Albert Camus ( )

Algeria French colony –Annexed to France –French citizens encouraged to settle there –European style “modernization” –Muslims seen as inferior class could be French citizens only if they renounced Islam and converted to Christianity constituted the majority of the population, but not the rulers

Algeria

Population: 30,480,793 Algiers - 1,483,000 Religions: Sunni Muslim (state religion) 99% Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%, European less than 1%

French Algeria Many French citizens lived there Many French citizens owned property French profited from agriculture

Independence movement began during the two world wars ( ) blocked by conservatives in French parlement nationalists calling for “ armed revolution” political party National Liberation Front –attacks on government buildings, military installations (terrorism)

Reprisals by the French 400,000 French troops sent to Algeria general populace punished strengthened the cause of the revolution caused a political crisis in France –General DeGaulle called upon to lead France –new constitution –expected to keep Algeria French

Independence extreme right upset with DeGaulle –formed OAS, militant organization doing counter- terrorist attacks referendum in 1962 allowing Algerians to choose whether they wanted independence or to remain a part of France. Algerians chose independence. Most French citizens (pieds noirs) left. much bitterness against French

Albert Camus ( ) Born in Algeria He studied philosophy in Algeria He moved to France at age 25. During the German occupation of France, he was active in the Resistance. He wrote The Stranger in 1942, The Plague in 1947 and The Fall in 1956, as well as some plays for the theater.

Camus French Algerian (died before independence) father was from Alsace, France –killed in World War I when Camus was 3 –Camus never knew him mother was Spanish descent –moved back with her mother after husband’s death –illiterate, worked as laundress (charwoman) poor beginnings, contracted tuberculosis at age 17 spoke French, not Arabic or Berber (the native languages of Algeria) )

Later Life Camus received the Nobel Prize in Literature in He was killed in an automobile accident in 1960 with a friend. He was found with a train ticket in his pocket. His death was absurd. He is known for his philosophy of the absurd, explained in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus.

Sisyphus As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he could reach the top of the hill, the rock would always roll back down again, forcing him to begin again. Sisyphus overstepped his bounds by considering himself a peer of the gods. Zeus bound Sisyphus to an eternity of frustration.

Life of futility

The Myth of Sisyphus The essay Le Mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus), 1942, expounds Camus's notion of the absurd and of its acceptance with "the total absence of hope, which has nothing to do with despair, a continual refusal, which must not be confused with renouncement - and a conscious dissatisfaction".

For Camus, life is absurd. Unreasonable, inexplicable things happen. The contradiction must be lived; reason and its limits must be acknowledged, without false hope. However, the absurd can never be accepted: it requires constant confrontation, constant revolt.

No belief in a higher power Abandoning a belief in God, humans gain freedom in a very concrete sense: no longer bound by hope for a better future or eternity, without a need to pursue life's purpose or to create meaning, "he enjoys a freedom with regard to common rules". Humans need to band together in solidarity, to help each other.

The revolt To embrace the absurd implies embracing the unreasonable world. Without a meaning in life, there is no scale of values. "What counts is not the best living but the most living." Thus, Camus arrives at three consequences from the full acceptance of the absurd: revolt, freedom, and passion.

The Stranger first person narrative Meursault (mare soh) is French Algerian He acts detached from both his own emotions and those of others, making him unable to experience normal human connections feeling of discomfort and confusion in social situations and his avoidance of verbal engagement where possible

His mother’s funeral Meursault travels to the nursing home for the wake. Coffin is nailed shut. Meursault doesn’t want it opened so he can see the body. He has coffee, smokes cigarettes and falls asleep. There is a walking procession to the funeral home. It is miserably hot.

Meursault’s reactions He responds to physical sensations more than to dialogue. The bright light in the room, the physical discomfort of the extreme heat. He tunes in and out of conversations. He seems completely passive. He asks no questions.

Relationship with Marie Meursault's relationship with Marie is characterized from the beginning by an absence of verbal interaction. Their first meeting consists of activities that require little conversation: a day in the water and an evening at the movies. She spends the night at his apartment and leaves before Meursault awakes in the morning, thus avoiding a parting conversation.

Marie On a subsequent weekend, Marie stays for lunch. In the context of their first reported extended conversation, Marie asks Meursault if he loves her. "I told her that it didn't mean anything but that I didn't think so" (35). Marie quickly brushes off the negative moment and her cheerfulness continues.

French law juge d’instruction (magistrate) responsible for conducting the investigative hearing that precedes a criminal trial. In this hearing the major evidence is gathered and presented, and witnesses are heard and depositions taken. If the juge d'instruction is not convinced that there is sufficient evidence of guilt to warrant a trial at the end of the proceedings, no trial will occur.

Court The Cour d'Assises ("Assize Court") in France is the court charged to judge people accused of felonies ("crimes" as known by French law), and one of the few to be composed of a popular jury. According to French law, a felony is an act for which one can be condemned to more than 10 years of prison.

Magistrate Is supposed to be impartial pulls out crucifix “never seen a soul as hardened as yours” “Monsieur Antichrist” expectations

Defense lawyer Meursault says, “I made him feel uncomfortable”. told Meursault to keep quiet about Maman not present for the crucifix interrogation

Prosecutor Why had Meursault put Maman in the home? Why had he not looked at the body, cried? Why did he have coffee and cigarettes? Why did he begin an affair with Marie the next day? Why did he go to a comedy? Why was he friends with a seedy character like Raymond?