Introduction to The Stranger
Introduction to The
Stranger
A NOVEL BY ALBERT CAMUS
History of Algeria
Evidence of human presence since 4000 B.C.
Settlers include African civilizations, Romans, Arabs, Turks, Europeans
The Turks win control of the area and allow pirates to monitor as representatives of
Ottoman Empire
French become involved because of political disagreement with the Ottomans
French army lands in 1830 and begins colonizing the area
French colonizers face rebellions and a large Muslim population
Both groups want equal rights
Conflicts in Algeria
Left: Place de la republique, Algiers, 1899
French settlers have ruling rights, excluding natives, Muslims, and others from power
French force Muslims to pay higher taxes
French hold the majority of farmable land
French government decides to grant French citizenship to Algerian
Jews but not Muslims
Furthers separation between different groups
Conflicts last until the mid 1900s
Algeria in the early
1900s
Life in Algeria for Albert Camus
Born November 7, 1913 in
Mondovi, Algeria
Father dies in WWI before
Camus is a year old and mother is physically disabled
Grows up in poverty
Receives a scholarship to attend school
Contracts tuberculosis which stays with him for the duration of his life
Receives a degree in philosophy in 1936 from
University of Algiers
Begins writing stories and essays reflecting his life in Algeria with the common themes:
Poverty, racism, corruption, mistreatment of women
Vulnerability of human life
Never-ending status of world
Works as a playwright and actor, eventually becomes journalist for
Alger-Republicain in 1938
Moves to France at start of WWII and joins resistance movement
Awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957
Dies in automobile accident in
1960
Philosophy in The Stranger
Existentialism
Relates to philosophical ethics
Popular in 19th and 20 th centuries
“Center[s] [on] the uniqueness and isolation of individual experience in a universe indifferent or even hostile to man, regarding human existence as unexplainable, and emphasizing man's freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of his acts.”
(https://www.prestwickhouse.com/samples/304523.pdf)
Absurdism
“A philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe”
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absurdism)
Camus says this provides true freedom because humans do not have to search for confirmation from a greater being or entity or have a purpose
(http://www.philosophy-index.com/existentialism/absurd.php
)
1.
Discussion questions
Existence is absurd and true meaning in life is impossible.
2.
Day to day existence is filled with anxiety and fear.
3.
The idea that I am born into a particular time, place, family, and economic environment is absurd.
4.
When I am born, I am undefined without any prior essence or preconceived personality or soul.
5.
In life, I must make choices regardless of what’s best for others. I can only choose what’s best for me.
Additional Sources Consulted
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ac92 http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/acamus.htm
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/indexa.htm
https://www.prestwickhouse.com/samples/304523.pdf
