Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 7(2): 838-845, 2013 ISSN 1991-8178 Corresponding Author: Ashkan Shobeiri, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Preparatory & General Studies, TATI University College, Malaysia. 838 Meursault, an Absurd Happy Man Ashkan Shobeiri Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Preparatory & General Studies, TATI University College, Malaysia Abstract: Though Albert Camus was more accredited in literature than in philosophy, his novel The Outsider has made the subject ‘absurdity of existence’ known to the people through the life of his protagonist, Meursault. This paper is a critical study of the concept of the absurd in The Outsider, which is mainly based on Camus’s philosophy of the absurd in The Myth of Sisyphus. In both works Camus pursues the problem of the absurd as the most fundamental question that could arise in a human’s mind in his/her confrontation to life. These two texts support each other because, in The Myth of Sisyphus, he attempts to define the concept of the absurd philosophically, whereas, in The Outsider, the concept is delineated through the characterization and viewpoint of Meursault, the protagonist. Meursault, a self absorbed man who irrationally kills an Arab narrates the story in two parts, is the representation of an absurd man who finally attains some essential recognitions in his life before his condemnation to death by the court. Meursault’s confrontation with the realities of the world, bravery and courage, without illusory hope but with awareness, could be the universal message which Camus gifted to his readers. The Outsider resonates Camus’s claim “Happiness and the Absurd are two sons of the same earth” and “One must imagine Sisyphus happy” as this paper investigates the happiness in Meursault to delineate how absurdity and happiness are linked in Meursault’s life and how he transforms into a hero like Sisyphus. Specifically, the process of recognition of the absurdity of life, triviality of death, and happiness are being examined in the characterization of the protagonist of The Outsider. The findings illustrate that Meursault’s achievement of happiness is neither transcendent nor sensual; it is, in reality, an affirmation of the dignity and value of life. Key words: Absurdity, The Outsider, Albert Camus. INTRODUCTION Albert Camus’s The Outsider has found considerable popularity among people all over the world. For instance, among American students, The Outsider finds as many appreciative readings as the masterpieces of such accomplished writers as William Faulkner, James Joyce, Franz Kafka and Feodor Dostoevsky. These renowned writers ultimately raise more questions than answers when reviewing and analyzing their works, and only some of the many questions find answers in readers’ minds. About The Outsider, critics and commentators have mostly focused on the protagonist of the novel, Meursault, and have critically analysed him from different perspectives. So far as Meursault is Albert Camus’s created absurd man, beyond the absurdity of existence which Meursault represents in the novel, his character has been noticed more by critics and commentators than the novel itself. Meursault, the protagonist of the story, is a memorable character in literature. He is a simple clerk who greatly enjoys life’s physical pleasures, and does not care about societal norms, as Day notes: “He is remarkable precisely because he is outwardly so unremarkable” (84). In an introductory part of the translated version of l’Etranger, i.e. The Outsider, Cyril Connolly comments: Meursault represents the neo-pagan … profoundly in love with life, whose least pleasures, from a bathe to a yawn, afford him complete and silent gratification. He lives without anxiety in a continuous present and has no need to think or to express himself; there is no Nordic why-clause in his pact with nature. The misfortunes into which he is led by his lazy desire to please and by his stubborn truthfulness gradually force the felt but unspoken philosophy of his existence to emerge into the open, and finally to express itself in words. (8) As Camus represented in his novel, Meursault’s life is divided into two parts: Meursault in society and Meursault in prison. It is obvious that Meursault of the story, in the first book, before being jailed for the act of murder, is driven by his own feelings, and is indifferent to the convention of society in a way that it is interpreted as a rebel against society’s norms. With regarding, the next section is devoted to the analysis of “Meursault in society”. 2. Meursault in Society: The Outsider starts with few simple but influential sentences, such as: “Mother died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can’t be sure. The telegram from home says: Your mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow.Deep sympathy” (13). Camus used the word “Maman” in French, which is similar to the English word “Mum”, which is used by a child when he wants to call his mother. The first sentence, therefore, represents the closeness of