WHO IS CAMUS?
Camus was born in Algeria in 1913
Camus’s Life
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His father died in WWI (1914)
Camus never knew his father
He grew up in poverty
He contracted TB in high school (He gained a new
perspective on life and death)
WWII: He was editor of an Anti-Nazi newspaper
He won the Nobel Prize in Literature (1957)
He died in an auto accident (1960)
Historical Background of Algeria
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1942: Algeria was a colony of France (for over 100
years)
Europeans invaded and confiscated land from the
native Muslim population
Thus, Algeria was a place of racial tension and
economic unrest
WWI and WWII had devastating effects on Algeria
The Algerian people began to fight for independence
(1954-1962)
The Stranger
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The Stranger takes place in Algiers, Algeria
It was originally written in French (1942)
Many critics label Camus as an existential
writer…but he refused to be labeled as such
Camus says The Stranger depicts “the
nakedness of man faced with the absurd”
It begins with one of literature’s most infamous
lines of all time…
“Maman died today, or yesterday
maybe, I don’t know…”
--Meursault
Is Fact Stranger Than Fiction?
 Does
society expect people to be
incredibly close with immediate family
members? If so, why?
 Does society expect people to be
incredibly emotional after a loved one
dies? If so, why?
The Mystery of Human Emotion
Why are some people emotional and some not so
much? Is emotional intelligence innate or learned?
Consider the ways in which emotions could be
both physiological and psychological in nature.
Are emotional responses based on deep-seated
belief systems and values, or are they innate
impulses and knee-jerk reactions?
WHAT IS EXISTENTIALISM?
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WE MAKE OURSELVES
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OURSELVES
THERE ARE NO EXCUSES
EXISTENTIAL SPECTRUM
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NIHILISM
TRANSCENDENTALISM
Life is meaningless and absurd
Everything is chaotic and random
a reason
No belief in God, fate, good or evil
Everything is interconnected
Everything happens for
Belief in a higher purpose/power
“Existence precedes essence”
—Jean Paul Sartre
Existentialism & Science:
Neuroplasticity and Epigenetics
The Myth of Sisyphus
Camus was not a
Pessimistic Existentialist!
Camus believed that Sisyphus should roll his boulder with
passion and that modern humans should cultivate happiness no
matter how monotonous or meaningless life may seem…
Camus and Religion
Camus Hates Labels
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Camus studied religious thinkers and wrote his
college thesis on Neo-Platonism and Christian metaphysics. Though he eventually came to the
conclusion that he could not fully believe in God or
any particular religion, he did not like the label
“atheist” because he claimed he could not fully be
certain that religious people were wrong either.
Instead, he preferred the term “unbeliever,” meaning
he was simply devoid of fervent religious beliefs.
“You will never be happy if you continue to search for
what happiness consists of. You will never live if you
are looking for the meaning of life” –Camus
Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse
Tyson echoes Camus’s ideas…
"The problem, often not discovered until late in
life, is that when you look for things in life like love,
meaning, motivation, it implies that they are sitting
behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful
people in life recognize that they create their own
love, they manufacture their own meaning, and they
generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven
by two main philosophies: know more today that I
knew yesterday, and lessen the suffering of others.
You'd be surprised how far that gets you"
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What kind of existentialist are you?
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Do you believe in some form of life after death?
Do you believe things happen for a reason?
Do you believe that individuals are fated to play out a particular destiny or
fulfill a specific life purpose?
Do you believe in the intelligent design of the universe or a creator being?
Do you believe that there is a higher purpose or reason for existence?
Do you believe in a transcendent reality (or realities) other than the one we
experience in the here and now?
Do you believe that all things are interconnected?
Do you believe in an objective Truth (capital “T”)?
Do you believe in good and evil?
Do you believe that life is inherently meaningful?
Death Discussion Question #1
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What are the social expectations for dealing
with loss in our culture? How does our culture
view death? How do we expect a person who
is mourning to behave or react? What are the
rituals and customs we follow to
commemorate death? How do other cultures
view death in comparison with our own?
Death Discussion Question #2
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How do you personally feel about death? What are
your experiences with it? If you have ever
experienced a great loss and/or known someone who
was deeply grieving, please share how you coped.
How did you feel and how did you handle the
situation? If you have never experienced loss, it is
inevitably something we will all encounter. Consider
how you might react in a hypothetical situation or
consider how you might help someone else who is
grieving someday.
“Death is the mother of beauty”
--Wallace Stevens
Top Five Life Regrets
I wish I had the courage to live a life that was
true to myself
 I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
 I wish I had the courage to express my
feelings
 I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
 I wish I had let myself be happier
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The End