In Part 2, Camus discusses metaphysical rebellion, which is a more abstract and therefore more problematic form of rebellion. For Camus, this spirit of true rebellion has long been threatened by the encroachments of nihilism, a philosophy that rejects traditional morality and sees life as meaningless. He argues that true rebellion is more communal than individualistic in nature, as the rebel seeks to uphold the common dignity of all. In Part 1, Camus discusses the nature of a true rebel and rebellion. Camus intends to discover how rebellion and revolution have shaped modern history from the French Revolution to the 20th century.

Above all else, Camus is haunted by the horrors wrought by the Nazis in World War II, which he regards as the starkest embodiment of Europe’s moral and cultural decline. Camus laments the fact that Europe appears to be living in a morally bankrupt state and that terrible crimes against mankind are now frequently justified instead of condemned.

The Rebel opens with an Introduction offering insight into the general themes of the work. All citations refer to digital location numbers. This guide uses the e-book version of the 1991 Vintage International edition, translated from French by Anthony Bower. Written against the backdrop of World War II, the Nuremberg Trials, and the Soviet Union’s continuing dominance in Eastern Europe, The Rebel is both a historical testament to the ethical and political concerns of Camus’s time and a timeless meditation on the dangers of utopian ideologies and revolution more generally. At the time of its publication, The Rebel helped cement Camus’s reputation as a major literary figure in both fiction and nonfiction.

The rebel camus