Camus’ theory argues that Sisyphus, being conscious of his daily suffering, is an “absurd hero.” He claims that once the rock falls back down, Sisyphus ponders his life and his choices that molded his fate. I agree with Camus that since Sisyphus took control of his own actions and was conscious of the suffering he received, he knew just to be thankful of the life he had. He was happy because he did not question why he was punished but focused on his happy memories of days on Earth. In daily life, people go through the same tasks day to day, unaware of their suffering, whereas Sisyphus recognizes his torment and embraces the consequences since he pursued true passions in his life. If people acknowledge that sometimes bad things happen for no reason, then they will stop blaming themselves or others when presented with a challenge. While Sisyphus does have an excruciating never ending punishment, his awareness that the choices he made for happiness led to this task gives him victory over the Gods. This victory allows happiness and agony to coexist with each other.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Sisyphus' Joy
Albert Camus’ “Myth of Sisyphus” is a Greek myth about a man who deceived the Gods and stole their secrets. In order to punish him, they sent him to the underworld to be a laborer there. Sisyphus, ashamed when his wife threw his corpse into the town square, wanted to chastise her. The Gods allowed him to return to Earth for this and he fell in love again with the beauty of the world. He remained there until a God, Mercury, came down to force him back to the Underworld. Mercury had Sisyphus roll a rock up a mountain eternally; every time the rock nearly reached the top of the mountain, it would fall to the bottom again. Camus argues that although Sisyphus’ punishment is severe, he is ultimately happy since he was able to live an independent life filled with his own choices and his passions. Unlike other people, who tend to believe everything happens for a reason, remain unhappy since they don’t know what to attribute their misfortune to. Camus argues that the more people take responsibility of their own actions and accept that sometimes bad things happen haphazardly, those people have the highest chances for happiness.
Camus’ theory argues that Sisyphus, being conscious of his daily suffering, is an “absurd hero.” He claims that once the rock falls back down, Sisyphus ponders his life and his choices that molded his fate. I agree with Camus that since Sisyphus took control of his own actions and was conscious of the suffering he received, he knew just to be thankful of the life he had. He was happy because he did not question why he was punished but focused on his happy memories of days on Earth. In daily life, people go through the same tasks day to day, unaware of their suffering, whereas Sisyphus recognizes his torment and embraces the consequences since he pursued true passions in his life. If people acknowledge that sometimes bad things happen for no reason, then they will stop blaming themselves or others when presented with a challenge. While Sisyphus does have an excruciating never ending punishment, his awareness that the choices he made for happiness led to this task gives him victory over the Gods. This victory allows happiness and agony to coexist with each other.
Camus’ theory argues that Sisyphus, being conscious of his daily suffering, is an “absurd hero.” He claims that once the rock falls back down, Sisyphus ponders his life and his choices that molded his fate. I agree with Camus that since Sisyphus took control of his own actions and was conscious of the suffering he received, he knew just to be thankful of the life he had. He was happy because he did not question why he was punished but focused on his happy memories of days on Earth. In daily life, people go through the same tasks day to day, unaware of their suffering, whereas Sisyphus recognizes his torment and embraces the consequences since he pursued true passions in his life. If people acknowledge that sometimes bad things happen for no reason, then they will stop blaming themselves or others when presented with a challenge. While Sisyphus does have an excruciating never ending punishment, his awareness that the choices he made for happiness led to this task gives him victory over the Gods. This victory allows happiness and agony to coexist with each other.
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