Meursault and Kramer's affliction

Meursault, in Albert Camus's The Stranger, is similar to Kramer from season three, episode ten “The Alternate Side” of the popular TV show Seinfeld. Both characters words and actions create an impression of absurdism in the minds of the reader or viewer. Absurdism is when a person doesn’t believe there is a meaning to anything; however, participates in the events of life for their own fulfillment. With the absurdist view of life comes a selfish take on reality, people tend to worry about themselves and how events pertain to them then the overall problem. Kramer and Meursault are unique characters; however, their absurdist view on life makes them similar.

Events throughout both stories create the impression that Meursault and Kramer are absurdists in the reader or viewers mind. Meursault shows no sign of remorse after his mother has passed; instead, he comments on how tired he is and how he would like to take a nap. If is perfectly natural for Meursault that his “physical needs often got in the way of his feelings” (Camus 64). This take on life fully represents the absurdist mindset because of how selfish it is. Kramer, likewise, demonstrates a common attribute when Seinfeld’s car is stolen and instead of fretting the loss of Seinfeld’s car, he cares about the gloves that he left in the glove compartment. Both exhibit highly selfish attitudes towards life. Kramer and Meursault also exhibit indifference toward other peoples ideas or problems. Kramer demonstrates this when he barges into Seinfeld’s apartment after Owen Marks has had a stroke. Marks is lying on the couch and being transferred to a stretcher by paramedics and not once does Kramer comment on Marks condition, instead he speaks to George about his appalling ability to move cars and the offense woody allen had taken to it. Similar to the level of indifference of Kramer, Meursault's take on marriage is shocking, both to the reader and to the characters in the book. When Marie asks Meursault if he loves her, his response was no; however, when Marie asks if he would like to marry her his response was that marriage “didn’t really matter and that if she wanted to, we could get married”(Camus 41) despite not loving her. To Kramer and Meursault ideas that are incredibly important to most people (like well being or marriage) do not mean as much, they choose to worry about themselves instead.

Kramer and Meursault are unique characters that demonstrate an absurdist attitude on life. Their actions are selfish and indifferent to the likes of other characters and events around them; however, they are still both highly functioning characters that participate in all the joys in life, for their own benefit. Although there are also many differences between the two stories, the absurdist tendencies of Kramer and Meursault is an irrefutable connection between Seinfeld and The Stranger.