Siddhartha And The Stranger By Albert Camus - 1753 Words

Sitting across from a petite Chinese woman, a reparative therapist my mother found for me, I confided in her that I did not see any point to my existence. I explained to her that according to my church and family my purpose on this terrestrial ball was to serve God and that instead my â€Å"lifestyle† was serving Satan. Pouring out my heart, I told her that I did not want to live anymore if just being alive sentenced me to hell. She candidly responded, â€Å"Well enjoy your life the way you want and then go to hell.† Heart-broken I smiled, said thank-you, and left her office. Later that night, I went to the garage and tried to hang myself. Soon after, I began a journey to search for the meaning of my existence. The following year in my AP English class we read two books that helped me ponder the meaning of my existence: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, and The Stranger by Albert Camus. At Siddharth’s lowest point while he is contemplating suicide he is spiritually awaken, reaches Nirvana, and realizes that the meaning of his existence is to be one with the universe recognizing the sacredness in everything. This Buddhistic philosophy teaches that the primary purpose of life is to end suffering. This can be accomplished by rejecting worldly pleasures (money, friends, etc.) and following the Eightfold Path to find eternal joy. This philosophy was extremely similar to my Christian aesthetic upbringing of rejecting worldly pleasures (t.v., parties, dancing etc.) and seeking eternal salvation.Show MoreRelatedIB Student Reflection 1519 Words   |  7 Pagesopportunity to study a lot of material that relates to other countries and cultures different from their own. By studying these materials, t hey are able to gain more knowledge about them. For example, one popular novel is The Stranger, also known as L’etranger, which was written by Albert Camus. This novel was originally written in French and translated into English. It discusses the life of a character known as Meursault and the events that occur during a short period in his life. Through the authors writing