Albert Camus and His Views on Existentialism Essay

Albert Camus is considered one of the greatest existentialist writers of all time. However, although he was considered an existentialist writer, Camus never labeled himself as an existentialist. â€Å"No, I am not an existentialist† (Albert Camus: Lyrical and Critical Essays, Vintage (1970)) Camus rejected in an 1945 interview, however in some of his literary works, some find that his writings are one of a true existentialistic thinker. Although many contrast these thoughts and believe that Camus was anything but a thinker of this philosophy, Camus is one of the main authors that people turn to research and read to understand the thinking of existentialism. One of his most famous books, The Plague, illustrates the need for a human to become an†¦show more content†¦Camus, in his novel, The Plague, gives the reader a sense that he believes in and has total confidence that man has the ability to fulfill himself, although denying to be an existentialist himself. In this novel, Camus sets the story in Oran, Algeria, coincidently , where he grew up. He describes the town as dull, boring, and soulless almost. â€Å" The town itself, let us admit, is ugly†. (Camus, p. 1) The author is showing us that there is nothing really special about Oran, or in existentialist terms, the people don’t make Oran special. Their only concern, or their only focus, was conducting what they called â€Å"business†; nothing more. However, the main protagonist, Dr. Rieux, was one of the few in his society to actually question, what is the true definition of life? He seemed like he was the only one that realized that Oran was missing just this; life. He was curious what was a person’s or an individual’s purpose in this dry town. When masses of dead rats were lining the street, the public showed little curiosity with, of course, the exception of the doctor. As the plague soon hit, the attitudes of the public had miniscule change. â€Å"Me anwhile they drank their beer, nursed their sick, idled or doped themselves with work, filed documents in offices, or played the phonograph at home without betraying any difference from the rest of us.† (Camus, 184). This shows the reader how powerless these people are. The power for them to chose and think for themselves hasShow MoreRelatedPhilisophical Background of The Stranger Essay1436 Words   |  6 PagesCamus’ The Stranger Its Philosophical Background Albert Camus’ novel, The Stranger, appealed to a younger European generation that was trying to find its view of life after the tragedies of WWII and Nazism. Though he eventually came to more mature notions of how a human being should act before his tragic death from a accident in 1960, Camus always believed in the ideas expressed in The Stranger that man must find his own meaning in life, separate from religious or political doctrine. 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