The topic of "the meaning of life" has come up multiple times through out our discussions in AP English, and the responses have been varied; it appears that the majority of the class (and the world) believes that their life has a personally ingrained meaning given by some sort of creator who propels them towards a predesignated future where every action, event, and twist and turn of life is meaningful in some way. While I take no issues with people viewing their lives through any lens that they see fit, my world has never felt so perfectly planned. Just as a certain Algerian philosopher and writer would put it, my experiences with the world have all felt rather...unplanned? Not totally rational? Perhaps the word I'm looking for is...absurd? How's that sound, Albert?
The struggle with the "absurdity" of life, as Camus coined it, is reflected throughout the whole of his landmark work The Stranger. Mersault's entire trial for the murder of the Arab can be seen as absurdity in action. Both the defense and prosecution attempt to give Mersault's killing a grander societal meaning and motive as they try to make sense of the non-conformist that he is. Despite serving him with a death sentence, which many of those involved feel is "justice", their attempts at giving meaning to the situation fail. Ultimately, Mersault's reason for murdering the Arab is unknown, or at least lacks the rational thought that his society feels must come along with a crime of that magnitude. His acts are beyond explanation, and this fact alone unsettles the public more than the crime itself. Although Mersault takes a certain pride and fulfillment in being a symbol of hate, he also feels comforted by the overall absurdity of all of his life's events: his job is absurd as his mother's death is absurd as his affair with Marie is absurd and so on and so forth. The world is free to attach any meaning they wish to his actions or lack thereof (not crying at his mother's funeral, beginning an affair the next day, etc.), but their explanations are all for naught in a world that does not operate by the meaning, logic, and rules that society attempts to assign to it.
As my senior year of high school comes to a close, I've been forced to make some choices that society (including my parents, friends, and teachers) constantly reminds me will determine the entirety of my future forever and ever: the college I choose, the major I pursue, the scholarships I apply for, etc. As I grapple with these choices, I constantly wonder whether my choice will make a difference in the end. Society tells me that if I work hard, go to a prestigious school, and graduate at the top of my class that I will find some sort of job at the end of the collegiate tunnel. But in a world where jobs are dwindling and college debt is booming, is there really any logical order to how to come out on the other side successful? At least to my current self, the adult world awaiting me seems messy, void of rhyme or reason, bleak, and (surprise, surprise) absurd.
While I fall into a similar philosophical camp as thinkers like Camus and Sartre, I know that while the things that happen to me and the course of events in my life may be random, without order, and in the grand picture completely meaningless, I can still prescribe personal meaning to what happens. Just as Mersault is able to find peace in the label society gives to him, despite his knowledge of the absurdity that rules the universe, I, too, am able to find peace in the random order of life that had joined me with so many people, interests, and things that I hold so dearly. Maybe I can't do anything to guarantee my success as an adult 100%, but I can try my best to enjoy the random twists and turns of life. The universe may be void of meaning and completely indifferent, but there will always be people and things there who make the absurdity worth it, whether it's a best friend, a job, or a death sentence.
