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calarco 's review for:
The Myth of Sisyphus
by Albert Camus
World-renowned for his influential literary work evaluating the ‘absurd,’ in the titular The Myth of Sisyphus Camus contemplates if the realization of such an existence warrants suicide. Needless to say, this work won’t be for everyone, but if these topics interest you this is most definitely a worthwhile read.
Camus clearly defines that, “the Absurd is not in man… nor in the world, but in their presence together” (30). He questions how this situation born of the human desire to make sense of life can create a tension that leads one to the precipice of self-annihilation. As Camus runs through his thought experiment, he builds his case by evaluating past works of Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, and many others to better evaluate this conundrum.
He ends this essay by looking at the Greek myth of Sisyphus, a man condemned by the Gods to continuously push a boulder up a mountain only to have it roll back to the bottom before her can reach the summit. Camus considers Sisyphus to be an Absurd hero, someone caught in a meaningless sequence who may not find traditional fulfillment, but who can (surprisingly) still achieve happiness in this never-ending cycle.
“Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy” (123).
For an author who is known for tonally bleak works like The Stranger and The Fall, this is an unexpectedly optimistic conclusion. He elaborates that, “The human heart has a tiresome tendency to label as fate only what crushes it. But happiness likewise, in its way, is without reason, since it is inevitable. Modern man, however, takes the credit for it himself, when he doesn’t fail to recognize it” (128). A process or inevitable force rather than a destination; this to me is one of the more thoughtful assessments of ‘happiness’ that I have read in a while.
Additionally, something that fascinates me to no end about this work is Camus’ self-aware criticism on the limitations of an anthropocentric understanding of the world, juxtaposed to a framework innately rooted in a Western (perhaps Mediterranean) school of thought. This is present throughout the collection including the essays following Sisyphus, though many of these are linked to experience rooted in a sense of place.
With that in mind, I do not consider anything written here to be a great universal revelation, so much as an insight into the mind of one particular man’s lived experience. For me, this does not cheapen the work. If anything, I was better able to appreciate the essays by fully grasping the reality of their context. That said, this is something to consider depending on your own expectations.
All in all, this book is definitely worth reading.
Camus clearly defines that, “the Absurd is not in man… nor in the world, but in their presence together” (30). He questions how this situation born of the human desire to make sense of life can create a tension that leads one to the precipice of self-annihilation. As Camus runs through his thought experiment, he builds his case by evaluating past works of Kierkegaard, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, and many others to better evaluate this conundrum.
He ends this essay by looking at the Greek myth of Sisyphus, a man condemned by the Gods to continuously push a boulder up a mountain only to have it roll back to the bottom before her can reach the summit. Camus considers Sisyphus to be an Absurd hero, someone caught in a meaningless sequence who may not find traditional fulfillment, but who can (surprisingly) still achieve happiness in this never-ending cycle.
“Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy” (123).
For an author who is known for tonally bleak works like The Stranger and The Fall, this is an unexpectedly optimistic conclusion. He elaborates that, “The human heart has a tiresome tendency to label as fate only what crushes it. But happiness likewise, in its way, is without reason, since it is inevitable. Modern man, however, takes the credit for it himself, when he doesn’t fail to recognize it” (128). A process or inevitable force rather than a destination; this to me is one of the more thoughtful assessments of ‘happiness’ that I have read in a while.
Additionally, something that fascinates me to no end about this work is Camus’ self-aware criticism on the limitations of an anthropocentric understanding of the world, juxtaposed to a framework innately rooted in a Western (perhaps Mediterranean) school of thought. This is present throughout the collection including the essays following Sisyphus, though many of these are linked to experience rooted in a sense of place.
With that in mind, I do not consider anything written here to be a great universal revelation, so much as an insight into the mind of one particular man’s lived experience. For me, this does not cheapen the work. If anything, I was better able to appreciate the essays by fully grasping the reality of their context. That said, this is something to consider depending on your own expectations.
All in all, this book is definitely worth reading.