Good book recommendation| read Camus's "absurdity"You read "The Outsider"
Albert Camus was born in 1913 in Mondovie, French Alginia. In 1932, he published his first purely literary work, the prose poem "Intuition", when Camus was 19 years old. In 1933 he began studying at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Alginier, received a master's degree in philosophy in May 1936, and began writing The Outsider in 1937. The following year he worked almost simultaneously on The Outsider, Caligula and The Myth of Sisyphus, the most important works of his life, known as the "Trilogy of the Absurd", followed by The Plague (1947) and The Rebels in 1951. In 1960, Camus, 47 years old, died in a car accident on January 4 and was buried in the Lourmarin Cemetery in Provence.
Camus said in his notebook, "The Outsider describes the nakedness of man in the face of absurdity. ”
Kitajima said of The Outsider: Between the end and the beginning, between life and death, between meaning and meaning, between writing and honesty, between behavior and motivation, between resistance and order, Camus's "The Outsider" is always questioning.
The Outsider is about two stories about death, about morality, about common sense and absurdity, and about obedience and honesty.
The first story begins with the death of the protagonist Meursault's mother, Meursault's mother died in a nursing home, and upon learning of his mother's death, Meursault went to the nursing home to keep vigil for his mother and take care of the aftermath. It was all simple and hasty, and Meursault did not generate too many emotional fluctuations in the process, or even cry. Meursault then returned to his residence and continued to work. The story mainly describes the daily life of his life: swimming with Mary, watching movies, developing an intimate relationship, making friends with his neighbor Raymond, and the neighbor old man Salamano lost his dog.
The second story tells Solmer and his friends Raymond and Marie on a seaside vacation on the outskirts of Algiers, where they stayed at the house of Raymond's friend Masson, during which time Meursault shot and killed an Arab. There is no doubt that he was arrested, and the second story is that of Meursault being arrested and put on trial.
Death and absurdity
These two stories tell of the deaths of three people—the death of Meursault's mother, the death of the Arab, and Meursault, who is about to face death.
Meursault's mother's death occurred naturally, and under this peaceful death, it is written about Meursault's estrangement from his mother's relationship, and Meursault's true feelings in the face of the death of his loved ones. On a common sense and moral level, Meursault should have taken care of his mother in his old age, but left her alone in a nursing home. At least one should grieve after the death of his mother, but Meursault is like a "third person", like a person who "reads stories" - an outsider. Meursault is an outsider to family affection.
The death of the Arabs was a complete accident, the Arabs had a conflict with Raymond, and Meursault, Raymond, and Mason fought with them when they met the Arabs on the beach. But the fight with the Arabs stemmed from Raymond's old grudge with them, which essentially had nothing to do with Meursault, but as a friend, he had to join. The Arab's death was due to Meursault carrying a pistol in his pocket, which accidentally caused his death. Meursault himself had no grudges with the Arabs.
Meursault is an outsider in the feud between Raymond and the Arabs, he does not know their past, but he is the direct murderer of the Arabs.
The most dramatic story of the book is Meursault's trial, and Meursault has not yet accepted that he has been imprisoned after entering prison. There is no anxiety, restlessness, no remorse for his "sin", and he always misses the good life in the past, and always thinks about women out of physical needs. The highlight is the trial of Meursault, who admits in court that he killed the Arabs, but says that he was careless. But the reason for his conviction was that he was "indifferent" when his mother died, and he did not cry, thus proving that he was a man of hard hearts and that his soul was sinful. So he should be sentenced to death.
Honesty and absurdity
Most of the absurdities that exist in this novel come from the true self-feelings of the protagonist Meursault, which are contrary to "common sense". This unvarnished, real feeling, Meursault's inner monologue as an "outsider" on the edge of life, gives common sense a sense of strangeness, and this strangeness makes the reader feel a sense of absurdity.
With the death of his mother, Meursault's real feeling was the exhaustion brought about by hurrying and vigil. At trial, Meursault honestly answered all the questions, even if they had little to do with the case, even though Meursault understood that lying might save him from the death penalty. Between Meursault's honesty and the "illogicalness" of others creates a great sense of drama and absurdity.
The world is full of absurdity:
Meursault's neighbor, Salamano Sr., has a dog, and they are both alike, but both hate each other. Old Salamano walked his dog on time every day, but did not give the dog time to pee, and always cursed and cursed at the dog. But after the dog was lost, he was anxious.
Raymond and Solmer became friends because Raymond often came to talk to him, and Meursault could not find any reason to refuse to make friends with him. Raymond had a mistress who could tell that he loved her very much and gave her enough living expenses, but he beat her. He also took her to a hotel to open a room, then called the police to register her as a prostitute.
"Absurdity" and "resistance" are the two main themes of Camus's life creation and thinking.
For a better understanding of the "absurdity" that Camus was trying to express, you can also read The Myth of Sisyphus, one of the "absurd trilogy". This is a collection of Camus's philosophical essays, Camus's most in-depth and concentrated investigation of the absurd, as well as the most thorough and clear interpretation.
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