These People Think Your Life Means Nothing

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Death is definite. No one can escape it.

How you react to this truth depends on your religious and spiritual beliefs-- or the lack thereof. In the 1970 album Let It Be by The Beatles, the band explores its philosophical views. Many of the songs explore the meaning-- and insignificance-- of life. A higher being determines all aspects of life, and you can’t do anything but accept the fate decided for you. In the 1942 novella The Stranger, Albert Camus explores his own nihilistic views, arguing that life is pointless-- nothing lasts beyond the inevitable grave. Ultimately, your beliefs and actions are insignificant. Both Let It Be and The Stranger explore the futility of human experience.

The song, “Let it Be” and The Stranger argue that people’s actions are ineffective. In “Let It Be,” Paul McCartney asserts that problems will resolve themselves without human interference. This is shown in the quote, “And when the brokenhearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer: let it be.” The brokenhearted can’t do anything to cure themselves; they have to allow their pain to resolve itself. Any attempt at improving your condition is futile, because it won’t help your cause. Meursault believes in this same concept; he doesn’t see the point in caring about his life’s outcome, because life itself doesn’t really matter. This is reflected when his boss suggests his transfer to Paris. Meursault agrees to this life changing move, but replies, “Really it was all the same to me… People never change their lives, that in any case one life was as good as another” (Camus 52). Meursault isn’t interested or willing to care about the direction his life takes; he just lets it happen, does what people tell him to do, and lives with the idea that nothing really matters because life never changes. It’s all the same, because everything leads to the same outcome: nothingness.

The song, “Across the Universe” and The Stranger argue that life’s outcome is predetermined.  In the song, “Across the Universe,” Lennon preaches letting things happen on their own and not worrying about them. The quote, “Nothing’s going to change my world,” reflects the belief that applying effort will do no good. Life leads only to death, and nothing can change that. This same absurdist sentiment is expressed by Meursault as he loses his temper toward the priest:

“Nothing, nothing mattered, and I knew why. So did he. Throughout the whole absurd life I’d lived, a dark wind had been rising toward me from somewhere deep in my future, across years that were still to come, and as it passed, this wind leveled whatever was offered to me at the time, in years no more real than the ones I was living” (Camus, 130)

As he anticipates his death, Meursault reflects on his life. He determines that death has always been awaiting him, and this “dark wind” deemed life pointless. Death “leveled whatever was offered” to Meursault, signifying that this looming final destination takes away every opportunity Meursault has to make his life meaningful. Death takes away life’s meaning, per Meursault's absurdist beliefs. The priest provides an argument against Meursault’s nihilistic philosophy, because religion suggests that life does have meaning: it determines the next life. As he awaits his death, Meursault tries to convince himself that the priest is wrong-- otherwise, he went about his life in the completely wrong way.  

“Two of Us” and The Stranger suggest that you shouldn't not take life seriously. McCartney uses the motif of going nowhere throughout the song, saying, “You and me Sunday driving, not arriving.” This represents the casual manner in which McCartney addresses existence. Life is a leisurely Sunday drive, the destination of which doesn't matter. Camus argues the same thing. When Marie asks Meursault if he would marry her, he reacts indifferently. Meursault claims that it would not make much of a difference and that marriage is not a big deal: “She pointed out that marriage was a serious thing. I said, “No”” (Camus, 52-53). In this one word, "no," Meursault expresses his belief that nothing in life holds importance or significance, because life is absurd and pointless. This allows Meursault the freedom of going where life takes him; he has no emotional attachments to hold him down, and no fear of making a life-ruining mistake.

Though Let it Be and The Stranger share strikingly similar philosophies, the justifications behind their mindsets differ drastically. In “Let it Be” and “Across the Universe,” The Beatles’s belief in the futility of human existence is the result of strong religious beliefs. This is shown in “Let it Be” by the aid of Mother Mary and in “Across the Universe” by the phrase, “Jai Guru Deva, om,” which roughly translates to “Glory to the spiritual master.” The Beatles believe that higher beings hold truth and power, and humans are small and insignificant in comparison. God, or another higher entity, controls all aspects of human life, and He will determine destiny; therefore, it’s futile to try to change the world, because humans ultimately have no control. Contrastly, Camus argues that human existence is futile because there is no higher power. Meursault’s nihilistic views-- his claim that nothing exists beyond death-- negates any reason to make life count; why bother, if you don’t get anything out of it? Rather than the belief that life is guided by a supreme being, Meursault's existentialist philosophy argues that the only one with the power to determine his path is himself. In both cases, The Beatles and Camus express the belief that life holds no meaning. The takeaway: Live life on your own terms and don't worry about others' concerns or interests.