while. I believe that slaves never got used to slavery because they were not being treated as human beings with rights, which is intolerable. There are certain things that can never be accepted, and that is why I disagree with Camus/Meursault's belief.
Aidan, I think this post is very insightful. I agree that many things in life people can get used to, but some situations are too unbearable. I think Camus is suggesting that once someone can get used to something unbearable they can be free. I don't agree with that at all. I think submission is dehumanizing. During the school day I notice everyone just going through the motions, and just because we are used to it doesn't mean it's freeing.
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ReplyDeleteAidan I really appreciate the way you talked about Camus' perspective. I think that Mersault gets used to the prison which is a situation that he becomes too familiar with makes him more free than any other prisoners like the guard said.
ReplyDeleteI think that you are right Aidan. There are so many things in life that confine us, and most people end up accepting them and just going through the motions. I'm sure that at times jobs feel like torture, and that they are confining us. But I also think that people can get used to these types of things. And I also agree that there are things that no one would be able to get used to, like your example of slavery. Slaves continued to resist their masters, and run away, which is evidence that they never were able to get used to their situation. I think that Camus has a good point, but I don't think it applies to every situation either.
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