The Outsider by Albert Camus

 "The Outsider: A Deep Dive into Humanity"

"The Outsider," a novella by Albert Camus, is a profound exploration of humanity and existence. It follows Meursault, a man living in French Algeria, who commits a senseless murder and faces trial. Throughout the story, Camus raises philosophical questions about what it means to be human, the nature of emotion, and the imposition of societal expectations. Meursault's indifference and refusal to conform to societal norms lead to his marginalization. He is an absurd man, anti-hero. As Camus said that, " The ideas of the absurd man is the present and the successsion of the present moments before an ever-conscious spirit. " Muersault's ideas of "Nihilism", and it's application in the life made him real anti-hero. The book is simply written and a rather quick read, but the depth Camus manages to convey through this simplicity is astounding. While an interesting question, the book raises so many other philosophical questions beyond this.  What I found the most interesting of these is "what truly defines humanity or makes someone human?"  During Meursault's trial, he is constantly accused of not showing remorse and therefore as being cold and inhuman. He is most definitely human though, just rather detached. This raises the question of whether one should be expected to exhibit certain characteristics in certain situations to "keep their humanity". " Is it possible, too, that the absence of Maman reflects the absence of God?"  Also it raises the question of whether much of our emotion is created by ourselves or the expectations of others to exhibit certain emotions in a given sitatuion. The book is also an indictment on people's efforts to dictate other people's lives. We are constantly told what is right and as a means to justify our own sense of "what it means to be human". We often impose these characteristics upon others, expecting them to fulfill similar traits and characteristics, as they have been already imposed on us.  It is in a way, a self-justification of our actions as right or "humanly". Constantly, Meursault is being told he must live and/or act a certain way, whether it be by the judge, his lawyer, or the priest. Once he doesn't conform to these measures, he is marginalized and called "inhuman"; this is an attempt on the part of the others to rationalize their own ways of life and understandings. If they manage to declare him "inhuman", it allows them to call themselves human and justify their own means of living. This is a man not unsatisfied with life but feeling on the outside of it, moving through the world as he sees fit, and being denied life by men with a God-like arrogance for believing their word and opinions are firm law when really they are as meaningless and insignificant as any other creature.  It's interesting that there has been a crime and now Meursault is being "judged". The judgement is symbolic not only of the justice system, but of God's judgement of humanity.We have to assume that Meursault effectively asked the questions of himself, "What is the point? Why should I bother?" ‘Since we're all going to die,’ writes narrator Meursault, ‘it's obvious that when and how don't matter.’ " I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored." In a way, he accepted responsibility for his own actions during life and he accepted responsibility for the inevitability of his own death as well. Ultimately, this is why "The Outsider" and Existentialism are so confronting to Christianity and Western Civilisation. It makes us ask the question "what is the point?" and it permits an answer that "there is no point". This doesn't mean that life is meaningless and everybody else should live their lives in despair. Quite the opposite. We should inject our own meaning into our own lives. We are responsible for our own fulfilment. Life is short and we should just get on with it.  So, "The Outsider" isn't just a story about a guy in trouble; it's a reflection on life itself. It's about questioning the status quo and finding your own path. And even though it's a pretty deep book, it's definitely worth a read if you're up for some thought-provoking stuff. Thank you for sticking till the end.