The Stranger by Albert Camus
November 16, 20252 min read⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The Stranger by Albert Camus was a provoking read, of a man who seemingly has lost the depth of emotion.
I wonder if his stoicism, or apparent ‘coldness’ came from a place of protection; because feeling those emotions truly would send him reeling, or if it was truly a reflection of his absurdist philosophy.
The key motif in this was if things can go either way, his mother alive and well in an institution far away, or dead and lifeless in the ground, what is the point in anything?
What is the point in swimming in the ocean with a someone whose flesh feels warm, and what is the point in marrying them? If it stands to reason that there is a purpose, Camus does everything he can to shake that belief.
Does it matter whether the narrator was premeditated in the murder of the Arab on the beach? Or was it the act itself that causes moral panic. If the answer to why it happened was because of the pounding of the Sun, and the unbearable heat, why is it not acknowledged by the justice system?
The Stranger poses questions to the reader, through a simple tale. It urges us to look at the chaos masquerading as order, and the meaning we purport to things. However, once societal rules are broken, when you don’t cry at your mothers funeral, or you can’t say I wish to marry you to a woman who loves you, or you murder a man in cold blood; that’s when the chaos manifests again - a dark bubbly mess which consumes you.
I found this to be a very fascinating read, because that ennui is apparent in all of us, which renders the world baseless and devoid of any meaning. In the chaos however, we still have the choice for our actions, and there are consequences for your actions.
It’s your choice to add to the chaos.
Bought in Argentina and read there as well as Brazil.
Created by Apurva Shukla.
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