By Caitlin Bould, Class of 2026

Editor’s Note: Essay on Albert Camus’ The Stranger (awarded a Scholastic Gold Key)

In The Outsider, by Albert Camus, the character of Meursault represents a personification of Camus’s own existential beliefs and is amoral at his core. Existentialist belief states clearly that “God is dead” and “life is ruled by chance,” asserting that it is trivial to observe an organized religion (Meyer). Some key examples of Existentialist Thought evident in the book include Universal Chaos, existing “without purpose or destiny,” and that “humankind can only find meaning in life through commitment (to a task or to a personal relationship)” (Meyer). Although Meursault is ostensibly an existentialist, his actions are continuously dictated by some all-consuming power rooted in religious values. The novel is rich in biblical allusions concerning Meursault and other characters. While morality is not always based on Christianity, it is a fundamental concept of faith. Meursault’s amoral belief of universal rationality contrasts the Christian beliefs represented in The Outsider as his ultimate fate.

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