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Not What You Meant?  There are 31 definitions for The Stranger.  Also try: The Outsider or L'Étranger.

The Stranger Study Guide

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by Albert Camus
About 66 pages (19,706 words)
The Stranger (novel) Summary

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Themes

Absurdity

Absurdity is a philosophical view at which one arrives when one is forced out of a very repetitive existence. As Camus says in "An Absurd Reasoning" from his essay collection The Myth of Sisyphus:

It happens that the stage sets collapse. Rising, streetcar, four hours in the office or the factory, meal, streetcar, four hours of work, meal, sleep, and Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday according to the same rhythm—this path is easily followed most of the time. But one day the "why" arises and everything begins in that weariness tinged with amazement.

This description characterizes Meursault perfectly. The essay collection explained the philosophy of the absurd, and the novel demonstrated the theory.

Meursault's repetitive life runs smoothly. Then, little by little, Meursault's happy stasis is pulled apart by the rest.....

This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 1,043 words. This study guide contains 19,706 words (approx. 66 pages at 300 words per page).

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The Stranger from BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.



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