Camus' The Stranger and His Philosophical Background Albert Camus' novel, The Stranger, was aimed at a younger European generation who was trying to find their own vision of life after tragedies of the Second World War and Nazism. Although he eventually came to more mature notions of how a human being should behave before his tragic death from an accident in 1960, Camus always believed in the ideas expressed in The Stranger that man must find his own meaning in life, separated by religious or political ties. doctrine. Although he was raised Catholic, he largely rejected religious authority and opposed any rigid political authority due to his experiences with totalitarianism. Marxism and communism were popular political ideas in France at the time, but Camus came to reject any kind of systematic philosophy, whether in politics or church. The Stranger illustrates these philosophical ideas well. In many ways The Stranger presents itself as a very strange book. The novel reflects a philosophy that to many people would seem irrational and even absurd. The main character, Mersault, feels that life has no meaning and at the beginning of the novel he is confused and perhaps distressed about it. At the end of the novel, however, in recognizing the meaninglessness of life, he arrives at a kind of happiness. This book obviously reflects Camus's view of life at the time. Albert Camus was a famous French philosopher and writer whose influence went far beyond that of an ordinary novelist. He felt more comfortable, however, expressing his ideas in fiction. His way of thinking, along with that of a few other Frenchmen, became known as existentialism. Existentialism is a movement of thought that arose in Europe in the middle of the last century. ... middle of paper ... attempts by the Church or communists to impose a rational order on the world. While some readers may find Mersault insensitive and even bizarre, this character must have struck a chord with many readers of the time. Camus became a highly successful author and the voice of an era. He continued throughout his life to write from a more developed humanistic and liberal point of view, according to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. He never denied, however, the core of the ideas expressed in The Stranger, an evidently important book from both a literary and historical point of view. Works Cited"Albert Camus". Encyclopedia Britannica. February 4, 2008. "Albert Camus." February 2008 "France". Encarta. February 2008 "France". Encyclopedia Britannica. February 2008. Keyword: France.Simpson, David. "Albert Camus (1913-1960)." The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. February. 2008 .