Meursault's Identity
by Federico Scivittaro and Francesco Scivittaro
Activity
From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
The man who invented the Total Perspective Vortex did so basically in order to annoy his wife.
Trin Tragula – for that was his name – was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher or, as his wife would have it, an idiot. She would nag him incessantly about the utterly inordinate amount of time he spent staring out into space, or mulling over the mechanics of safety pins, or doing spectrographic analyses of pieces of fairy cake.
“Have some sense of proportion!” she would say, sometimes as often as thirty-eight times in a single day.
And so he built the Total Perspective Vortex, just to show her. Into one end he plugged the whole of reality as extrapolated from a piece of fairy cake, and into the other end he plugged his wife: so that when he turned it on she saw in one instant the whole infinity of creation and herself in relation to it.
To Trin Tragula’s horror, the shock completely annihilated her brain; but to his satisfaction he realized that he had proved conclusively that if life is going to exist in a Universe of this size, then the one thing it cannot have is a sense of proportion.
Full Song Lyrics
Transcendent to consequences
To transcend where we are
Who are we? Who we are.
Trampled marks on your souls
Changes, all you're a part
Seen it all. Not at all
Can't defend [messed] up men
Take me for a ride before we leave
Circumstance. Clapping hands
A driving winds. Happenstance
Off the track, in the mud
That's the mark in the aforementioned verse
And a little... Wow... And a little...
Just a little time before we leave
Stop light plays its part so I would say you've got a part
What's your part? Who you are
You are who who you are.
Meaning
"Transcendent to consequences
To transcend where we are
Who are we? Who we are"
- we are capable of transcending insignificance, simply by being
"Seen it all. Not at all."
- although we believe we've seen everything, reality and the world is so massive we have not actually seen anything
"Stop light plays its part so I would say you've got a part
What's your part? Who you are
You are who...who you are."
- the stop light (death) approaches, regardless, so we cannot simply accept our destinies
- rather, we have a role in life: our role is based entirely on ourselves
- we are whatever we choose to be
QUOTE FROM NOVEL: "How had I not seen that there was nothing more important than an execution, and that when you come right down to it, it was the only thing a man could truly be interested in?"
- death is the most significant thing in Meursault's life
- the existentialist Pearl Jam suggests living life to the fullest; Meursault instead accepts his fate and merely wanders through life without purpose
Absurdism As a Part of Meursault's Identity
- life has meaning, but it is so unfathomably massive that humans cannot see it
- humans constantly try to apply meaning, but they cannot do so
- Albert Camus was an absurdist philosopher
- Meursault begins as a nihilist, but becomes more absurdist as he approaches certain death
- his identity his inextricably linked to his inability to believe in anything
- affects his relationships, his worldview, and his actions
- Meursault is basically the opposite of Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus
Literary Criticism
From "Camus and the Novel of 'The Absurd'" by Victor Brombert:
"Meursault feels his loneliness, but does not even attempt to find a meaning for his life. He accepts conditions as they are, and shows not the faintest desire to change them."
- This would seem to indicate that Meursault is a nihilist rather than an absurdist, but...
"He knows himself overwhelmed by his own fate, but he does nothing to liberate himself."
- unlike earlier in the book, Meursault is suffering from the absurdist condition of being overwhelmed by the universe, his own Total Perspective Vortex
- thus, a HUGE portion of Meursault's identity comes from his lack of one; however, as the story progresses and he comes closer to death, he begins to create a more dynamic personality and identity
Quotes from the Book
"I told him I was quite prepared to go; but really I didn’t care much one way or the other.
He then asked if a 'change of life,' as he called it, didn’t appeal to me, and I answered that one never changed his way of life; one life was as good as another, and my present one suited me quite well."
- at first, nothing matters to Meursault
- he is accepting of his fate and does not care about big decisions
"I explained that it had no importance really, but, if it would give her pleasure, we
could get married right away. I pointed out that, anyhow, the suggestion came from
her; as for me, I’d merely said, 'Yes.'"
- evidence of acceptance of fate
- "the suggestion" came from somewhere else, and he'd merely said yes; he is accepting of his predisposed fate and merely goes along with it
- he is not "authentic"
"It was as if that great rush of anger had washed me clean, emptied me of hope,
and, gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its signs and stars, for the first time, the
first, I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe."
- Meursault accepts the universe's mass and ambivalence
- he becomes far more introspective as he approaches death
"One thing about this phase of the trial was rather irksome. Quite often, interested
as I was in what they had to say, I was tempted to put in a word, myself. But my
lawyer had advised me not to. 'You won’t do your case any good by talking,' he had
warned me. In fact, there seemed to be a conspiracy to exclude me from the
proceedings; I wasn’t to have any say and my fate was to be decided out of hand."
- earlier on, Meursault would have been perfectly fine with letting others decide his fate
- however, in this scene he actually wants to influence his own life
"'Do you really think that when you die you die outright, and nothing
remains?'
I said: 'Yes.'
He dropped his eyes and sat down again. He was truly sorry for me, he said. It must make life unbearable for a man, to think as I did."
- it is unbearable for humans to have no meaning in life, which is why they constantly seek it out
- atheism is also significant to Meursault's identity because he is unwilling to find meaning in anything
"That was unthinkable, he said; all men believe in God, even those who reject Him.
Of this he was absolutely sure; if ever he came to doubt it, his life would lose all
meaning. 'Do you wish,' he asked indignantly, 'my life to have no meaning?'"
- this man is a Christian existentialist
- finds his own meaning through his faith
- Meursault doesn't understand this concept and is staunchly atheist, largely due to his indifference toward seeking meaning
- Meursault is disliked by other people because they can't find meaning in him, and this frightens them
Concluding Thoughts
- Meursault's identity stems from his inability to find meaning in life
- This is seen in his atheism and in his rejection of other's putting their beliefs on him
- Meursault feels insignificant but eventually embraces this
- His embracing the Absurd leads to his embracing other's dislike of him
Discussion Questions
How does Camus's diction reveal Meursault's identity?
Why is Meursault's atheism so important to his sense of identity?
How do Meursault's views of life affect his relationships?
Do you like/dislike Meursault's character? Why? Was it Camus's intention for you to feel this way?
To what extent are our identities influenced by other people?