February 14Camus; sissypuss and the rebel page 1971. Homer tells us that Sisyphus was the wisest and most prudent of mortals. 2. After returning to earth Sisyphus realized that he missed earth and refused to return to the underworld and its darkness. His punishment for this was that he must roll a rock up a hill which it would then roll back down; he would then repeat the process, sentenced to an eternity of meaningless labor. 3. Sisyphus’ “hour of consciousness” occurs when the rock has rolled back down to the bottom of the hill and he is walking down to it. 4. What makes the story of Sisyphus tragic is that his job is not that much different than mans. It is equally monotonous and absurd in its own respects. 5. ?Notes- Concept of the absurd o A sense of disconnect, when two things really don’t come together o One of the biggest forms of the absurd is how humans want the world to exist and how it actually exists We want everything to make complete sense but in actuality it doesn’to The realization that everything cannot be how you want it to be- When you realize that your life isn’t going to be everything you think it will be you come to a crossroadso Down one path is suicide, an end it all Is life worth continuing when you come to this crossroads? Is there a meaning of life beyond that point? Should you just end it?o Down the other path is to be defiant and rebellious, to fight the shackles of conformity - Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to peopleo People would no longer have to depend soely on the godso Prometheus is chained to a rock/mountain and everyday a large bird comes down and tears open his midsection and feasts, he heals, repeats- Tantilus o Annoyed the gods for whatever reasono Water and food just out of reach for eternity- Sisyphuso Sentenced to a life of pointless labor, push rock to top of hill, rock rolls back down hill, repeato Sisyphus is an example of how our lives work; we are all like Sisyphus; we all have boulders and hillso We are like Sisyphus because we just keep in the routine of everyday life; endless repetition o We repeat our mistakes over and over again(as a person and a society)o “at some point the boulder will come back down the hill” meaning, even when everything is going right there will eventually be another downfall- Do we fight the inevitable OR do we keep on trucking and having a badass time while were here?o Camus prefers the “bucket list” option or to rebel - Punishment o Point is to make them feel guilty and brokeno In this story the gods are hoping to break Sisyphus down a few notches - Your life IS absurd but that doesn’t mean its meaningless o You have to make your life meaningfulThe Rebel- The rebelsomeone who says yes by saying noo Says no to being broken, and being treated like he has previously been treatedo By saying no to that it allows him to say yes to himself, saying yes to his life, saying yes hewants something bettero Goes through with actiono Thinks it’s okay to stand up to the abuse because it is wrong for anybody to be treated inthis mannero What starts off as a personal thing turns into a more global issue (think slavery)- The complainersomeone who disagrees but doesn’t ever really do anythingo Doesn’t ever really do anything, sucks it up, passiveo Just sits there and takes it so they don’t have to deal with consequences of stepping forward- All-or-nothing Propositiono You’ve put up with crap up to this put but when you hit the point where you decide to put your foot down you are willing to sacrifice everything in order to stand up for yourself o Deciding your self-worth is more important than anything else, you’re willing to risk it all- When a rebel arises o It doesn’t have to come from the repressed party; it can also come from a party observing the repressedo Looking objectively at others is a good way to decide what is good to fight for- Resentment vs rebelliono Resentment doesn’t strive towards the same goals More hatred, a more evil and quelled emotion Vengeful; envious NEGATIVEo Rebellion Doesn’t just think about you Acting for a higher cause  POSITIVE- Where does rebellion happeno Usually in industrialized western cultureso Happens because there is less separation between classeso Doesn’t happen in an incredibly religious society  Because it is viewed as being gods will*next reading is the Morris