The Stranger by Albert Camus

I just finished my first book of the summer. A rather short read by Albert Camus entitled The Stranger. The book is the story of a young French man who through a series of events is sentenced to death by decapitation. The story builds and builds and the last couple pages is the man's reflection on life through the dialogue with a prison chaplain.

Camus writes
"From the dark horizon of my future a sort of slow, persistent breeze had been blowing toward me, all my life long, from the years that were to come. And on its way that breeze had leveled out all the ideas that people tried to foist on me...What difference could they make to me, the deaths of others, or a mother's love, or his God; or the way man decides to live, the fate he thinks he chooses, since one and the same fate was bound to "choose" not only me but thousands of millions of privileged people... Every man alive was privileged...All alike would be condemned to die one day..."

I had to read the ending a couple of times before I could finally settle on the most important part. This man has come to realize that he has confronted and achieved the greatest dilemma of mankind: accepting death as the ultimate ending. After such a realization the man feels that he has become somewhat free of whatever man can punish him with because to him life will end anyway so why does it matter when.

I found this argument somewhat depressing to say the least but I must disagree with the man's logic on life and death. Personally I feel it does matter when I die because that will have an incredible impact on what I achieve in my life. The man in the novel was an atheist which explained why he didn't regard the timing of death with the utmost importance. For me I believe that I am here for a purpose. A purpose that involves a God and my fellow man. If I die tomorrow I may not serve my purpose. If I die 60 years from now after living of life of purpose I would feel content to die. The greatest shame for me would be to die 65 years from now achieving nothing and leaving behind no remnants of a purposeful life. Every man, in the end, dies. Which makes the occurrence of death commonplace for all. What becomes unique about every man is how they live. To live with a purpose is the cause of refutation of Camus's theme. I have accepted one day I will die but what I refuse to accept is that I should stop caring now for the end will come eventually: that mentality is hopeless and bleak.