Camus, Albert (1913–1960)

Albert Camus was born in French colonial Algeria, spending his career as a philosopher, writer, and activist. During World War II, Camus was active in the French resistance newspaper/cell Combat. In 1957, he became the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Camus spent the early years of his life in North Africa studying philosophy at the University of Algiers. Camus contracted tuberculosis in 1930, henceforth affecting his lifestyle and writing.

In 1934, Camus joined the Algerian Communist Party (PCA) to aid in combating domestic and foreign fascism. In 1937, Camus was expelled from the PCA for pursuing peaceful alternatives to the violence [Page 290]brought by the colonization of Algeria's indigenous Muslim population.

Camus founded Théatre du Travail (Workers Theater, 1935–1939), renamed Théatre de l'équipe (The Team's Theater), which produced plays by Dostoyevsky, Faulkner, Malraux, and others. Camus remained active in the theater his entire life.

Before World War II, Camus acted as an editor and journalist for the socialist Alger-Republicain newspaper, covering topics such as the plight of Algerian Muslims in Kabylie. Camus's first literary works comprise his series known as “the Absurds”: The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus, and Caligula. The Stranger, published during the austerity of World War II, brought him fame as an author. The Myth of Sisyphus explores whether or not life has any inherent meaning, therefore inferring that it is legitimate to explore the question of suicide.

During World War II, Camus joined Combat, the clandestine resistance cell and newspaper, serving as editor under the pseudonym Beauchard. These experiences served as an impetus for Camus's novel The Plague, written as an allegory in regard to occupied Paris. Under occupation, Camus became acquainted with existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre. Camus's most significant and self-described contribution to philosophy is his idea of absurdism (in which man's historical pursuit to find meaning in the universe will be in vain, since no such meaning exists). The publication of Camus's philosophical essay The Rebel in 1951 consummated the end of his failing relationship with Sartre. The Rebel explores rebellion and revolution, illustrating how ideals can be corrupted into tyranny.

In the 1950s, Camus's public efforts were directed toward human rights: confronting totalitarianism and capital punishment. During the Algerian War for Independence in 1954, Camus favored a Swiss-style federated nation creating a Franco-Muslim community to resolve the conflict. Faced with war, he continued his denouncement of not only French colonial oppression but also Algerian rebel terrorism, while affirming his allegiance with all Algerians. He proposed a civil truce between the opposing parties to protect and respect the civilian population—a movement that gained momentum but to no avail.

Camus's resistance to capital punishment was elucidated in his essay “Reflections on the Guillotine” for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1957. Camus died as a passenger in a car accident near Sens, France, on January 4, 1960.