This past year I read a book called The Stranger by Albert Camus. The book is about an apathetic man named Mersault, who is essentially indifferent to the world. Mersault is sentenced to death in what could be perceived as a justified killing, yet his indifference and withdrawal from the trial leads him to be found guilty. While awaiting his death, Mersault adapts the idea of absurdism; he becomes aware that it does not matter if he dies soon by beheading or far into the future, and he becomes aware that like him, the world also displays an indifference. This discovery does not lead him to be depressed, but instead it is a weight off his shoulders, almost as if he is less burdened by knowing that there is no meaning. I wouldn’t say my own viewpoints are as extreme as Mersault’s, but this book, along with the discussions we’ve had in class, have led me to a viewpoint similar to this one. I understand that on a large enough scale, everything I do does not matter. I am not as enlightened as Mersault, but understanding this fact almost allows someone have a burden lifted off of them; they know and are okay with this realization. An absurdist can live a happy, meaningful life (on a small scale). When Mersault makes this realization, in fact, it is the first time during the whole book that he seems to really care about something; he gets very excited to be greeted by the jeers of the people who are there to witness his beheading that do not see the world the same way he does.
I definitely agree with your points. There certainly does seem to come a point in one’s life when they start to look at the world in a different way or reach some sort of insight about the purpose of their existence. The example you used seems to be a very common trend in various books. Many people in the real world even would gladly give up their life for a loved one or for some higher cause. I remember talking about death laws in class this week and about a woman who moved to Oregon in order to receive medicine that would enable her to die. While some people would consider this absurd, she has come to a new insight she has explained in various interviews. After realizing she wouldn’t get better she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life and decided to raise awareness. “It helps me to feel invested in something of worth, something that matters,” she says. “Part of what is difficult about becoming so sick is that you lose a lot of your autonomy and your sense of purpose.” By choosing her own course she has found a new purpose.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/woman-cancer-plans-life-oregon-26064848