There is no denying the fact that Albert Camus was famous for his thought of literary as well philosophically contribution in the world of literature. His novel ‘The Outsider’ based on absurdism and existentialism focus the tremendous anomalies of social and cultural life. Albert Camus was born on the 7th of November, 1913; he was a renowned author who wrote well-known pieces of work in regard humans behavior and prejudices in expressing their day to day livelihood. As an Algerian born native French speaker, Camus was the most notable for being a Nobel Literature Prize Laureate back in 1957. Camus was born in the Algeria whilst it was still under the French colonialists’ regime prior to World War I. Camus lived not only a life of frugality and poverty, but he also had to encounter a multitude of hardships and tribulations which are reflected in his subsequent literary works. Even though he and his family were impoverished, Camus still had good education and he attended the University of the Algiers. His family was capable of sending him to school but subsequently, he had to drop out due to his tuberculosis dilemma. Even though he couldn’t manage to cover his entire course in university, he still made his entry into the world of journalism. There, he ardently articulated his views towards absurdism and existentialism. Prior to World War 2, Camus ran some plays in his “Theatre D’Equippe” and many great works were showcased. He also wrote for different newspapers, sharing his views. Back in 1942, during the Second World War, Camus published his inaugural novel which was almost certainly one of the most well-known and preeminent works he has written throughout his career as an author. This work is special because of the way in which it was written and how he has articulated his views about absurdism. He published more essays and literary works about absurdism and he gained fame for these works. Camus died in January 1960 as he was involved in a fatal car accident.
Existentialism is an innovative philosophy that is based on the theory of “essence over existence”. The novel “The Outsider” is categorized as an existentialist but this assumption is to an extent inaccurate. Rather than a philosophical position, it is looked at as a cultural movement related to historical advances. Existentialists believe that philosophy is based on the human individual and all components of them make up the equation including their feelings, thoughts, actions, etc. They tend to be more practical and they tend to be more like realists (in contemporary terms). They believe that feelings and emotions that exist such as “emptiness, boredom, dread, anxiety, angst, etc.” are rooted from human existence and they do not merely come out of the blue. Existentialists typically don’t believe in the supernatural therefore most of them tend to be atheists such as Camus. Absurdism is actually quite different compared to existentialism.
When Camus wrote his novel “The Outsider”, he focused on the world of absurdism. Existentialists tend to be very realistic and they relate actions and deeds to humanity. However, at the other side of this philosophical fence, absurdist’s think outside the box and they do believe in the supernatural and they do believe in the inherent meaning of the universe. Absurdist’s believe that is not entirely essential for humans to create their own context and make a difference in their own lives. Most of the absurdist’s are theistic, i.e. they do believe in God and they tend to be more superstitious. Back in the 20th Century, Algeria was the most well-known for being a part of the French colony in Africa. Algeria is a quite a big country, it is situated at the north of Africa near the Mediterranean Sea and the people speak French and Arabic over there. During the first half of the century, the French heavily influenced the country but this regime ended during the Fourth Republic back in 1958. That was when the dramatic collapse took place. During that time, the French, Spanish and Italians moved to Algeria and made their dwellings over there, thus conquering a lot of Algerian land and coercing several Algerians to surrender their homes.
During the 1950s, the National Liberation Front set out “The Algerian War of Independence” in order to entitle Algeria the freedom to be an independent state. This is where the French president of that time, President Charles de Gaulle, made a famous speech about the aging empire. He also gave the country the option to either become an independent nation on its own, be completely influenced by the French colony or to become associated with France and still remain an independent state. The Algerians, after a long vote, decided to vote for the latter option. For Algeria, gaining independence was not the easiest task and it was definitely turbulent especially with Charles de Gaulle in the picture. The National Liberation Front continued their terrorist like actions even throughout the later periods, during Chadli Benjamin’s regime. 1992 was a highlight year for the Algerians because it was when the Civil War took place. However, seven years later, in 1999, a large number of people endorsed Bouteflika’s plans to put an end to the civil war once and for all.