Reflective Statement
How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral? (300-400 words)
Through the interactive oral, I got to understand more deeply about the cultural and contextual considerations of the work. Before, my understanding of the work before was very basic: the Arab-French relationship, the First World War going on and the influence of the author’s life on the work. Meursault killed the Arab because of the sun, because he felt like it. Therefore, had it been any other person, be it French or Arab, he would have still done it at that particular time and moment. It was because of this inferiority of the Arabs that, at Meursault’s trial, he was not condemned…show more content… In spite of this, Albert Camus is someone who refused to be identified with the existentialist movement, responding in an interview: “No, I am not an existentialist.” Camus claimed that his works focused more on the absurd rather than existentialist ideas. Nonetheless, the main character of the novel, Meursault, is in many ways an embodiment of existentialism. Meursault is the projector of the philosophy’s ideologies in his thoughts and actions. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes on individual existence, freedom and choices. The main belief is that there is ultimately no meaning at the core of existence. Staying with this belief, it would mean that there is only “existing” and “not existing”, death is the end of existence and there is nothing after that. Existence is a fragile entity that is determined by the individual, formed by the memories that an individual had throughout his life. In the end with death, all of these experiences, be it that they once brought love, hate, joy or sorrow, will cease to exist and simply disappear. Existence is defined by the individual himself and thus, existentialists refuse to belong to any schools of thought or categorization. This includes personally deciding for oneself the issue of morality and conscience and taking responsibility for one’s