Role of Existenialism in Shaping Human Behaviour A Literary Analysis of Camus’ The Stranger

Abstract

The present research applies Kafkaesque philosophy to examine human behaviour in the modern age through the lens of a literary artwork, The Stranger. Modernism became prominent for two contrastive constructions: the poetics of indeterminacy and undecidability as well as nonreferentiality by withholding contextuality. This paper applies Kafka’s philosophy of human existential crisis in the modern age and its quest for finding meaning of the self. The present research has taken a qualitative approach to analyse a literary artwork through the lens of Kafkaesque philosophy. An in-depth literary analysis of The Stranger by Albert Camus was carried out. The analysis of The Stranger reveals insightful understanding of human behaviour and psyche in the modern age. Suffering from disillusionment and inconsistency, the protagonist finds himself lurking in an existentialist anxiety; a sense of panic and worry characterized by continuous questioning of the self “who am I”. The Stranger can be classified as an existentialist novel that embodies the essence of uncertainty, disillusionment and nothingness. This paper can help scholars of human sciences and literary students examine human ideology and behaviour in the contemporary social working.