Echoes of Absurdity: A Parallel Study Between the Protagonists in “The Outsider” and “Bibar”

Author(s): Shamima Akter Panna

Publication Date: June 30, 2025

Abstract

Albert Camus’s “The Outsider” masterfully embodies absurdism, highlighting humanity’s futile search for meaning in a meaningless world. Unlike existentialism, absurdism rejects free will, urging individuals to confront life’s inherent absurdity. Meursault, the protagonist, is not just an outsider to society but also a man devoid of faith, whose moral development reflects his absurd predicament. Similarly, Samaresh Basu’s “Bibar” explores absurdity, despite differing cultural and philosophical contexts. Both novels examine existential meaninglessness and individual alienation, though shaped by their unique backgrounds. By going more deeply into the protagonists, philosophical foundations, cultural settings, and literary methods of these two novels, this article will elaborate on the idea of absurdity and how it appears in them. Moreover, it also delves into how their actions—or inactions—reflect a sense of alienation and detachment, challenging the traditional notions of morality and purpose which express the echo of absurdity.