Intertextuality Of The Stranger Essay, Research Paper

How can there be intertextuality between The Stranger and anything else within this universe? Camus would think it absurd! The mere idea that an absurdist novel could have a connection with something other than itself seems pure rebellion against its core philosophic principles. Can one not see the inescapable irony created within the task of finding such intertextuality? But if a connection must be made, what then should it be made to? The clear answer is nothing. In Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, nothing is accomplished by Vladimir s and Estragon s waiting for Godot. In Albert Camus The Stranger Meursault s feeling of nothingness, apathy, lack of hope, and disconnection to the world is why his life simply passes before him. It is this intertextuality between Godot and The stranger; that of nothingness, the lack of hope and ambition to take action in ones life, that ties the two works hand in hand in an existential matrimony of Meursault, Estragon, and Vladimir.

Through The Stranger, Camus expressed the belief that People want, and need, a basis for their lives and values, but that the world offers them none. Camus showed that there is no overarching value system, a person can’t make everyday value judgments, but is adrift in a meaningless world. The inevitability and finality of death adds to the absurdity of life, in Camus’s view. Meursault may be seen as an embodiment of Camus’s outlook. Life for him has little meaning on a deeper level, and he is not concerned about making value judgments or assessing right and wrong. Yet at the end of The Stranger, Meursault draws some order out of life. In an impassioned speech to a chaplain, who has been trying to convince him of the validity of the traditional Christian outlook, Meursault says life may have no deeper meaning but he indicates that he feels close to others who share life’s predicament. Through this feeling of solidarity, Meursault seems to gain strength, and seems to come to terms, at least partially, with the absurdity of life.

In Beckett’s words, human life is the endurance and tolerance to “the boredom of living” “replaced by the suffering of being.” These phrases speak volumes of a philosophy born out of the harsh human realities. Vladimir and Estragon are blissfully and painfully oblivious to their own condition. They go about repeating their actions every day unmindful of the monotony and captivity. They also do not activate their mind to question their own actions and the motives underlying their actions. The theme expressed, that God or fate or some supreme being with control toys with the lives of men is startlingly clear. Every moment of every day, mankind waits for some sign from God that his suffering will end. And every day, God does not arrive. In connection with this theme is the virtual impossibility of man’s ever having an understanding of or relationship with God.

One of the complexities of Literature of the Absurd is that it is often difficult to define a theme, since the very absurdity of the work is focused (usually) on man’s inability to make sense of things. The human condition is a dismal and distressful state; the derelict man struggles to live or rather exist, in a hostile and uncaring world. A sense of stagnancy and bareness captivates man, and whenever he tries to assert himself, he is curbed. Both Camus and Beckett encompass all of the aforementioned through their literary works The Stranger and Waiting for Godot respectively. In the end, the eternal hopelessness of life permeates every aspect of both works of literature.