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关键词, 荒诞主义，人性，存在主义，死亡
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments.. 4
Abstract. 5
摘要..6
1 Introduction. 7
2 A Brief Survey of the Philosophy of Absurdity.9
2.1 The Origination of Absurdity9
2.2 The Essence of Absurdity12
3 The Analysis of the Main Characters in The Outsider..15
3.1 Meursaul.15
3.2 Other Characters in The Outsider.19
4 The Analysis of the Outsider and the Insider22
5 The Significance of Analyzing the Absurdity..23
6 Conclusion..25
Bibliography26
1 Introduction
Albert Camus, well known as an absurdist, was an Algerian-French author, journalist, and philosopher. His views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1957 “for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times.” The Stranger or The Outsider is a novel by Albert Camus published in 1942. Its theme and outlook are often cited as examples of absurdism. The title character is Meursault, an Algerian ("a citizen of France domiciled in North Africa), a man of the Mediterranean, who seemingly irrationally kills an Arab man whom he recognizes in French Algiers. Raymond Sintès is the neighbor of Meursault who beats his mistress which causes a conflict with the Arabs. Raymond is a foil character of Meursault in that he takes action while Meursault is indifferent. Raymond and Meursault seem to develop a bond as the story goes on, ending with Raymond Sintes testifying for Meursault during his trial. Marie Cardona， a typist in the same workplace as Meursault.. Marie, enjoys physical contact in their relationship through the act of sex. She represents the enjoyable life Meursault wants and she is also the only reason that Meursault regrets going to jail. The story is pided into two parts: Meursault's first-person narrative view before and after the murder, respectively.
Generally speaking philosophy is the study or creation of theories about basic things such as the nature of existence, knowledge, and thought, or about how people should live. Philosophically, "the Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek inherent value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any.
In this context, absurd does not mean "logically impossible", but rather "humanly impossible". The universe and the human mind do not each separately cause the Absurd, but rather, the Absurd arose by the contradictory nature of the two existing simultaneously. Absurdism is a philosophical school of thought stating that the efforts of humanity to find inherent meaning will ultimately fail (and hence are absurd) because the sheer amount of information as well as the vast realm of the unknown make certainty impossible.
And yet, some absurdists state that one should embrace the absurd condition of humankind while conversely continuing to explore and search for meaning. As a philosophy, absurdism thus also explores the fundamental nature of the absurd and how inpiduals, once becoming conscious of the Absurd, should respond to it. Through the analysis of the text, absurdity is the only rational starting point for Camus to torture the world; The Outsider backside is love, harmoniousness, nous and so on. Absurdity, irrational, difference is his rational starting point which to reflect on. Thus, The Outsider is full of realistic significance, which mirrors the revolt against the inhumanity existed in the real world.
This thesis will focus on four aspects. The first part is a brief introduction of the philosophy of absurdity. It is an important theoretical foundation of the entire thesis. Through analyzing typical absurdism and related main characters in The Outsider, the second part is to explore how absurdism affects human nature and leads to the tragedies of characters. In the third part, the thesis will focus on a reflection on absurdity in the real life. In the final analysis, a conclusion will be drawn about the research subject.