The logical progression after reading The Stranger would be to explore Camus’s other 1942 work, The Myth of Sisyphus. In this collection of essays, he delves into his views on the absurd, which he was developing while writing The Stranger.

Camus was considered the moral voice of occupied France due to his contributions to Combat. In this publication, he penned editorials like Neither Victims Nor Executioners (originally published in the fall of 1946 and reprinted in 1968 by Dwight Macdonald). This piece provided a logical foundation for an anti-war position that aligned with his personal theories. He contended that murder is never justified, silence in the face of disagreement is unacceptable, and fear must be comprehended. Essentially, he articulated a modest stance “free of messianism and disencumbered of nostalgia for an earthly paradise.”

Camus’s 1947 novel, The Plague, is widely regarded as an allegory for World War II, showcasing his moral philosophy. In this story, a town grapples with a plague but ultimately triumphs not through faith and prayer, but through the rational pursuit and application of medical science.

Other works also explore the theme of absurdity. One particularly famous piece is a play by an Irishman who participated in the French Resistance. The play is Waiting for Godot (1952) by Samuel Beckett.

A more quintessentially existentialist work is the 1947 novel The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre. Camus collaborated with Sartre in the Resistance, but their relationship soured after the war. Sartre, more so than Camus, embodies the philosophy of existentialism.

Another notable existentialist was Simone de Beauvoir, best known for The Second Sex. In 1943, she authored an existential novel titled She Comes to Stay. This work provides an intriguing contrast to Camus’s novel from the previous year.