Eli Moskowitz

Existentialist Comparison Essay

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV4r47lctV4

Based on the American Heritage Dictionary, Existentialism is defined as “a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts.” In The Stranger, Meursault goes through life with very little excitement, and acts as if there is no meaning to his life. He sees everything in his life as he wants to see it, and it is all based on his perception. He also is stuck in many absolute systems in his life until the end, when he breaks free of them and becomes a true existentialist. For most of his life, he lives a life filled with absurdity, with no meaning. “Church” by Outkast and The Stranger by Albert Camus are connected by three existential ideas: Absurdity, Authenticity, and Absolute Systems.

In both mediums, absurdity is one of the main themes. Absurdity is the idea that there is no meaning to life or anything. In the opening lines of the song, the question is posed “why are we here, what is the meanin to all of this?” The speaker in this song is wondering what the meaning of life is, or if there is one at all. For most of his life, Meursault has a similar view towards life, but instead of wondering if there is meaning, he accepts that there is not meaning in his life. When Meursault says “…nothing mattered, and I knew why. So did he. Throughout the whole absurd life I’d lived… (Camus 121)” After killing the Arab and being sentenced to death, Meursault realizes how meaningless his life was. He even uses the word “absurd” to describe his life; showing how he believes his life was truly meaningless. Meursault’s comment about his meaningless life and Outkasts’s lyrics that question the meaning of life both bring up the idea of absurdity.

In both the book and the song, authenticity is a clearly visible idea. Authenticity is the idea that one decides what the truth is in their life, and, to a person, the world is how they perceive it and their life is based off of their choices. In the second verse of the song it says “Life, is nothing but a dream, so peaceful and serene, Unless you’re being evil then you on the devil’s team, Well you perceive what you want to believe.” This refers to how one perceives their life, and a person can see what they want to believe. Also, it refers to the choices a person makes, if one is good, their life can be peaceful and serene, but if they are evil then their life will be negative. Meursault shows this idea of authenticity when he says “I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn’t done that. (Camus 121)” The first sentence of this quote shows how Meursault believes he was always right about everything, showing how he decides what is true in his life, as what he believes is right may be wrong to someone else. Then in the next two sentences he refers to how he made the choices that make up what his life his, which shows how he believes that his life happened the way it did completely because of the choices he made, and it could have turned out differently had he made different choices. Meursault’s feeling that he is always right is exactly what Outkast was referring to when saying “You perceive what you want to believe,” because Meursault believes he is always right, and that is all he knows.

The last theme that can be seen in both the book and the song was Absolute Systems. Absolute systems are organized systems that control peoples’ lives, usually by enforcing rules or regulations. Near the end of the song, Big Boi says “Talk to the coach or break out the huddle.” This refers to making a change in your life in order to “break out of the huddle.” The huddle could be considered your everyday routine, which is controlled by absolute systems. The huddle in the book is essentially Meursault’s boring, absolute system filled life. He breaks out of it when he kills the Arab, going against the laws and moral rules of the world, which are ruled by absolute systems (Camus 59). In the song, the speaker talks about breaking out of absolute systems, and in the book, Meursault actually breaks out of a few absolute systems that he is in.

The three ideas that are talked about in “Church” by Outkast are shown in The Stranger, during and after Meursault kills the Arab. Absurdity is shown in both, as the song wonders why we are here, and Meursault is very blunt in saying that life is meaningless. In the song, Outkast talks about how a person is in the life that they chose and that the want to live in, which Meursault agrees with, and believes his life is exactly how he wanted it to be. Absolute systems are also referred to in both, the song believes that one should get out of absolute systems, and in the book, Meursault breaks out of his absolute systems. In conclusion, “Church” by Outkast and The Stranger by Albert Camus both have strong agreeing existentialist themes.

Anna Smith

“The General” and Existentialism

 

Dispatch is an American indie/rock band first formed in 1996.  The band’s lead singer, Chad Urmston, is known for singing both social and political protesting lyrics.  These lyrics often contain elements of existentialism, especially regarding absolute systems.  Existentialism contains many components which are all demonstrated in Albert Camus’ book The Stranger.  Dispatch’s lyrics of “The General” have overtones of both Camus’ writing and Ernest Hemingway’s iceberg theory and present themes of absolute systems, utilitarianism, and absurdity.

One of the most important elements of existentialism, and also a major theme in “The General” by Dispatch, is absolute systems.  Absolute systems are laws, regulations, or expectations that confine and limit one. Examples of absolute systems include the law, religion, or society. Existentialists break out of these absolute systems to live their lives as individuals.  In the song, the subject of the lyrics is a decorated general who has a realization that his soldiers should not be fighting in a war.  The lyrics describe “All the men held tall with their chests in the air, With courage in their blood and a fire in their stare, It was a gray morning and they all wondered how they would fare, The old general told them to go home”.  When the general tells them this, he is breaking out of an absolute system by giving his soldiers orders that oppose what he would be expected to give.  If he followed the absolute system of the military, he would not tell his soldiers to go home.   Another example of absolute systems in “The General” is in the line, which is stated multiple times, “Go now you are forgiven”.  The general is telling his soldiers that they do not have to fight and that if they leave, they are forgiven.  The listener can infer that he means that they will be forgiven by the military or perhaps God.  By telling them this he is excusing them from these absolute systems.  Absolute systems also relate to The Stranger.

Albert Camus’ writing and Ernest Hemingway’s iceberg theory link to absolute systems in their structure and style.  The iceberg theory is the style of writing in which the author gives minimal detail and information and simply tells the story so that the reader can infer what is happening.  The iceberg theory is an absolute system put in place by Ernest Hemingway.  In Camus’ The Stranger, the story of Merseault is told in a very to-the-point way that has very little detail because Merseault sees the world in black and white.  The reader is left to infer the symbolic meaning of Merseault’s actions and thoughts. For example, on page 47 Merseault narrates “My cigarette tasted bitter… She had put on a white linen dress and let her hair down. I told her she was beautiful and she laughed with delight.” Camus is barely descriptive in this section; it a simple set of thoughts from Merseault. This is how the lyrics of “The General” are also.  The lyrics tell a story in a simple and direct way.  For example, the lyrics state “He grew a beard as soon as he could, To cover the scars on his face”.  This tells the listener the straight facts and leaves them to interpret in their own way why the general wants to cover his scars.  These are just a few of the ways both “The General” and The Stranger have strong elements of existentialism and Ernest Hemingway’s iceberg theory.

Two other equally important components of existentialism are utilitarianism and absurdity.  These connect to each other because in the story told in the lyrics, the general sees that there is no meaning in the battle and that it is not worth fighting. Utilitarianism is the process of weighing one’s options to make decisions. In the song, the general has a revelation; the lyrics describe “He said, “I have seen the others and I have discovered, That this fight is not worth fighting”’.  This is a demonstration of utilitarianism because the general has decided that the cons of the battle outweigh the pros, and it is not worth their while.  He also states “Oh and I’ve seen their mothers, And I will no other to follow me where I’m going”.  The general uses this as his reasoning for why it is not worth it to battle because he has seen the enemy’s mothers.  A second reason the general states for why the battle is not worthy of the soldiers’ time is “You are young men you must be living”.  He is telling the soldiers that they need to live their lives rather than fight in a battle that is not worth fighting; a clear representation of utilitarianism.  Absurdity connects to the song in a similar way.

Absurdity is demonstrated in the lyrics in several instances and also in The Stranger. Absurdity is the idea that there is no meaning to anything in life and that anything could happen.  The lyrics state “But on the eve of a great battle with the infantry in dream, The old general tossed in his sleep and wrestled with its meaning”. In this section of the song, the general is coming to the realization that there may not be a meaning to this battle that he and his soldiers are fighting. He had spent his life becoming a hero in warfare, but suddenly realizes that it isn’t as important as he previously thought. The lyrics also describe “So take a shower and shine your shoes you got no time to lose”. This is a representation of absurdity because in the general’s realization, he sees that anything could happen so these young soldiers must live now and walk away from the battle. Absurdity is presented in The Stranger at times also. Merseault does not care about his relationships, future, or anything else. On page 41 he describes “When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered.” Merseault is telling us that he had ambitions at one point in his life, but decided that they didn’t matter after all. These are just a few examples of how absurdity is demonstrated in both “The General” and The Stranger.

In “The General” by Dispatch, elements of existentialism including utilitarianism, absolute systems, and absurdity are successfully used to tell a story. The lyrics also relate to The Stranger’s writing style and use of absurdity, and both pieces are demonstrations of Ernest Hemingway’s iceberg theory. These all come together to produce two pieces that represent existentialism and its many aspects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3JjlkfX5Gk