Meursault faces this reality while in prison. When he first arrived, he had the mindset of a free man. Once he lost his desire to have and do things from the free world like smoking cigarettes and going to the beach he was content with his life in prison and understood his punishment.
I do find there to be a fault in Camus’ argument. There are people who are not okay with giving up on their lives when something is not available to them. For some people, trying to get what they don’t already have is the driving factor in their lives. People who grew up without the same luxuries as others use that experience to drive them to earn what they never had. They would go to school, work, and do all what they needed so that they could live a life where they would be able to have all that they desired.
I suppose happiness is relative. Some people will be able to find happiness by being complacent while others will find happiness through hard work.
I agree. After reading both Camus's essay and The Stranger, I get the sense that happiness can sometimes mean something different to other people and that it can change. For example, someone who gets accepted to a top tier university through hard work and dedication will me much happier than someone who simply waits around for everything to come from them.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I made a similar connection while reading the passage about Meursault's thoughts being that of a free man. His process of changing his thoughts to fit his circumstances supports Camus' argument about the issue with the myth of Sisyphus. Because Meursault is able to be content while in prison, one can argue that Sisyphus's punishment in the underworld is not as sorrowful as previously believed.
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