ENGL 2150 / Baruch CUNY / Spr 2013
Notes on Camus and the Myth of Sisyphus
I.
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In-Class Writing + Introductions (handed in)
In “The Myth of Sisyphus,” Camus
writes that the gods had condemned Sisyphus
to “an eternity of futile and hopeless labor.”
Examine each word in that phrase. Is that the
worst possible punishment? Answer that
question first. And, then, engage why or why
not. And, of course, if you want to argue that
it is not the worst possible punishment, then
state what is, or, would be, and of course,
why.
In-Class Writing:
II.
Albert Camus and “The Myth of Sisyphus”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CivDfBifsCY (animated version of The Myth . . .)
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Actual tale of Sisyphus and his betrayal of the Lord of the Underworld—Hades and he and his wife’s
deception of both Persephone and Hades; Plato writes, in his version of the myth, that Sisyphus was
knaving and conniving and smart and that he mostly lived his life “putting off the inevitable.”
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Why is this interesting to Camus? Why might Camus write about Sisyphus?
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Introduction to Camus’s idea of the Absurd: the Absurd and general absurdity have commonality but
the Absurd (Camus’s attendant idea) is a reality, a faction of reality.
human individual
(( a divorce ))
the world 
Think of the world (as both the natural planet and societies intertwined by arbitrary borders, etc.);
think of the human individual as an agent of freedom, an agent making rational demands (I want
pizza, ice cream, shelter, good weather, pleasure, etc…).
The world and the human individual are divorced from one another because one is conscious of
itself, of its actions, its mistakes, its existence and the other (world) is not.
Now, there is a return.
human individual (conscious)
(( the Absurd ))
the world
** The two are now  brought back together and bound by this device – the Absurd…
ENGL 2150 / Baruch CUNY / Spr 2013
Notes on Camus and the Myth of Sisyphus
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Question: What happens if Sisyphus just stops pushing the rock?
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Things to remember Camus is very adamant about:
*There is no such thing as total boredom.
*There is only one world, this one, no others.
*What makes this myth tragic is that its hero is conscious. He has no hope of succeeding
after his first, futile attempts. And, thus, he is our hero, the absurd hero, forever consciously
toiling. We can go to him for advice, certainly.
*The advice: imagine Sisyphus happy.
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Either we find the meaning of life in our lives . . . or . . . we’re not going to find it at all.
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How is this interesting in light of “The Myth of Sisyphus?” That is, what is so interesting about
immersing one’s self in this life (aside from the fact that this is the only life, that this is the only world)?
OTHER NOTES
From John Cruickshank’s Albert Camus and The Literature of Revolt
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He writes that the majority of Camus most-engaging work examines “the quest for happiness.”
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***Make life more livable without necessarily making it more rational.
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Examining the difference between what feelings demand and what the mind can achieve…
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“Intellectual awareness of the absurd is the experience of a person who has expected—no doubt on
the basis of Hegel’s assurances—a rationally ordered cosmos, but who finds instead—on the basis of
his own immediate experience—a chaos impervious to reason. The absurd is the conclusion arrive at
by those who had assumed the possibility of a total explanation of existence by the mind but who
discover instead an unbridgeable gulf between rationality and experience” (49).
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“Suicide implies consent to the absurd” (60).
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One must not evade the absurd.
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Sisyphus “scorned the gods, hated death, and was passionately attached to life.” He is an absurd
hero, thusly (87).
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He (Sisyphus) “realizes the nature of his destiny and, Camus claims, this consciousness makes him
superior to it” (87).
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Not a symbol of despair but “obstinate happiness”…
III.
Assignment
Revise your in-class writing and include a summary of Camus’s “The Myth of Sisyphus” (just the
myth) in it. Basically, make it a 6-9 (or more, use the guide I sent the class) sentence
paragraph response to reading the Myth.
Due: Wednesday 4/10 (on the blog, Class XIII entry) at 11:59p.
ENGL 2150 / Baruch CUNY / Spr 2013
Notes on Camus and the Myth of Sisyphus
Due (also) IN-CLASS, next Monday 4/15: three to five questions regarding the longer
essay, “An Absurd Reasoning” – in your notebook, perhaps ready to turn in, at least, ready
to ask, in class.