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The Absurdity of Albert Camus

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Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#21

Post by firasd »

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #11

As it happens, I recently re-read The Stranger -- the last time was in 2006, so it was essentially fresh. The first half of the short book is easily on-par with any of the great masterpieces of literature. It was written in a direct, vivid, gripping, and yet somehow languorous style -- something almost paradoxical. It was also very attuned to the aesthetics and flow of the outside world, but inattentive to the narrat…

When Martin Shkreli first burst onto the scene it reminded me of the trial a bit. Like I really believe a lot of the negative polarization he received was due to his smirk rather than due to his drug pricing per se

Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#23

Post by leoqa »

ex-aws-dude wrote: post #12
whalesalad wrote: post #9

I quite enjoyed The Stranger

I read it but I didn't really get why its so hyped/mindblowing It may just be a Seinfeld Effect for me though I get that in the context of literature its quite a unique story/take but I just felt like the concept of life being meaningless/absurd is kind of a tired trope for younger generations Especially if you are someone who grew up on the internet, depression/meaninglessness was like a mainstream meme in the last…

It is quite accessible and is read by teenagers during their angst. It appeals to people become it is a simple premise that gives simple choices to the reader.

Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#24

Post by rectang »

A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #11

As it happens, I recently re-read The Stranger -- the last time was in 2006, so it was essentially fresh. The first half of the short book is easily on-par with any of the great masterpieces of literature. It was written in a direct, vivid, gripping, and yet somehow languorous style -- something almost paradoxical. It was also very attuned to the aesthetics and flow of the outside world, but inattentive to the narrat…

It’s been a while, but I recall finding The Plague more compelling than The Stranger.

While I agree with Camus’s philosophical points about the absurdity of existence and the indifference of the universe, within the scope of our tiny little lives there is morality and meaning. Taking action to address the suffering caused by an epidemic is meaningful. So are the deaths of an Arab or one’s mother, and the premise that a human would be so alienated that they would feel nothing at them is unconvincing, even if the universe doesn’t care.

There was an essay in The Guardian a couple days ago on a related topic, positing that the essence of the self is the biological body including the brain, rather than the isolated mind. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/30/alive-...

Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#25

Post by ButlerianJihad »

I heard of Camus around 1985 when I started listening to the Cure. For several years, I collected Cure records, saw the Cure live, and the Cure was near the top of my obsessions. I heard all about the controversy of their single, "Killing An Arab", how it had been introduced on the radio, and how it gained a disclaimer sticker.

I eventually read the first 3 pages of The Stranger and then I stopped. I also never read any Baudelaire or Charlotte Sometimes. I am probably in the majority of Cure fans in the United States.

Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#26

Post by skirmish »

rayiner wrote: post #8

[flagged]

You will find them in the Existential Comics, e.g. [1], [2], [3] etc.

[1] At the Existentialist Cafe, https://existentialcomics.com/comic/660

[2] The Asteroid and the Meaning of Life, https://existentialcomics.com/comic/654

[3] Camus on a Date, https://existentialcomics.com/comic/509

Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#27

Post by A_D_E_P_T »

halperter wrote: post #18
A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #11

As it happens, I recently re-read The Stranger -- the last time was in 2006, so it was essentially fresh. The first half of the short book is easily on-par with any of the great masterpieces of literature. It was written in a direct, vivid, gripping, and yet somehow languorous style -- something almost paradoxical. It was also very attuned to the aesthetics and flow of the outside world, but inattentive to the narrat…

At least from my perspective, the trial is meant to be contrived and a farce. From Meursault's perspective (which I agree that he can be an unreliable narrator) everything happening around him is inconsequential; he reflects that death-even of someone so "close" to him as his mother-doesn't matter as the end would always come. Meursault is on trial for his disposition, rather than the actual murder. The prosecution a…

The problem as I see it is in the fact that the book describes the world very naturalistically. The first half of the book is basically Proust, if Proust were less introspective and didn't care to inflate his word count. It's actually rare to find a book where the events of day-to-day life -- running to catch a tram, or spending a lazy Sunday afternoon on one's balcony -- are relayed with such clarity and directness.

Then the murder happens -- which was a highly contrived and even quite ridiculous scenario, in that (a) Mersault's party was quite literally being stalked by an armed gang, (b) Mersault separated himself from the pack and was menaced by one of his stalkers, who was armed with a knife, (c) the naked knife was in the man's hand, as that man was blocking Mersault's path, (d) there were no witnesses, and (e) Mersault was a Frenchman in colonial French Algeria.

Not 1 in 10000 times does that go to court for murder, and not 1 in 1000000 times does it result in the death penalty.

But, anyway, back to my point: The minute the murder happens, we're yanked out of the naturalistic world and thrust directly into the world of Kafka's The Trial. Nothing makes sense any longer. What once was so true-to-life becomes something akin to the hallucinatory descent of divine justice -- a bad trip, a fever dream. "Yeah, you're off to the guillotine because you didn't cry at your mom's funeral. What kind of monster are you?" The most parsimonious interpretation is that the narrator has simply lost his mind.

Don't even get me started on the fact that every reviewer thinks that Mersault was executed, when that never actually happens in the book, and would result in him not being able to write the book in the first place. (Further confused by the variety of tenses used in the construction of the prose.) The book, which is written something like a memoir, ends with his appeal still pending, and the prison chaplain "sure of its success."

As to the critiques, the Orientalist one is in Edward Said's "Culture and Imperialism" but I don't think that the full version is online. As I recall, it basically concerned point (e) above, and noted that the trial would not have happened -- so the notion of the trial may be a sort of cope.

Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#29

Post by esikich »

firasd wrote: post #21
A_D_E_P_T wrote: post #11

As it happens, I recently re-read The Stranger -- the last time was in 2006, so it was essentially fresh. The first half of the short book is easily on-par with any of the great masterpieces of literature. It was written in a direct, vivid, gripping, and yet somehow languorous style -- something almost paradoxical. It was also very attuned to the aesthetics and flow of the outside world, but inattentive to the narrat…

When Martin Shkreli first burst onto the scene it reminded me of the trial a bit. Like I really believe a lot of the negative polarization he received was due to his smirk rather than due to his drug pricing per se

Nah, he was a scapegoat so the rest of big pharma could continue to do the exact same shit he did. He was just too noisy about it. "Justice served, we got all the bad guys!"

Re: The Absurdity of Albert Camus

#30

Post by rayiner »

skirmish wrote: post #26
rayiner wrote: post #8

[flagged]

You will find them in the Existential Comics, e.g. [1], [2], [3] etc. [1] At the Existentialist Cafe, https://existentialcomics.com/comic/660 [2] The Asteroid and the Meaning of Life, https://existentialcomics.com/comic/654 [3] Camus on a Date, https://existentialcomics.com/comic/509

This is great.
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