The Stranger Existence Gains Essence:
Meursault found his essence once he accepted that he was going to die. At first a little part of him wanted to have hope that maybe he could live. When he faced reality and new that he was forsure going to be executed, he realized that having hope was just ruining his conscious. So then he realized that whether he dies today from execution, or in 20 years from natural causes, death was inevitable so why does it matter. He realized why would he want to waste his last hours alive having false hope and worrying about death when he can live his last hours to the fullest and accept the inevitable with no fear. That is when he found stability in his mind and that is when he came to a full understanding of himself. Meaursault making a choice to accept his fate by recognizing his individualism and coming to an understanding with himself, is when Meursault's existence gains essence. This is the first time in the book where Meaursault shows a deeper insight into his feelings and expressing his outlooks on life.
Avery,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that he only finds essence towards the end of the book when he accepts his death? Do you think that he also found himself and his essence when he killed that person? I agree with you that when he finally admitted he was going to die he was able to live. When you know that you are no longer going to live a tedious life, you sort of agree with yourself that it's time to accept who you are and what will happen. I think that when he makes a choice to kill the arab he finds essence because he for the first time in the novel, makes a decision on his own.
I like how you looked at it a different way, and now I realize that may be true too.
Exactly, why would he want to waste his last hours alive having false hope and worrying about death when he can live his last hours to the fullest and accept the inevitable with no fear?! Not only did he struggle to live his last hours to the fullest, but he went through his whole life not living to the fullest. He found no meaning to human life and finds that his only purpose is the possibility of an escape to freedom. He is unable to make the most of his final days or hours because he spent time hoping that he would have another twenty years of living. It is a flawed logic, since according to existentialist philosophy, you cannot hope for anything; there is no god, there is no reason, so if you hope for something it essentially becomes a problem since you prefocused on things that don’t exist. I like your point of view. xo
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