The Stranger Compared to The Myth of Sisyphus Essay

The Stranger Essay

Albert Camus novels The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus are based to define the meaning of existentialism. In The Stranger the main character Meursault is portrayed to show no emotions and judgments towards others. While The Myth of Sisyphus shows who lives his life in a stubbornly and arrogant behavior as if hes out to get someone in life. In both stories the readers that they have taken life and for granted and come to sort of realize their wrongs at the end of the story. Neither understands having though, passion, feeling, or emotion in life. The Myth of Sisyphus helps explain some of the meaning of some of the events taking place in The Stranger.

In The Stranger the main character Meursault takes life for granted in a way of not enjoying it. He seems more satisfied with the usual as if no excitement lives in his life. The death of his mother doesnt even bother him so show sadness. When Meursault realized that his freedom was gone away for good he begin to see things different.And I felt ready to live again too. As if the blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope: for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world.(Camus Stranger122). The quote explains that maybe he took the world for granted and there was so much to accomplish in the world of freedom. In The Myth of Sisyphus -Sisyphus stole the gods secrets and he was punished for this action. It was said that realizing that he was close to death that he wanted to see how much his wife really loved him, and he was granted that but fell for the scene of life and wanted to stay there. But when he had seen again the face of this world, enjoyed water and sun, warm stones and the sea, he no longer wanted to go back to the infernal darkness. (Camus The Myth of Sisyphus). This is somewhat similar to the emotions of Meursault beside that fact that Meursault took it as a lost before having no choice but to die, but their actions showed how life was taking for granted.

Throughout The Stranger Meursault takes life as it comes and doesnt believe that people and their judgments make the person you are. It seems nothing can break his strong hold on how he feels no emotion. The strongest quote that show Meursault had no emotion is when he deals with the matter of his lover wants to marry him and wants to know if he love her. That evening Marie came by to see me and asked if I wanted to marry her. I said it didnt make me any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to. Then she wanted to know if I loved her. I answered the same way I did last time, that it didnt mean anything and that I probably didnt love her. (Camus The Stranger 44). I believe this one of his actions that he took deep thought about before dying maybe wanting to know what that felt like, to be in love. In The Myth of Sisyphus he misunderstood the meaning of life and took it in all the wrong ways like it had no purpose. As for this myth, one sees merely the whole effort of a body straining to raise the huge stone, to roll it and push it up a slop hundred times over; one sees the face screwed up, the cheek tight against the stone, the shoulder bracing the clay-covered mass, the foot wedging it, the fresh start with arms outstretched, the wholly human security of two earth-clotted hands. At the very end of his long effort measured by skyless space and time without depth, the purpose is achieved.(Camus The Myth of Sisyphus). This quote relates to how his punishment is similar to how he lived his life. Both Meursault and Sisyphus lived life almost with no purpose.

At the end of both stories the characters come to realize the importance of life and its value. They realize that some things in life do matter. In The Stranger Meursault realizes the life he was living was absurd but felt there was no way to change things now. I had lived my life one way and I just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I had dont that. I hadnt done this thing but I had done another. And so? It was as if I had waited all this time for this moment and for the first time light of dawn to be vindicated. Nothing, nothing mattered, and I knew why. So did he. Throughout the whole absurd life Id lived, a dark wind had been rising toward me from somewhere deep in my future, across years that were still to come, and as it passed, this wind leveled whatever was offered to me at the time, in years no more real than the ones I was living. (Camus The Stranger 121). Meursault seemed to come to realize that maybe he lived his life dull but it was to his satisfactory. In The Myth of Sisyphus- Sisyphus had deal with the cruel punishment of purposeless punishment. It Is during that return, that pause, that Sisyphus interest me. A face that toils so close to stones is already stone itself . I see that man going up and down with a heavy yet measured step toward the torment of which he will never know the end. That hour like a breathing-space which returns as surely as his suffering, that is the hour of consciousness. At each of those moments when he leaves the heights and gradually sinks toward the lairs of the gods, he is superior to his fate. He is stronger than his rock. (Camus The Myth of Sisyphus). Sisyphus shows how he can overcome things but have to go back to the same life in the end.

In conclusion, both characters go through life not noticing the value and morals that life holds. Some things in life matters more than anything and cant be repeated. Meursault realizes that things in life should be valued such as love and memories. He learns that life is taking for granted by a lot of people and its so much more to the world than living like you have to. Sisyphus is learned to be the absurd hero because he becomes more than his fate. In the end both of the characters learns to follow the meaning of existentialism.