Albert Camus & Suicide
Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist who also won the Novel Prize in 1957 at the age of 44 the second youngest in history (Cruickshank). Albert Camus was best known for writing books that advanced the philosophical concept of existentialism. Albert Camus often wrote about the meaning of life and finding the meaning of life to die a happier man and in one of his writings he states “there is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide” which he stated in his essay The Myth of Sisyphus (“Albert Camus on Suicide, Absurdity, and the Meaning of Life” 1). Considering that many of his novels were about the meaning of life and brought up many times suicide we are to believe that he would agree that the suicide epidemic is a real problem and would be very upset with how much the cases have risen. For the fact that those who have taken never did and would be able to find their meaning of life.
In many of Albert Camus literacy he often writes about the meaning of life. And according to the National Institute of Mental health, feeling hopeless and feeling having no reason to live are signs of suicide which is one of the major causes of depression. Knowing that depression is one of the greatest reasons for suicide, it can really make us believe maybe Albert Camus was suffering with depression and expressed his thoughts through his writing. For example, in his novel A Happy death there is a character named Zagreus who he writes that at a young age he worked extremely hard to save his earning so that in later in life he could live a luxury and happy life but a unexpected tragic happened and had to have both of his legs amputated. After his amputation he fell into deep depression and attempted to commit suicide many times but never had the courage to do so. This is where he asks the question “Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee? But in the end, one need more courage to live than to kill himself” (“A Happy Death Quotes by Albert Camus” 1). His writing about Zagreus falling into depression and then having plans to attempt suicide assures us that he understands the symptoms that many suicidal people have and maybe he too had fallen victim.
Another example is the novel, The Myth of Sisyphus the protagonist, Sisyphus who was ordered by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill. Once Sisyphus rolled the boulder to the top the boulder ended up rolling all the way back down the hill. He continues to repeat the task the gods ordered him for eternity. Some may see this as a meaningless task and just a waste of time because it will never end but he continues to push the boulder up the hill just to have it roll back down for eternity. Many people may ask why he continues to push the rock and the reason is because he is constantly pushing the boulder, he is growing stronger not only physically but also mentally. Camus claims that we should not be upset with the fact that he is wasting his life pushing the boulder but that we should be happy for Sisyphus for what he has gained, for example a better mental state and becoming physically stronger. Near the end of the novel Camus states “It was previously a question of finding out whether or not life had a meaning to be lived” (“A Quote from the Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays” 1). Camus uses this as an example to show that if someone commits suicide it will end the potential of that person knowing what his meaning of life was. And with suicide rates growing profusely yearly Albert Camus would be very upset because many people will pass away before knowing what their meaning of life was.
In many of Albert Camus writing he tends to mention very frequently death and suicide throughout his novels. In many ways people can see this as a sign of suicide as he is always writing about it. According to UTMB Health “Talking or writing about death, dying, or suicide” (“Warning Signs and Red Flags for Suicide” 1) are signs of a individual thinking about suicide. Albert Camus states in A Happy death “But sometimes it takes more courage to live than to shoot yourself.” (“A Happy Death Quotes by Albert Camus” 1) as he talks about living life takes a lot courage but it takes less courage to kill one self. As stated by UTMB, talking about death and suicide are signs of suicide, which was very common to see inn many of Albert Camus novels. While reading many of Albert Camus novels it is very noticeable that the topic of suicide and death gets brought up very frequently which can be him expressing what he is feeling.
Lastly, Albert Camus also writes in many of his novels what is the meaning of life? When one brings up the question what the meaning of life is this is often seen as the person struggling and or contemplating life. One of his answers of what the meaning of life was he said, “The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself” (“A Quote by Albert Camus” 1) which is a clear indication that he believes that meaning of life is doing something that will stop you from killing yourself. This statement about meaning of life is a clear indication that he to is struggles with what his meaning of life and believes that him preventing to commit suicide is his meaning.
Being that Albert Camus states “there is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide” (“Albert Camus on Suicide, Absurdity, and the Meaning of Life” 1) he would be a huge believer in the suicide epidemic. Not only that but with his many statements about death and meaning of life it is also a little worrying some and maybe he too was struggling with suicide. But also, in many of his writing he expresses that when people who commit suicide at the end of the day, they have ended their potential in finding there what truly was there meaning of life. After his passing it is certain that his writing has made a great impact on many suicidal people as to not give up so that they can truly find what their meaning of life is.
Work Cited
“A Happy Death Quotes by Albert Camus.” Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1591380-la-mort-heureuse.
“A Quote by Albert Camus.” Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7699175-the-literal-meaning-of-life-is-whatever-you-re-doing-that#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20literal%20meaning%20of%20life%20is%20whatever%20you're%20doing,prevents%20you%20from%20killing%20yourself.%E2%80%9D.
“A Quote from the Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays.” Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7808001-it-was-previously-a-question-of-finding-out-whether-or#:~:text=Living%20an%20experience%2C%20a%20particular,%2C%20The%20Myth%20of%20Sisyphus)%E2%80%9D.
“Albert Camus on Suicide, Absurdity, and the Meaning of Life.” Big Think, 20 Mar. 2023, bigthink.com/personal-growth/the-meaning-of-life-albert-camus-on-faith-suicide-and-absurdity/.
Cruickshank, John. "Albert Camus". Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Camus. Accessed 25 April 2023.
“Warning Signs and Red Flags for Suicide.” Assist, Call for Help, Tell Someone (ACT), https://www.utmb.edu/act/warning-signs-and-red-flags-for-suicide.