Seinfeld and The Stranger: The Absurd

Albert Camus's The Stranger and the TV show Seinfeld are two very different mediums. One is a literary work written by an Albanian in the 1940s, while the other is a popular sitcom written by a comedian. Yet, despite their different settings and premises, these two stories both share a common theme of the philosophy of absurdism. Absurdism is the belief that human beings live life in a meaningless world, and that humans should accept that they are living in this meaningless world. Absurdly, humans should continue on living, and try to create their own meaning within the meaningless of life. This philosophy is explored several times within The Stranger and the Seinfeld episode titled “The Alternate Side”.

The Stranger begins with the death of Meursault's mother. “Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything.” (Camus 16). These first words set the tone for the novel and show Meursault’s indifference to the world around him. For most people, this would be a highly traumatic event, but instead Meursault continues his life as if nothing ever happened. Meursault can be so nonchalant about his mother’s death because it has no significance to him, and nothing has changed in his life. In fact, Meursault finds the weather much more interesting than his mother’s funeral. For an absurdist, this would make perfect sense, because the loss of one life would not affect the universe as a whole, nor bring any meaning to one’s life. After forming a bond with Raymond, a man in a former abusive relationship, Meursault is put in a precarious situation in where Arabs attack him. These Arabs are the brothers of Raymond’s former mistress and hold quite a grudge against Raymond. In self-defense, Meursault is forced to fight back and shoot the man. However, even after realizing that the Arab is dead, Meursault shoots him four more times. “Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace.” Meursault’s reasons for shooting into a dead body are unclear, and seem to border on the absurd. There was no reason or rational explanation for Meursault to keep firing at the Arab, and this action emphasizes the meaningless of life.

In “The Alternate Side”, Jerry has his car stolen. Instead of becoming furious, Jerry has a rational conversation with the thief by calling him on the car phone. Jerry realizes that there is nothing he can do to make the thief return the car, and that there is no use in being angry with him. This situation in which Jerry is completely helpless showcases the futility and meaninglessness of life, and how there is no point in becoming angry over something that he cannot control. This is similar to Meursault’s nonchalant reaction towards his mother’s death, as in both cases, they are both powerless to change the situation, so they don’t let the situation change them. In both “The Alternate Side” and in The Stranger, absurdism is a major theme that brings these two stories together. For Meursault, the death of his mother hardly affects him, and he shot the Arab man repeatedly after he was already dead for no tangible reason. For Jerry, he does not even file a police report or get mad at the thief, instead having a civil conversation and telling him to keep the car safe.