Part 2

This forum is for the discussion of The Stranger, Part 2.

I maybe jumping ahead of myself, as I have read the book, but not the SparkNote chapters (usually I do each chapter, SparkNotes and Post at the same time before I move to the next chapter).

I am not sure I understand what is meant by absurd instead of exitstentialism. The character seemed as if he didn't care for anything at all. He was indifferent to his mother's death, to the idea of marriage (with out love), to his neighbor beating his girlfriend, to killing someone, to being sentenced to death. This character seemed detached from the world. I think he seemed much scarier than Bigger, who at least tried to rationalize his behvior, and felt something that was human, even if that something was rage.

SparkNotes

"Camus’s philosophy of absurdism emphasizes the futility of man’s inevitable attempts to find order and meaning in life. The “absurd” refers to the feeling man experiences when he tries to find or fabricate order in an irrational universe."

Interesting that the author tries to force as a reader to place feeling or meaning in to this character and his actions.

I agree with out Kelley, M - is indifferent to the world. Bigger at least tried to make sense of it. M - really didn't care.

Camus did make a point that the meaning of life can not be found by all and the futile attempts are sad. Possibly a waste of a life. Who knows?

there was a deeper meaning to this book than I could easily pull out. I found it difficult to make any sense of absurdism because it is so foriegn to my way of thinking. Is it that hard to find order and meaning to life? Was Meursault just a consciencless man who recognized that others saw meaning to life and that he lacked that ability so perhaps he did things in an effort to grasp meaning either by seeing the reactons of those around him or maybe with the hope that he would feel something.
He did not seem sad to think his life would be cut short when the author alluded that death today was much the same as dying 20 years from now. He never seems to think of what he might miss out on if he is executed.