Whether or not God exists is irrelevant because of free will

For theists, God is a being in which they depend on, and a lot of their actions are driven by their faith in such a being, even though it is unsure as to whether He exists or not. In my opinion, free will isn’t as easily applied when one believes in God. For example, in Islam, the consumption of alcohol is frowned upon, or in its more extreme form, requires women to cover themselves by wearing the hijabs. Thus, you can see that religion somewhat coerces certain believers’ actions. There are so many women in Iran for example, that have to cover themselves as mentioned, even against their own will, because they would be penalized for it otherwise. Even outside of the country, the women are obligated to cover themselves. Theists also believe that essence precedes existence, in that one’s course in life is predetermined and that choices will be made based on laws, traditions and religion.

While God may dominate certain people’s choices, His existence does not only concern free will. Many people find comfort in their God and that they can depend on something, especially in times of hardship. Others simply want to express their gratitude for their fortunes in life. The very existence of God is something many agonize over in this world, and what people seem to forget is that we each have the ability to make our own choices and develop our ‘essence’ as we go along in life, which is taken from these very choices, our experiences, and our responsibilities. It is for this reason that I think the existence of God should not be debated any further. Would I like to know if God exists? Sure, but I am not going to lose sleep over this million-dollar question. I believe in free will and that we determine our own fate in life. While other factors in life such as our culture, family values, nationality and religion may influence our choices, we as individuals are what ultimately make the choice. Often you will hear the phrase, “but I had no choice!” This is wrong. We always have a choice. Hitler and his subordinates had a choice when they decided to kill 6 million Jews; citizens of the U.S. had a choice when they decided to vote for Bush; the guards in Zimbardo’s notorious Stanford Prison Experiment had a choice, but decided to give in to the power of the situation and treat the prisoners the way they did.

The Motif of Light

Camus’s novel, The Outsider, presents us with a very peculiar protagonist; one who is very introspective and aware of his physical surroundings. Throughout the novel, Meursault is the epitome of pathetic fallacy. He always describes how he is feeling as a result of nature, whether it is the temperature or amount of light present. Light especially is a motif, and appears to affect Meursault’s vision in various instances. This is first introduced when Meursault is attending his Mother’s funeral, initially at the vigil. After describing, “The caretaker turned the light-switch and I was blinded by the sudden blaze of light”(14), Meursault refers a few more times to the glare from the white walls and how it bothers him, especially his eyes. Following along, when carrying his mother’s hearse along the countryside, it happens to be a very hot day, and this gets to Meursault: “All around me there was still the same luminous, sun-drenched countryside. The glare form the sky was unbearable…I was so tired that I could hardly see or think straight anymore” (21). So it can be seen that sunlight, or natural conditions in generally, directly affects his mood. He also claims that the presence of the sunlight is “inhospitable and depressing”(20), which is ironic, because sunlight usually has positive connotations or symbols.

Light also seems to interfere with another significant occurrence further in the novel. This is demonstrated by his unjust shooting of the Arab man at the end of Part I, where he vividly describes the sunlight and its penetrating effects on himself: “The light leapt up off the steel and it was like a long, flashing sword lunging at my forehead…My eyes were blinded by this veil of salty tears. All I could feel were the cymbals the sun was clashing against my forehead”(60). Thus, the sun ultimately blinds his vision here, causing his senses to be overwhelmed, followed by an impulsive reaction. Meursault himself claims that his actions are dominated by his feelings, which are influenced by his physical needs: “But I explained to him that by nature my physical needs often distorted my feelings”(65).

Later in the novel, the instances mentioned above are used against him. When asked earlier to explain his indifferent attitude at his mother’s funeral, he simply claims that he was tired that day and had not completely grasped all that was happening. We know that the sunlight is part of what influenced this behavior and that his feelings succumb to physical conditions. On trial, he is asked of his motives for shooting the Arab man, to which he responds, “…it was because of the sun.”(99) So it appears that light acted as a disturbance at pretty significant events, which ultimately cost him his life and reinforce the absurdity of his death sentence.

On a final note, Meursault seems to regard sunlight as more of an irritation in Part I, but in Part II, it carries a more positive connotation. A few times, he associates sunlight with Marie: “One day when I was clinging to the bars, with my face straining towards the light, a warder came in and told me that I had a visitor. I thought it must be Marie. It was”(72) and “But the face was the color of the sun and burning with desire: it was Marie’s face.”(101) Knowing how Meursault feels about Marie, it can be assumed that he views it in a more optimistic light (no pun intended). He also uses light to judge the passing of his days in prison; a form of killing time. Perhaps light is another element that supports Meursault’s transformation in the novel, in terms of his attitude towards it.

Redeeming Qualities of Mersault

Mersault through the eyes of other characters

• Raymond sees Mersault as a trustworthy person/ confidante; tells Mersault personal things (e.g. about how he beat his wife til she bled)
• “Then he announced that in fact he wanted to ask my advice about this business, because I was a man of the world and afterwards he’d be my mate”(33)
• “I did my best to please Raymond because I had no reason not to please him.”(34)
• Raymond seemed ‘keen’ on having Mersault as ‘his mate’(34)
• Raymond and Mersault share the same attitude/thought towards the mother’s death
• Raymond respects Mersault (e.g. when he didn’t want to go to the brothel) (40)
• “I found him very friendly towards me”(40)
• Raymond always considers Mersault’s approval; “But without taking his eyes off his adversary, Raymond asked me, “shall I let him have it?” (41)
• Camus constantly writes about how ‘pleased’ Raymond felt towards Mersault

Redeeming Qualities of Mersault:

• Loyal and cares about what others think of him (wants to please Raymond)
• Good listener
• His opinion is valued
• Aware of how his attitude affects others

What is The Myth of the Sisyphus by Albert Camus all about?

In The Myth of the Sisyphus Camus states that there is a gap between what we as people want in life, and what we get in life. Never in life will we fine the meaning of what we are searching for. We either conclude that life is meaningless or we place all our hopes in an all powerful god. He asks if life is meaningless, then what is the purpose of living? Why not commit suicide if there is no meaning? Camus describes this as living with the absurd. He suggests the idea of facing the absurd which is not coming to terms with the meaningless of life and ending it but in fact understanding the insignificance of life and living life to the fullest. Camus then compares this to the Greek myth of the Sisyphus in which Sisyphus must roll a rock up a hill for all eternity, only to have to do it all over again every time he reaches the top. He draws this similarity to his belief in the meaninglessness of life and how man must struggle everlastingly without any hope of success. Essentially The Myth of the Sisyphus is Camus way of explaining existential nihilism portraying life as being void of any intrinsic value, yet still being worth the pains of life.