Essay for "the stranger” by albert camus

He would rather complain about not having a fresh towel to dry his ands with than realize the importance in the fact that he received a promotion to a job in Paris. This lack of fake feelings should lead to a more honest life, but it ultimately causes his downfall. Muralist is also an absurd character.

Some of his actions and beliefs are so strange that the reader is almost forced in to not liking him. Campus uses the character of Muralist to illustrate the absurdness, yet affirm the value of life. The trouble Muralist gets in shows how absurd he really is. The absurdity of life can then be seen juxtaposed to his predicament. “ According to standards y which he had conducted his life, there is no basis for his arrest. He had based his actions on complete indifference to everything except physical sensations; and projecting this philosophy to the extreme, he saw no difference between firing and not firing the shots into the body of the Arab” (Rein 35).

At the beginning of the second half of the novel Muralist is put on trial for shooting an Arab man to death for apparently no reason. It is very strange that someone can be completely indifferent to the point that they could kill someone. The absurdity is in the fact that Muralist is condemned costly for this indifference not actually for killing the Arab. Since he is not like everyone else he is prosecuted. Rein agrees with this view when he writes, “ He knows that the absolute religious and social values by which he was judged are conventional and outworn” (Rein 35). Since Muralist is judged absolutely upon other peoples feelings about how he has no feelings Campus shows the absurdity of life.

All of this is shown beside the point that life is worth living. Throughout all of Muralist’s rough spots he never wishes to cease living. He finds pleasure in the simple things in life. This goes along with the existential home that life should not be wasted. “ He opens his soul to the tender indifference of mankind in a world devoid of God, recognizes that he has known happiness through the sheer act of living[…

]” (Ammonia 43). After Muralist kills the man he is incarcerated. Since he has no faith or religion he is left only with his thoughts.

He realizes that he felt happiness through living, therefore life is important to him. Rein reinforces this argument when he states that, “ Muralist is, above all else, a man who wants to go on living. No matter how unbearable prison life becomes for him, death is never a imitation” (Rhine 37). Death never tempts Muralist. Most people would rather stop living than live through something unbearable. He would rather enjoy the life he has left, even if it is in prison. This is an affirmation of the value of life.

“ I’ve often thought that had I been compelled to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but gaze up at a patch of sky just overhead, I’d have to get used to it by degrees” (Campus 95). Through the use of the symbol of a dead tree Campus shows that Muralist can find life within death. Muralist states that he could get used to anything as long as he gets to go vying. This further proves how important life is to him. Muralist finds pleasure in the small luxuries of life like eating, drinking, smoking, swimming, and the company of other people.

For him it would be pointless to end a life full of so many small pleasures. Life is absurd but it is also enjoyable. ‘ The Stranger” is testament to this. If a man can enjoy the fact that he is living while he is a prisoner, then more people should realize that their everyday lives are more bearable than they think.

Life is not a thing to waste. It may be full of trials but life is all one has to lose.