The Inevitability Of Death In The Stranger, By Albert Camus
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As Meursault detachedly stated in The Stranger, “Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness.” In The Stranger, Albert Camus uses the theme of frivolousness of human life and the lionization of the physical world to demonstrate the certainty of death, the importance of ‘matter over mind’, and the absurdity of the Universe.
One major element of Camus’s inane philosophy is that there is no extenuating meaning or mecca to human life. The author argues that the inevitability of death is the only certain thing in life, and, since everyone will die someday, all lives are impartially fustian. In The Stranger, the conversation that takes place between the Chaplain and…show more content… And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains?" "Yes," I said.” Meursault had slowly come to this realization in the novel, but was unable to fully cognize it until the argument with the Chaplain in the final chapter. This proffers that just as Meursault is indifferent to the universe, the universe is also indifferent towards him. Just everyone else, Meursault was born, he will die, and will have no further importance. Strangely enough, Meursault only seems to reach true happiness after he reaches this dolorous realization. He understands that it doesn’t matter if he lives to die naturally of old age or if he dies from execution, because he has come to terms with the inevitability of death. This culmination allows