The Meaning of Human Existence Essay Example for Free

The Meaning of Human Existence Essay In both the Metamorphosis and The Stranger the authors focus on the irrationality of the universe and explore the insignificance of human life. Both of the novels main characters, Gregor (from the Metamorphosis) and Meursault (from The Stranger) live lives of silent desperation. In the Metamorphosis Franz Kafka introduces us to Gregor, an ordinary young business man supporting his unappreciative family. The startling element to this novel is that Gregor has just turned into a beetle. The Stranger by Albert Camus tells a story of a very physically different character, named Meursault, yet both books convey similar messages. Gregor and Meursault start out unaware of their circumstances however throughout each of the novels they become more aware and learn to accept their fate. The Metamorphosis begins where your typical story is at its climax; we have no idea how or why Gregor has made this physical transformation to a beetle. This is the principal expression of the irrationality that exists in the novel. Gregor resists this situation for which he has had no control over nor can he change. It is an unfortunate irony that Gregor cannot accept the fact that he is no longer a human, this is seen on page five when he says, In fact, Gregor felt fine, with the exception of his drowsiness, which was really unnecessary after sleeping so late How can this man wake up one morning, look into the mirror and see a giant bug staring back at him, and then carry on with his day as usual? This brings up a serious issue; Gregor wakes up and his only thought is of getting to work, there is nothing that is going to stop him from getting there, even waking up as a giant vermin. Throughout the novel Kafka presents us with a man obsessed with his profession, in search of his parents approval, jus t as many of us live day in and day out. Meursault does not face the same physical obstacles as Gregor but is similar in that he possesses neither rational thought nor lives in a rational world. He exists solely as a physical being, there is no thought or emotions put into his choices. When Meursault is hungry he eats, when he is tired he sleeps, when he needs a woman he goes to his girlfriend. This desire for physical relief is presented multiple times throughout the novel: I ate almost everything. She left at one oclock and I slept awhile. (Page 36) Meursault does not display any emotion or rationale; he doesnt stop question anything, just accepts life as it is and carries on. Meursaults predicament stems from his choice to shoot and kill an Algerian man. During his trial the prosecuting attorney questions Meursaults morality because he did not grieve appropriately for his mothers death. When he faces the attorneys interrogation he answers each question telling the truth and doesnt try to skew things. Meursault didnt mean to maliciously go out and kill the Arab man, he simply allows himself to fall into these immoral situations because of his lack of thought and consideration. The attorney is playing his game and attempts to fabricate a rational reason for his behavior, but in reality Meursault was simply irrational. Camus uses this situation to comment on the way that we try to rationalize every situation that we are faced with, but sometimes things happen without a reason. Camus takes a perspective similar to the scientific viewpoint, that as humans we do not know anything for certain except that we will die. We are born, live out our lives, repopulate and then die to be forgotten forever, but I dont think that this is how Kafka feels we are meant to function. In his novel family has more of a presence, Gregors family does not love him because of his character, but rather because he provides them with a comfortable lifestyle. He lives the busy working mans life because he has to if he is to receive any respect from his family. As humans we need to be loved and as the provider of his family this is the closest that Gregor gets. Gregor feels the responsibilities of being concerned for everyone but himself which is shown by this quote, So, to spare her even (his) sight, one day he carried the sheet on his back to the couch and arranged it in such a way that he was now completely covered up. He is willing to cover himself up so as that he doesnt upset his mother with h is appearance. There is something very wrong with this scenario; Kafka uses this extreme example not to tell us how to live our lives, but to simply show us that this is how we should not live. Family plays a very different role in Camus novel. All of Meursaults family is gone; his mother has just died so her expectations of him are non- existent. Albert Camus uses his mother, Maman, as a tool to tell us of the lack of importance that human life has. On page three Meursault says, Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I dont know. His mother was elderly, and he decided to place her in a retirement home because she had become an inconvenience to him; she had stopped talking not to mention the trouble of getting (her) to the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours travelling. (Page 5) To Meursault there is no one person that he truly cares for besides himself, he even feels indifferent towards his girlfriend. Camus uses. Meursault symbolizes everyone in todays world, and uses this situation as a way of commenting on how our life is. Again, just as Kafka, Camus is not attempting to tell us that our lives are meaningless, but that this is how we are treating ourselves. We ne ed to make a cha nge to recognize that human existence is of greater importance than we give it credit. As both of the novels move along Gregor and Meursault slowly decay until their death. Both characters make a transformation or come to a realization. As the novel progresses Gregor moves away from his human tendencies and becomes more and more insect like, accepting and even embracing his insect qualities. The symbols for this are the references to his head, for example on page 22 He could not raise his head anymore. It is at this point that we can tell that Gregor has lost some kind of connection to humanity. This representation is repeated multiple times throughout the novel, each time the situation Gregor less and less resembles a human until he finally dies and is swept out with the trash. Meursault too comes to accept his situation and his fate as he awaits his execution with no optimism, yet content and at peace with himself because he is no longer a stranger. Our lives are indeed meaningless to a certain degree, we are on earth to perform our function and then die. Even the most distinguished of our generation will one day be forgotten as just another person trying to make their mark on the world, so why do we live our lives in search of control and the ability to make rational decisions. We live in an irrational world where the only thing we know for sure is that we will one day die. This was not quite what every person expects to hear as an answer to the meaning in life, but life becomes meaningful only because we perceive it to have a purpose. Reflect on your own life. Do not live from moment to moment without questioning who you are as it is better to live forty years of knowing who you are and what you are doing with your life than live 100 years without a thought of anyone else, because life is only what we make of it.