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Meursault The Absurd Hero

            In The Stranger Albert Camus develops Meursault as an existential hero, to encourage the idea of being different from normal society. Meursault is a deeply disturbed character that is unable to identify with not only people but also his surroundings. His peculiar attitude towards the world ends up labeling him as a stranger to society. Meursault cannot be defined as a traditional hero, but rather as a tragically absurd one. His outlook on the irrationality of life, the choices he makes throughout the novel and the realization he makes in the end all promote the idea that Meursault is the absurd hero.
             Throughout the course of the book, Meursault is developing an existential philosophy, which he is not even aware of until the very end. He is often more interested in trivial details of everyday life instead of seeing the true meaning of events: "Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. I got a telegram from the home: "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours."" That doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday."" (Camus 1) Meursault does not express any remorse upon learning of his mother's death "he simply reports the fact in a straightforward manner, and is more concerned with the time instead of the event. He is already aware of the meaninglessness of human existence, a theme that resounds throughout the novel.
             Meursault makes a number of choices in the novel that would be questionable to those of the normal society. He befriends men whom are looked down upon, and he agrees to marry a woman he does not love. He assists Raymond in tormenting his mistress, and later on is prepared to fight off the mistress's brother but ultimately kills him. On top of all this there is the one fact, which seems to affect the outcome of the book and of Meursaults life "he never cried at his mother's funeral. At his mother's funeral, where he is constantly feeling judged, Meursault doesn't shed a tear and this ultimately becomes his downfall and death sentence.


Essays Related to Meursault The Absurd Hero

1. The Stranger

... free" man. Until a person reaches this awareness, life, like death, is absurd, and indeed, generically, life remains absurd, though each individual's life can be valuable and meaningful to him. In a sense, The Stranger is a parable of Camus" philosophy, with emphasis on that which is required for freedom. Meursault, hero of The Stranger, is not a person one would be apt to meet in reality in ... this respect; Meursault does not achieve the awakening of consciousness, so essential ... becomes a miraculous present, rich in beauty, friendship, and love. He feels the "absurd" and simultaneou...

  • Word Count: 1005
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Meursault: The Absurd Hero

... Meursault as an existential hero, to promote the theme of being different than the majority of society. Meursault is a deeply disturbed character that is unable to identify with not only people and but also his surroundings. His peculiar attitude towards all of his relationships reveals Meursault's perplexing, disturbed mind. Society is unable to understand Meursault and the way he presents himself. Although on the other hand, Meursault feels the ... mean anything but I didn't think so" (Camus 38). I interpret Meursault as truly having feelings for Marie, but he is unable to express hims...

  • Word Count: 1386
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Camus's Characterization of Meursault in The Outsider

... of morality that are relative in nature, presenting morality to be an inculcated and absurd idea. Of course, the society in the novel is unable to perceive Meursault's actions as being disconnected from the causal norm and assumes that he commits the crime because of a conventional criminal motive. The prosecutor in court accuses Meursault of ignoring "fundamental rules " of society" (Camus 64), including those of conventional morality, hence ... is also significant in demonstrating how the consequences are fatal when one offends the conventional way thinking, only to encourage readers ...

  • Word Count: 1704
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Graduate

4. The Stranger

... taste for watching a banal film, having a drink at the local bar, going to the beach, lying in the sun. He is very much inside the French Algerian colonial scene, living the most ordinary of lives, not at all a social reject and in no way a rebel. Meursault is on the road to becoming the Absurd Hero, one who will accept the non-sense of the world which has condemned him not passively, but ... as a full participant in the brief time left to him ... . While waiting for his appeal, Meursault begins an "absurd reasoning" and starts to consider his death. He knows there is not ... ...

  • Word Count: 350
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Camus

... when Camus testifies to a real and profound compassion for the vulnerability and loneliness of men separated from there loved ones. Rieux understood the torture of separation and reaffirmed that Rambert was right in putting love before fighting the plague (Plague 163). This is a significant progression from The Stranger where protagonist Meursault only responded to physical sensations and was incapable of feeling any human emotion, especially ... them" (Myth 14-15). Sisyphus' life and torment are transformed into a victory through his concentration on his freedom, his refusal to hope, a...

  • Word Count: 2286
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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