A Lonely World

The Stranger written by Albert Camus is a unique novel that explores an existentialist way of living. Camus is able to give his audience a better look of the existentialist mind through his character Meursault. Meursault constantly seems to be living only in the present. With no true references to his past, Meursault simply does what he feels is right in an instantaneous moment. He lives a spontaneous life, in which he spends no time thinking about his future and how he can make it better.

A phrase that really caught my attention was "We are alone.", because it makes me relate to Meursault's way of thinking and "doing". Meursault is the "stranger", the "outsider" that no one can understand. Everyone thinks he is absurd. For example the judge during Meursault's trial could not understand why Meursault felt no mourn when Maman died. Yes, he is alone in the way he thinks, because no one else has his same opinions, but he is also alone because thats his way of living. He has realized that no one in the world can make a difference in his life so he prefers to have no serious relationships with anyone and not have to worry about being "happy" with another person. For example, Marie asks Meursault if he loves her and he simply responds that he "didn't think so". Also, when talking about marriage with Marie he simply accepts the act by reasoning with himself that that is what is normal and what Marie wants...not what he believes is correct.

You may be wondering why I'm mentioning only Meursault. The reason is because, what makes us so different from him anyways. Yes, a lot of us care about what will happen in the future and most of us care when a loved one dies (keep in mind that Meursault is an extreme existentialist). Even though Meursault had a bizarre way of thinking and know one though like him, one will never find someone that thinks exactly the same. You may find similar ideals with someone else but the way you think is unique just like your fingerprint. Each individual has the option of thinking whatever they want. Wether it is accepted by the societal standards we live in, is a whole other story. If you don't believe it when I say you will never find someone that thinks just like you, think of the times you have changed your behavior and ideals just to be part of a group, and feel some sort of connection with anyone. Most humans need to connect with others to consider people as "friends" or to feel belonging to something in the world. Many times people alter what one truly believes, into something that will get societies approval. In Meursault's case, he does the exact opposite of the average human. He simply believes in what he believes in, and nothing will ever alter his way of thinking, because life is pointless. If we were to isolate every human from every other human in the world we will find no connections with anybody else whatsoever. We truly are alone, but then we mask it with contradicting beliefs to simply feel the approval of somebody else, something bigger.