Above is my creative aspect to my english final. It is a comic strip inspired by Albert Camus's "The Stranger." In this comic strip, a devout Buddhist is suddenly struck with a wicked thought. He decides to behead the Buddha idol in the temple that he is praying in. Shortly thereafter, he begins a killing streak, murdering everyone in sight for no apparent reason. The man is arrested and finds himself disgruntled in his jail cell. However, he begins reading "The Stranger" and feels a strong connection to Meursault. Ultimately, the man recites several aspects of the absurdist ideology, that there is no God, there is no greater purpose in life, and that the world is constantly hostile towards humanity.

This comic strip, in essence, sums up my findings concerning the critical lens of absurdism. I have relied on Camus's novel as my "bread and butter" to fall back on throughout this process since it is what I feel most comfortable discussing. Although it appears that I have only colored some objects in each frame of the comic strip either out of laziness or to draw attention to these objects, one will never know. After all, mankind will never be able to understand the "big picture" in life or if there is ever a single definite answer.

William Shakespeare's "King Lear"

KING LEAR

“King Lear,” a play written by William Shakespeare is centered around the themes of mistrust and blindness. King Lear, the king of Britain decides to split up his land to his three daughters. His youngest daughter, Cordelia refuses to proclaim her love to him publicly and thus does not receive any dowry. King Lear’s blindness caused him to outcast Cordelia. Shortly after giving nearly all of his power to his other two daughters, they manage to strip him of his remaining noble power. This betrayal from his daughters drives Lear to madness.

While Lear’s family dysfunctions are taking place, there are parallel issues in Gloucester’s (one of Lear’s noblemen). Gloucester has a legitimate son, Edgar, and an illegitimate son, Edmund. Edmund convinces Gloucester that Edgar is attempting to kill him. Gloucester turns on his legitimate son due to his blindness.

Ultimately, both Cordelia and Edgar, the two children who were turned on by their fathers save the very men who turned them away. It was beyond both Lear’s and Gloucester’s ability to grasp the sincerity of their children.

In the end of the drama, nearly all of the characters die. Edgar kills Edmund in a duel right before we learn that Gloucester has died. Lear’s eldest daughter Goneril poisons her sister Regan out of jealousy over Edmund. Cordelia, who had led the French troops in an invasion of England, was executed in prison. After the death of his youngest and most beloved daughter, Lear dies of grief. Shakespeare concludes his play with a depressing tone that leaves the audience with a feeling of remorse and regret. This ending epitomizes the hostility of the world towards humankind.

Albert Camus's "The Stranger"

THE STRANGER

Albert Camus’s “The Stranger” is universally recognized as one of the few “stepping stones” from existentialist ideology to absurdism. There is no question that Camus had an absurd outlook on life. He struggled to find meaning in human existence. In fact, he believed that death was the ultimate end and that the events that we experience in our lives serve the sole purpose of living in that exact moment, and nothing further.

It is clear that Camus imbedded his ideology in his novel, “The Stranger”. The protagonist, Meursault, elects not to show emotion, even in the most severe situations. For example, he did not openly grieve when his mother died. Further still, the next day he went on a date to a comedic film. This lack of sentiment was not too concerning initially. However, later on in the novel, Meursault murders a man for no apparent reason. He shows no remorse for his unprovoked actions. After refusing to seek repentance from God, Meursault is labeled the Antichrist. While awaiting his execution, he finds it difficult to accept the inevitable reality. However, he comes to the conclusion that there is no greater meaning to human existence. This thought comforts him.

Camus has intricately strewn his philosophy of human existence through his characterization of Meursault. I once read somewhere that absurdism is the ultimate form of atheism, and that statement rings true in this novel. Meursault denies the opportunity to be “saved” by the church and he even tells the chaplain that he does not believe in God, a shocking and bold statement from a man on death row in early 20th century Algeria.

Although the man that Meursault murdered had previously attacked his friend, he still had no reasonable motivation to kill a complete stranger. This random act portrays the arbitrary actions in the world. As the absurdist’s philosophy states, mankind will never be able to understand the “bigger picture”. Thus, the audience (as well as Meursault himself) may never actually KNOW why he murdered that man. 


Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain"

 This sculpture, titled “Fountain”, was one of Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades”, or every day object transformed into art (photo taken by Alfred Stieglitz, 1917). Duchamp took an ordinary urinal, rotated it, and signed it with the pseudonym “R. Mutt.” According to Duchamp, art is simply anything that an artist claims it to be. However, this piece was denied entry to the Society of Independent Artists exhibit in 1917.

Duchamp stated that his artwork reflected his sense of irony, humor, and ambiguity. This third characteristic is imperative when analyzing this sculpture with an absurdist’s lens. Despite a urinal’s apparent singular function, Duchamp found another with this sculpture. By doing so, Duchamp showed that we, as humans, may not be able to understand the complexity of such seemingly simple objects. There are an infinite amount of uses for a urinal, but our views are confined to only the most obvious of functions.

Furthermore, the fact that Duchamp’s sculpture was denied from the Society of Independent Artists exhibit further exemplified it as absurdist art. According to philosophy-index.com, a key view of absurdism is that the world is constantly hostile towards humanity. Therefore, since the artwork that Duchamp had created was unappreciated and ridiculed, it was as if the world was being cruel towards him.

Absurdism; An Overview

Absurdism is a philosophical perspective that was manifested from the similar ideologies of nihilism and existentialism. Followers of absurdism believe that it is futile for humans to try to seek for meaning and rational explanations in the universe (newworldencyclopedia.com). Contrary to nihilists though, followers of absurdism believe that there are underlying meanings in the world, but they are beyond human capability to grasp. According to NewWorldEncyclopedia.com, “Absurdism implies a tragic tone and feelings of frustration that arise out of the contradiction between the human quest for the meaning of life and its inaccessibility.” Furthermore, absurdist views state that humanity must live in a world that is constantly hostile or indifferent towards them (philosophy-index.com). This tone has become apparent in many works of literature, as well as impacted multiple artists’ work.

Using the ideology of absurdism, an author is able to convey the fruitless efforts of their characters trying to discover “absolute truths” when in reality, there is not always only one explanation. Authors can successfully employ this perspective by choices in their plot. For example, if the protagonist never comes to a solid conclusion to explain “why” or “for what purpose”, the author is implying that it may not be possible for the characters to ever know.

This style allows for scholars to interpret and debate literature and art, rather than come to one unified (and thus boring) conclusion. Through an absurdist lens, the audience can question the purpose of a piece of art, whether it is a sculpture or a novel. Overall, an absurdist lens allows creativity and involves a more in depth analyzation of art and literature.


Works Cited

"Absurdism." New World Encyclopedia 28 May 2008 Web.28 May 2009.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Absurdism

"Absurdism." Philosophy Index (2009) Web.28 May 2009. http://www.philosophy-
index.com/existentialism/absurd.php

"Absurdism Summary/Study Guide." eNotes (2009) Web.28 May 2009.
http://www.enotes.com/absurdism