Lens and Artefact: The Myth Of Sisyphus And Angela's Ashes (Essay Sample)

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Lens and Artifacts Paper
The current paper is a lens and artifact type of paper that is based on two stories. The first is The Myth of Sisyphus authored by Albert Camus and will be discussed as the lens. This is a philosophical essay in which the Camus discusses the concept of absurdity. Precisely, absurdity is defined as a consequence of the absence of God, which precedes the certainty of death and probability of suffering for mankind, a fate that humans deem too dire to accept (Gay). Absurdity is seemingly born out of the need ingrained in man on realizing that the world cannot fulfill this imminent need. According to Camus the absurd takes on four forms, the actor who suppresses the passion of hundreds into a stage character, the seducer who is overcome with pleasures of the moment, the artists who possesses the ability to create the world, and the rebel or conqueror whose energy is derived from his political ambition and struggle. The second is Angela’s Ashes scripted by Fran McCourt and will be discussed as the artifact. McCourt details the memoirs of a young lad, Frank, and his family as they attempt to escape the rife of poverty in the slums of Limerick. McCourt achieves this in the form of short stories and anecdotes. Eventually, however, Frank is able to escape the poverty menace when he acquires man, nonetheless, he spends it on drink. Accordingly, Camus concludes that character of Frank in Angela’s Ashes is the absurd hero based on the description of absurdity as entailed in his book, for the reason that Frank displays similar traits as Sisyphus, the absurd hero in The Myth of Sisyphus. In particular, the two lead characters a hatred for death, scorn for the Gods, and passion for life and life pleasures.
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus of absurdity whereby he ascertains that “the absurd” is a result of the ensuing conflict between the expectations of mankind from the universe, and the reality of what exists in the universe. The lead character, Sisyphus is condemned to eternal punishment where he is required to roll a rock to the top of a mountain. However, every time he completes this task, the rock rolls back to the bottom, and on the cycle begins again (Camus). Ideally, at every single point during his punishment, Sisyphus is laboring to push the rock to the top. Interestingly, Sisyphus brought this punishment upon himself by bearing witness against Zeus for a crime that Zeus was rightly guilty of. This brings about Sisyphus scorn for the God. Sisyphus displays a similar hatred for death. Upon his death, he is sent to the underworld where he pleads his case by arguing that his wife did not perform the burial rites, hence, he is granted a second lease on life. He eventually faces his eternal punishment when he dies a second time and is sent to the underworld (Camus). In spite of all these, during his life on earth, Sisyphus continues to make wealth and shows a zeal for life. A combination of these traits earns him the title of the “absurd hero.” On another note, the following paragraphs detail Frank’s expectation from various people and institutions in his life and the positive and negative impacts that such have on his life
To begin, Frank as a child has various expectation from his parents. Like any child, Fran harbors great expectations and hopes that his parents will fulfill his desire for a good education, food, shelter, and clothing. On the contrary, the text asserts that his life is one of deprivation in spite of the accompanying adventure and humor. Frank’s childhood life is spent in the slums of Limerick in houses that flood regularly, especially during the winter. To compound the matter, the family’s house is the last on the lane nearing the only lavatory in the premises. Not only is the family subjected to poor accommodation, but also they are forced to survive on a meal of bread and tea for years. Sadly, Frank and his parents have to deal with the loss of his siblings. The poor state of the family can be attributed to the Malachy’s state of alcoholism that has him constantly spending his earnings to buy alcohol. Even the death of his siblings, is regrettably pinned on him by Angela who laments that it was as a result of Malachy’s inability to hold a job and provide for the family. Due to his alcoholism, Malachy, Frank’s father, cannot sustain or obtain a job. Unfortunately, he goes ahead to spend the welfare money that is normally issued out in order to support the children. This lives his family in a state of destitution. In spite of this, Malachy and Frank maintain a close relation that his forged by the endless stories of Irish heroes that Malachy recounts to Frank and his siblings.
From the onset, Frank holds that the church, the Roman Catholic, is a beacon of hope for the people of the Irish republic especially the poor. This was because the church was widespread and the largest in the world and was regarded as a powerful institution that was in possession of immense wealth and ability to help and support the poor and orphans (Forbes). The church has seemingly great influence in the life of Frank for the reason that he attended a catholic school, which in turn necessitated that he attend mass. In the text, the authoritarian role of the church is evident in the life of Frank. In this regard, leaders in the institution use fright tactics to ensure that Frank and his schoolmates are become good students and better Catholics (Stopar). Seeing as the Catholic Church had great influence on nearly all institutions, Frank and his mates were not allowed to choose a different faith. Further, Frank is taught to measure one’s intelligence based on the knowledge of whether the individual has partaken communion or not (McCourt p.137). Frank’s childhood is not only negatively impacted by the church as we traces of positive influence. For example, Frank is subjected to taunts by his schoolmates when he attends school in torn shoes. Since his father is unable to afford a new pair, his predicament lasts for a while. With the help of one charitable church society, St. Vincent de Paul Society, he receives a new pair of shoes (McCourt p.124). As an adult, however, Frank begins to appreciate the Roman Catholic Clergy. For instance, when he lost his job as a telegram boy in the post office, his mother, Angela, pleaded with the office to rehire him but they were reluctant. Upon receiving a letter from a parish priest, ...