Camus’s Existential Tradition in Stoner

Abstract

This thesis discuses a novel titled Stoner (1965), written by an American academic and author, John Williams. Stoner follows the life a hero named William Stoner: a person raised in an impoverished farming household. Stoner works his way to become a university professor. He earns enough to put himself comfortably among the middle class and thereby, raising his social status. Throughout his life, Stoner faces life difficulties such as the World Wars, the Great Depression, marital conflicts, affair, and mortal disease. He remains stoic and stubborn in the face of these difficulties. This study seeks to dissect and explicate how he comes to develop such life ethics and the contextual relevance of the ethics. This thesis uses Genetic Structuralism theory. This theory seeks to understand the genesis of a world view in a literary work. This research utilizes two data; the primary data and secondary data. The primary data is taken from significant linguistic units in the novel and the secondary data are taken from journal, articles, thesis, books, and internet resources. The analysis of Stoner produces several findings. The first finding is significant structure in the novel. It is found that the main character displays unique existential tradition comprising of certain life ethics that he learns from his parents. The ethics stems from the experience of living in poverty. He exercises passivity and endurance in the face of the difficulty. Throughout his life, Stoner transforms this wisdom from conceiving education. The wisdom corresponds with Camusian existentialism. Stoner displays the wisdom of the Camusian absurd man. Stoner also practices Camusian existential ethics comprising of passion, revolt and freedom. In the end, the wisdom helps him survive and makes his life more meaningful. The second finding is American existential tradition. From learning about the social context, it is found that existentialism had deep roots in American experience. John Williams was raised by a lower-class family. Accustomed to poverty, he learned unique ethics that the social group had developed to survive life. When his living circumstances changed, he was able to pursue a higher education in English Literature and expand his existential world view. The third finding is the author’s world view. John William communicates the need to continue an existential tradition; the old ethics, and to transform the tradition with the new wisdom consisting of revolt, freedom, and passion. Through Stoner, John Williams depicts how, despite living under great difficulties, people still seek meaning and survive life.