Albert Camus The Outsider- Values and beliefs
The way some one reads and interprets a text is a reflection of their understanding of the themes of the text and the philosophical viewpoint of the author and of their own philosophical beliefs and values. The novel The Outsider by Camus reflects many of the key ideas of existentialism, although Camus never used this term himself. By researching and understanding the main lines of thought in existentialism, one can see the apparent irony and absurdity in the way the main character Meursault lives and behaves in a new light. Nonetheless from my personal philosophical viewpoint, derived from my Catholic beliefs, Meursault's behaviour is objectively immoral and the lack of meaning in his life is truly sad.Meursault has no morals or ideas on what is right or wrong. To him one moment of pleasure and enjoyment is more important than whatever consequences may come as a result of this or what society would say to this. For example, the day after his mother's funeral he meets a girl, spends the day with her and watches a comedy. Later at his trial these events have serious repercussions. The oddness of this behaviour, as viewed by the jury, contributes to him being sentenced to death. But at the time, conforming to soc
One must choose one's own way without the aid of universal, objective standards. When Meursault was in his jail cell waiting for his upcoming execution this feeling of 'dread' or 'angst' was clearly present. An example of this was the day after his mother's funeral. What Jesus was saying was that it is not up to us to pass sentence because only God knows what is in a person's heart. They believe that human beings do not have a fixed nature, as other animals and plants do. Meursault could feel he was "being judged" as an intellectual during the trial and couldn't understand how this proved he was guilty. I'm very fond of white coffee, so I accepted and he came back a few minutes later with a tray. I do support the belief that you cannot judge others but only yourself. When Raymond asks him whether he thinks about his story he says it was "interesting" and when asked if he agreed the girl should be punished Meursault says he "understood why he should want to punish her" but didn't know what he, himself would have done. If something seemed appealing to him he simply did it. This is common to existentialists because they believe in free choice. In looking at several other incidents such as this it can be assumed that Meursault places things that are sensual and that can bring him immediate pleasure of higher value than issues concerned with his emotions or that may change his future. Because Meursault sees no right or wrong he does not pass judgement on people. Everything is given generally the same value.
Common topics in this essay:
Ten Commandments,
Outsider Camus,
Marie Fernandel,
Albert Camus,
,
believe death,
responsibility actions,
existentialists believe,
meursault's character,
example day mother's,
day mother's funeral,
feeling 'dread',
judge people,
death day,
day mother's,
harm person,
white coffee,
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Acceptance Essays
