Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider) Meursault...

Meursault as Christ in The Stranger (The Outsider)nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;In one of his later interviews, Camus made the somewhat irritated comment that Meursault is the â€Å"only Christ we deserve.† While this seem to be a pithy, witty comment, we need to figure out how Meursault is like Christ. Christ taught his disciples and had them go and teach others, yet Meursault has no disciples and chooses to say little. Meursault murders while Christ brings a man back from the dead. Most drastically, Christ †died for our sins† in order to make all those who follow free from original sin. Meursault just dies. So it is hard to see the link. If, however, we are to take Camus seriously, we need to push hard on this comparison. Christ lived his life†¦show more content†¦For Meursault, his death comes randomly. When the penultimate moment comes, and both men are asked by their judges to say something on their own behalf. Both men refuse. Pontius Pilate puts the question to Jesus, trying to get him to say anything to save himself. Through it all, Jesus keeps his mouth shut and insures his crucifixion. This silence is unusual for Jesus; he starts talking as an infant, teaching the teachers and keeps rapping for his entire life. His eloquent silence in the end tells more about his desire for death than anything he could say. Meursault’s moment comes at the end of his trial, when the judge asks if he has anything to say. Faced with the guillotine at the end of a sham trial, Meursault could have railed at the system or begged for forgiveness. Instead he chooses to say nothing. Saying anything at that point would have been banal; there was nothing relevant he could say. Nothing would change his fate. So that is what he chose to say. Christ chooses silence for his eloquence, using his silen ce to choose his death. Meursault chooses silence because there is nothing for him to say. The ultimate difference between the two is illustrated by their respective deaths. In dying, Christ alleviates the entire population of the earth and the populations to come of sin. As a result of his death, everyone has a shot at heaven. On the other hand, Meursault’s death is a repudiation of the afterlife. Before hisShow MoreRelated A Comparison of the Heroes Of The Stranger (The Outsider) and The Myth of Sisyphus1076 Words   |  5 Pages The Absurd Heroes Of The Stranger (The Outsider) and The Myth of Sisyphusnbsp;nbsp; In The Myth of Sisyphus, Sisyphus is an absurd hero because he realizes his situation, does not appeal, and yet continues the struggle. The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that The Stranger is, in narrative style, also showing us an absurd hero, or the beginning of an absurd hero in Meursault. In The Myth of Sisyphus Camus establishes the epistemology on which he bases all his works. Ant its a veryRead More Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): Finding a Rational God through Nature3501 Words   |  15 PagesFinding a Rational God through Nature in Camus The Stranger (The Outsider)    Turning towards nature for fulfillment, The Stranger’s Meursault rejects the ideology of God as a savior and is consequently juxtaposed against Jesus Christ’s martyrdom, Christianity and the infamous crucifixion. To the inexperienced reader, Meursault appears to be an extreme atheist. Later in Albert Camus’ novel, he is revealed as a humanistic soul that’s in touch with the universality of the earth and soil he treadsRead More Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): Meursault as Metaphysical Rebel1996 Words   |  8 PagesMeursault as Metaphysical Rebel in The Stranger (The Outsider)  Ã‚     Ã‚   The Stranger by Albert Camus was published in 1942. The setting of the novel is Algiers where Camus spent his youth in poverty. In many ways the main character, Meursault, is a typical Algerian youth. Like them, and like Camus himself, Meursault was in love with the sun and the sea. His life is devoted to appreciating physical sensations. He seems so devoid of emotion. Something in Meursaults character has appealed primarily