Absurdity stresses the incompatibility between rational thought and the universe. Camus considers the recognition of absurdity an act of liberation from the restraints of humankind. In Camus’s The Stranger and Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the absurd is continually repudiated by society; individuals in these novels shun the human condition of absurdity, aligning with any trend of mankind.
Existentialism emphasizes self-reliance and individualism. The philosophy encourages people to make their own decisions without accounting for societal trends or laws. Humans inherently have free will which is encroached by social structure and man-made laws. Similarly, the emphasis on freewill yield choices made only by an individual’s mind. These personal …show more content…
Meursault’s reaction to Maman’s funeral was one of indifference, like the death of the Arab: “Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure. The telegram from the Home says: Your mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow. Deep sympathy” (Camus 1). Meursault recognizes the insignificance of his mother’s death and thus has a shallow emotional reaction. He displays no grief; he is simply in attendance to the funeral because he feels obliged and he gets to be absent from work. Throughout the funeral, he is mainly concerned about physical discomforts. For example, he complains about being tired and other trifling matters. Meursault didn’t even want to see the body of his newly deceased mother. Further, he even takes interest to how the humidity will affect the decay of her body. Pondering this, he recognizes that Maman’s body is merely an empty shell and contains no semblance of her soul or past life. This is perhaps one of the most prominent examples of existentialism in the novel. Meursault looks past his maternal relation to Maman, recognizing that her death is infinitesimal to the never-ending machine of the universe. Her time on the earth was cyclic, bearing no anomaly to any other life in the universe. As there has been an uncountable amount of deaths prior to Mamans’, much leading more influential lives, the world will neither be positively or negatively affected by her