Camus presents Sisyphus as the quintessential absurd hero. Although there are several versions of
Sisyphus' life on earth and of his offense against the gods, Camus argues that they all show him scorning
the gods, hating the death that he knows is his fate, and living life passionately. Thus, he concludes,
"Sisyphus is the absurd hero... as much through his passions as through his torture" (120). Having
asserted this, Camus is much more interested in Sisyphus' reaction to an eternity of hopeless struggle
which is the worst punishment the gods could think to inflict.
Question 1. "If this myth is tragic [and Camus, of course, regards it as such], that is because its
hero is conscious" (121). When does that "hour of consciousness" hit Sisyphus? What exactly does
he become conscious of? How does that consciousness make him a tragic hero? [paragraph 6]
Camus also suggests that Sisyphus is a symbol for modern man working every day on the same tasks (one
can detect the influence of Karl Marx's theory of alienation here). Such a fate is "no less absurd" than that
of Sisyphus, but the difference is that modern man remains unconscious of the absurdity for most of the
time (121).
Finally, Camus makes the surprising assertion that, "Happiness and the absurd are two sons of the same
earth. They are inseparable" (122). There is little attempt to argue this association: it is simply asserted.
Once we give up hope and accept our life for what it is, then dissatisfaction and discontent disappear and
the doors to happiness are opened because from that point on our fate belongs to us. [This is not so much
a conclusion to which Camus comes as a basic assumption on which everything else rests.]
Question 2. "The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart" (123). Explain
what Camus means. "One must imagine Sisyphus happy" (123). Why does Camus regard this as a
necessary conclusion? Do you? [paragraph 10]