Get the notes from a friend on absurdism.
We are going to watch Meursault's transformation.
At the end of the novel, be able to explain how he changes. Is he heroic, an imitation of Sisyphus? Is he "condemned to be free"?
As you read the novel, post-it note examples of the following:
- sun motif (heat, blindness, seeing imagery)
- Whenever Meursault makes excuses
- Whenever Meursault acts like an absurdist
What are the three ways Camus suggests one can respond to the idea that life is meaningless?
1. Suicide
2. Hope (Putting meaning on events, relationships, making excuses, religion, etc)
3. Heroism: Like Sisyphus, one stares death and meaningless in the face and pushes that rock up the hill because one can. Despite not knowing what drives us or why we are here? Life has value because it exists. We get to love others, eat great food, drink great drinks, travel to great lands, test our limits, discover, learn, challenge, create!!!
A world with imposed meanings may suggest a collection of robots following a script. He says, we are We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking.
The absurd: Life is meaningless. If we "value" life, then we impose meaning. We judge it---I will love you if you love me back. I will do my homework and enjoy it, if I get a good mark. These responses are conditioned. They do not require indvidual responses.
Consensual Reality: an accepted version of reality
So . . .
Absurdism as defined by the dictionary:
A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the conequences of one's acts.
The only "certainty" is death.
All else is random. I may choose to love and marry you but I have no CONTROL over whether you will love me back. I may eat a healthy diet and exercise and STILL get CANCER. I may risk my life to save others, raise a family and NO ONE gives me a CIGAR . . . . .
Think of your own examples.
