Revolt, Freedom, and Passion: An Abstract of the Myth of Sisyphus

Abstract

        According to Camus, the absurd is the tension between man and his confrontation to the intangible meaning of the universe. The Myth of Sisyphus compares Camus' three consequences of the Absurd: Revolt against the absurd, the freedom an absurd man holds when living with the absurd, and the passion of living life in the present and thus to the fullest.

       First, Camus compares living with the absurd as a "permanent revolution" from the individual against the absurd. He states, "living is keeping the absurd alive" and that "It is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity." Contrary to this idea, Albert Camus states that the latter option in responding to the absurd is through suicide, in which he states that killing oneself exhibits a confession that one cannot handle life's lack of meaning. Therefore, he believes that revolting against the absurd allows one to be completely free and apart from it. He states that "The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."

       This is demonstrated in the Myth of Sisyphus because of how according to Camus, Sisyphus is able to rebel against the situation he is in. He knows that his efforts are futile, yet "he knows himself to be the master of his days". Therefore instead of being in despair of such, he chooses to be happy. This is Sisyphus' revolt.

       This revolt would eventually lead to "Absurd Freedom" according to Camus. Camus states that accepting the absence of meaning in life during one's revolt against the absurd would thus lead to the liberation from constrained goals that would only lead to a fallacy of freedom thereafter. He mentions, "It is clear that death and the absurd are here the principles of the only reasonable freedom: the which a human heart can experience and live." This is a response to how, in accordance with Camus' perspective, "The everyday man lives with aims, a concern for the future or for justification."

       The freedom of the absurd man is shown in the Myth of Sisyphus due to Camus' interpretation that Sisyphus' freedom is illustrated by his happiness. Camus expresses this notion when he states "This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world." Essentially, like Sisyphus, the absurd man garners the ability to refrain from value or circumstance from his inevitable situation, being happy and thus free.

       Last, Camus' third consequence that arises from the Absurd, "passion", can also be shown in Sisyphus' archetype. He states that "passion" within the Absurd shepherds a subsequent elimination of the past and the future, only prevailing the present that the absurd man resides in. This subjection to the present allows for life itself to feel more alive for an individual. I believe that the final two sentences of The Myth of Sisyphus illustrate the passion of the absurd man and the former consequences in all: "The struggle toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."